BOSTON – Northeastern men's rowing head coach John Pojednic has decided to step away from coaching, announced by Director of Athletics and Recreation Jeff Konya on Monday. Pojednic served the Huskies for over 20 years and was one of the longest tenured coaches in the country.
 
"I want to thank John for his hard work and dedication to the program and his focus on the student-athlete experience," said Konya. "He was able to elevate men's rowing at Northeastern during his tenure and his teams were extremely successful on the national collegiate and international scenes, as well as in the classroom. We wish him the best in his future endeavors."
 
Pojednic guided the Huskies into the national spotlight with a 65-43 regular-season record and a high level of success in postseason competition. The Huskies have finished inside the top 10 at the IRA Championships in seven consecutive seasons, including a fifth-place finish in 2019, their highest since 2013, and a 21-point increase towards the Ten Eyck Award from 2018. Later that summer in England, Northeastern reached the final race at the Henley Royal Regatta for the fifth time in program history, and the Huskies were edged by three-quarters of a length by Oxford Brookes University in the Temple Challenge Cup. In 2013 at the Henleys, the Huskies made it to the final of the Ladies' Plate and lost to the British National Team by inches in the final strokes of the race, which was the talk of the regatta.
 
"I am so proud of the Northeastern University men's rowing team," said Pojednic. "Through the past two decades I have had the opportunity to build coach/athlete relationships with some exceptional young people and I look forward to continuing those relationships for the rest of my life. I thank those alumni who have helped to drive this program to success at the national level, and for that, I am eternally grateful."
 
Pojednic's oarsmen have also been successful in international competition. Since 2001, 12 Northeastern oarsmen have competed at the FISA U-23 World Championship, and five have earned places on FISA World Championship Teams. Most notably, Marshall Godschalk '07 (2008), Chris Jarvis '03 (2004), Will Miller '07 (2012), and Dan Walsh '02 (2004, 2008) have distinguished themselves at the highest level of their sport by competing at the Olympic Games. Walsh, a former assistant on Pojednic's staff, won a bronze medal for the United States in the Men's 8+ in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
 
Equally as impressive has been the performance of Pojednic's student-athletes in the classroom. In the last four seasons, 29 members of Pojednic's Northeastern team have been named to the IRA All-Academic team, including nine in 2016 alone. Pojednic also founded the first national association of college rowing coaches, the IRCA (ircacoaches.org).
 
"I'd like to thank Dr. Joseph Aoun, former Athletic Director Peter Roby, Athletic Director Jeff Konya, and the present Northeastern Athletics Administration for believing in me and for giving me the opportunity to coach the rowing team at Northeastern."
 
Associate Head Coach Justin Jones will serve as the interim head coach while Northeastern conducts a national search to find Coach Pojednic's replacement.
 
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