A lot was happening during the year of 1969.

In South Asia, the Vietnam War was in full swing.

Charles Manson and his “family” were wreaking havoc back home in the United States.

A generation of doves were celebrating love in Woodstock, New York.

And a little known hockey enthusiast from Neepawa, Manitoba joined the fledgling program at Iowa State.

Al Murdoch was only 23 years old in the autumn of ’69 when he joined the Cyclones as a player-coach.

Three decades later, Murdoch hasn’t moved an inch.

“I’ve been here a long time,” Murdoch said, “and I hope to be here a lot longer.”

While Coach Al hasn’t moved at all in the literal sense, it’s difficult to imagine anyone making as much headway in the figurative sense.

When Murdoch arrived on the scene in ’69, the Cyclone hockey team was disorganized and largely unsuccessful. Since then, he has transformed it into one of the smoothest, most successful programs in the nation.

Along the way, player-coach Murdoch became head coach Murdoch and served the university in a number of other ways, from assistant to the Dean of Students to assistant to the vice president of student affairs to professor in the School of Education.

As Murdoch focused so much on education in his own life, acquiring both his masters degree and doctorate, he has asked his players to do the same.

“I’ve always placed an emphasis on education,” Murdoch explains. “You have to come to college to get your degree. Hockey’s just a bonus.”

The coach can make such statements because he has the statistics to back them up. The Cyclone hockey team routinely graduates in the neighborhood of 93 percent of its participants.

During his 30-year tenure at Iowa State, Murdoch has done more than rack up high graduation statistics, though. His portfolio of Cyclone memories seems almost limitless.

“Obviously, one highlight was getting the opportunity to play in Hilton in 1972,” Murdoch said. “We played the Air Force Academy in a two-game series that drew around 12,600 people.”

Murdoch was also on hand in 1978 when the Ames/ISU Ice Arena was constructed, providing the Cyclones a permanent practice facility.

“It wasn’t originally intended as a permanent home for the team,” Murdoch said, “but it’s become synonymous with Cyclone hockey and it’ll be tough to leave it behind.”

The greatest highlight, though, may be the American Collegiate Hockey Association national championship the Cyclones won in 1992.

“We had a young squad that year,” Murdoch said, “not unlike the group of guys we have this season. They just peaked at the right time and we outcoached, outplayed and outsmarted our competition.”

When it was all said and done, the Cyclones emerged with the Murdoch Cup, named for, you guessed it, the big guy himself.

You see, in addition to coaching the Cyclones and helping out with the University, Murdoch also kept himself busy by building one of the top college hockey leagues in the United States.

Now in its third decade, the ACHA features 30 Division I teams and 88 Division II teams. The league owes much of its success, not to mention its very existence, to Murdoch, the league’s first president and one of its original founders.

Murdoch’s teams, since 1969, have amassed over 600 wins and posted a winning percentage of .642.

Bill Ward played under Murdoch for several seasons, leading the Cyclones to the title in ’92 and picking up the Bob Johnson Award as the league’s most valuable player in ’94. Since then, he’s remained on the ice, serving as associate head coach for Iowa State.

“He’s highly motivational,” Ward said of his coworker and friend. “He knows what to do to get the most out of his players and you can’t argue with his success.”

As an assistant coach, though, Ward has begun to see what occurs behind the scenes.

“Now I’m finally beginning to realize what he actually has to deal with all the time. He does so much for this program.”

Junior Greg Jones is in his third year with Murdoch’s Cyclones and says he’s really enjoyed the experience.

“He’s a traditional coach,” Jones said, “in that he pushes you and tells you what he thinks — he doesn’t beat around the bush.

“He teaches that you can make up for what you lack in talent with aggressiveness and enthusiasm. ‘Hell-bent for leather.’ That’s his catch phrase.”

As Murdoch enters his 30th season, he shows no signs of slowing down. He still skates with the team and even joins them for their traditional “mud-run” at the end of dry land training.

“Sure, the old coach runs with them,” Murdoch said. “For a lot of them, that’s the first time they’ve had an old coach that runs in the mud with them or gets out on the ice and works with them.”

So how long can the 52-year old keep it up?

“You know, I really like what’s developed here and I want to see the team move into their new arena and position them to become a Division I college program someday,” Murdoch said.

“Maybe I’ll stick around ’til I’m 84.”