Eugene "Gene" McCarthy burst onto the Fordham track scene in 1974 and quickly established himself as the Rams' premier distance runner.

In cross country as a freshman, McCarthy finished 50th out of 250 runners at the IC4A Championship, helping the Rams qualify for the NCAA Championship.  He was equally successful in track, running on the two-mile relay team that ran the third-fastest time in the world, clocking in with a time of 7:27.2 at the IC4A Championship, earning home All-America honors.  At the Penn Relays, McCarthy ran a 4:08 leg on the four-mile relay team, helping Fordham to a school record time of 16:24.3.  He also set the school record for the mile, posting a time of 4:05.

At the Penn Relays in 1976, McCarthy helped Fordham to a bronze finish in the 4x1500-meter relay with a school record of 15:12.2.

In 1977, McCarty led the cross country team to a 9-4 record and a sixth place finish at the IC4A's, where he ran his best time of the season, finishing eighth out of 175 competitors.  At NCAA's, he helped Fordham place 24th in the nation.

At the 1978 Block "F" Awards Banquet, McCarthy was awarded the Terrence J. O'Donnell Memorial Award.