Farmingdale, N.Y. - FSC has announced that Farmingdale State's Director of Track and Field, Arnie Minkoff, will be retiring after 44 years of coaching and a total of 51 years in education. Coach Minkoff has coached five National Champions and 77 All-Americans in his career, from the ranks of Junior College, NCAA Division II and Division III.
Coach Minkoff began his career at Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood Queens (dual meet record 125-40) where he coached for 12 seasons before becoming the Head Coach at Farmingdale State from 1980-1989. Farmingdale State obtained National recognition, placing 8th and 10th in the NJCAA Championships and were the top-ranked non-scholarship junior college in the Nation. His dual meet record was 44-7 with four National Champions, 57 All-Americans, five Eastern Junior College Team Champions, two New York State Junior College Team Champions and 15 Regional Junior College Team Champions. In 1983, the 4x800m Indoor Relay set a National Junior College record time of 7:39.47.
In 1989, Coach Minkoff moved to C.W. Post as an Assistant and became Head Coach from 1991-1995. At C.W. Post, he coached 14 NCAA Division II All-Americans and another National Champion. Six of Coach Minkoff's student-athletes have competed internationally for their respective countries. Coach Minkoff has also been a member of 10 United States Maccabiah Teams as an athlete, coach and overall team manager.
In 1995, Coach Minkoff became the Athletic Director of the Oyster Bay Schools. In 2002, he retired from that position and a year later returned to Farmingdale State as the Head Coach of the Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track teams.
At Farmingdale State, which has been a Division III program since 1999-00, Coach Minkoff once again established a Nationally Ranked Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field program with six All-Americans and one National Champion since his return in 2003. He also coached the men's cross country team to their first-ever Skyline Conference Championship title in 2009.
After a brief retirement in 2011 due to health concerns, Minkoff returned to Farmingdale State in 2013 and became the Director of Track and Field. In 2014, Coach Minkoff was inducted into the Farmingdale State College Athletics Hall of Fame.
Coach Minkoff received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Buffalo and his Master's from NYU. He also has his School Administration Certificate from NYU.
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