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 (Photo by Tom Nowak, provided courtesy of Princeton's Office of Athletic Communications) caption:
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Murtaugh Leaving Princeton Crew Family To Apply Perspective to His Home Front
By Bill Alden
Joe Murtaugh has a special ability to take the long range view of situations that have arisen in his life. After spending four years in the 1980s as a volunteer crew coach at his alma mater, the University of Virginia, Murtaugh knew he had to leave those familiar surroundings in order to maximize his potential professionally.
In 1987, he headed north to the Princeton University crew program and one year later he became the head coach of the Tiger men's lightweight team.
Soaking up lessons from the veteran coaches around him at the Princeton boathouse, Murtaugh built the Tiger men's lightweight crew into a national power, taking four national titles and four Eastern Sprints crowns.
In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Murtaugh took on the role of chief administrator of the boathouse and played a major role in transforming that facility into the gleaming Shea Rowing Center that is the envy of crew programs throughout the country.
Now, the coach is applying that vision to his family situation as he is stepping away from his life at the boathouse to be the primary child care provider for the infant he and his wife are expecting in late August.
In explaining his decision, Murtaugh, 44, demonstrated the unselfish approach that has characterized his Princeton tenure.
"My wife is a veterinarian and she has less predictable hours than I do," said Murtaugh, whose child is due in late August.
"She's in charge of an emergency and critical care section of a busy practice. We looked at the trajectory of the hours required to do the kind of job I want to do here and what her hours are like. Adding a child to that mix was dicey."
One of the toughest aspects of the decision was breaking the news to his rowers. "It was emotional for me," said Murtaugh, who guided the Tiger lightweight men to national championships in 1989, 1994, 1996 and 1998 and Eastern titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2003. "I have a real strong connection to my team. It was difficult for me to tell them I was leaving. They are great kids; I think they understand my decision. Everybody has been supportive. I'm sure they will rally around whoever replaces me."
In the view of Princeton men's heavyweight head coach Curtis Jordan, Murtaugh has certainly been a rallying point for the boathouse community.
"Joe has been the glue that has made the boathouse as strong as it is today," asserted Jordan, who has been associated with the Princeton rowing program for 22 years, the last 12 as the heavyweight head coach.
"He came here relatively young and inexperienced when he took over a high-test program, The boathouse was trying to get it feet on the ground. He brought the alumni and the coaches into the fold. He created one voice that went from the boathouse to the outside."
Murtaugh's exit is going to leave a huge void at the boathouse. "We are going to miss him more than we can imagine," added Jordan. "Here is a guy that is incredibly competitive but at the same time can take a deep breath and look at the whole picture. He could make decisions that weren't advantageous to his position. Joe is able to sit there and say this is the right decision regardless of how it affects his interests."
For Murtaugh, focusing on the interests of the team rather than the individual comes naturally.
"I think one thing that is specific to the sport of rowing is that there is a real reliance on teamwork as opposed to individual performance," said Murtaugh, who has a career record of 87-33, giving him the second most wins in program history.
"I think that being part of the group where everybody is working to create a whole that is greater than its parts is always really exciting."
While Murtaugh downplays his individual impact, he is happy with how the boathouse renovation project turned out and how it has positively impacted Princeton's competitive performance.
"I think my role as an administrator has made it easier for the boathouse to be successful on the water and I'm proud of that," added Murtaugh.
"I think that over time there was a level of trust developed between the rowing program and our Friends (alumni) group and in the other direction between the rowing program and the athletic department. There was a sense that we wouldn't be frivolous about what we asked for and that we were going to be good stewards of the facility. I was on point for a lot of that."
Murtaugh is glad that he trusted his judgment when he decided to come to Princeton 18 years ago. "I've gone really quickly from being the new guy to the old guard, the time zips," said Murtaugh with a laugh.
"I coached for four years at Virginia as a volunteer before I came here. I knew that if I was going to progress as a coach that I had to be in an environment where I could learn from other people. I hit the jackpot. I can't imagine a more fertile environment than we have here in the boathouse."
In view of Murtaugh's love of coaching, he believes he will be back in the fray sometime in the future.
"As much as I'd like to think I could retire at age 44, I know at some point that I will be punching the clock again," said a chuckling Murtaugh. "I love coaching and hope to get back into it again at some point. At the same time, I'm really looking forward to the next challenge."
In a couple of months, the Murtaugh infant will be the lucky recipient of the coach's special perspective.
