John Brennan presided over Felician’s only true dynasty. He guided the Golden Falcon men’s cross-country team to seven Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championships, including five in a row from 2004-08.
Brennan enjoyed a successful stint as the head coach of boys’ and girls’ cross-country and track & field at Verona High School before he assisted Bob Symons in starting the women’s and men’s cross-country programs at Felician. After serving two seasons under Symons — and winning two CACC men’s titles and an NAIA men’s regional crown — Brennan was named the head coach of both Golden Falcon teams prior to the 2002 campaign.
Brennan led the Golden Falcons for 13 seasons, and was voted the CACC Men’s Coach of the Year on six occasions. Combined between the two programs, he produced four all-region runners, six CACC Runners of the Year, and two league Rookies of the Year. On 68 occasions, one of his athletes was named all-CACC.
Brennan was also the first coach of women’s track & field at Felician. He spent one year as a women’s basketball assistant for the Golden Falcons, and was the head women’s basketball coach at Sussex County Community College for two seasons. After leaving Felician, he coached women’s cross-country and women’s and men’s track & field at Montclair State University.
Brennan was preceded into the Felician Athletics Hall of Fame by Symons, by two of his former runners — Paul Chegwidden ’08 and Amanda (Scibetta) Mammolito ’09 — and by his 2007 men’s team.
Brennan owns a B.A. in history (1994) and an M.A. in education administration and supervision (2000) from Montclair State. He is the principal of School 2 in Fort Lee. Brennan has a daughter, Morgan, and lives in Clark.
Last updated 12/10/19
