During the earlier years of the athletic program on the then SMTI campus, cross-country and track coach Bob Dowd was building a competitive program from scratch. With some success during the late 1960’s, Dowd says the turning point for the cross-country program came with the arrival of Glen Nieuwenhuis in 1969. “He was one of the greatest contributors to building our cross country and track programs," said Dowd. " He was a quality runner, a true team player and a leader throughout his outstanding career.” In four years of competition for SMTI and later SMU, Nieuwenhuis was a three-year captain in both cross country and track and was the first four-year letter winner in cross country. He held the home cross country record for several years and helped establish the Corsairs as one of the top cross country and track programs in New England following his 1973 graduation.