"One thing I hate about leaving," Pappy says, "is that I'm really going to miss these kids. A lot of people may wonder about the future of the country, but knowing these youngsters, I have no qualms about it--this country's in good hands."
Hunt says he picked up his nickname from long time Harvard men's track Coach Bill McCurdy, who retired in 1982. After Hunt returned to college following World War II, McCurdy noticed that "old guy" practicing with the Springfield cross country team.
"Let's go, Pappy," McCurdy yelled from the sidelines, the new name stuck.
Several years after his initial dubbing as "Pappy." Hunt is now leaving the sport on which he grew up because "coaching is a young man's game," he says.
"I'm going to become the greatest-horse track lout," he adds. "No, seriously," he continues, "I'm going to go fishing with McCurdy."
"I've been trying for 35 years to teach McCurdy how to fish," Hunt says. "I'll do it now, or I'll drown trying."