At the age of 14, Bob Sullivan was “obsessed” with football, and says it was a “foregone conclusion that he would coach the sport someday.” And he did just that—for 60 years.
Sullivan became Carleton’s head football coach in 1979. At the end of the 2020 season, he retired as its winningest, amassing 102 victories over 22 seasons. Since then, Sullivan’s passion for the Knights has only increased, as he continues to attend home games and deepen relationships with former players, coaches, and colleagues.
On Saturday, October 15, fans were given another opportunity to cheer their former coach. During halftime of Carleton’s homecoming matchup against the College of St. Scholastica, some 300 of Sullivan’s former student-athletes gathered with his family at midfield to greet him and President Alison Byerly, who was onsite to officially christen Bob Sullivan Field at Laird Stadium.
“I couldn’t ask for anything else,” Sullivan says. “I’m honored, humbled, and overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from everyone, especially seeing so many former players show up.”
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