‘Sneakiness’ establishes Roger Haynes Invitational

Meet named in honor of legendary Scots coach who dominated track and field in Midwest Conference

During his record-setting four-decade career coaching Monmouth College track and field and cross country, Roger Haynes took his squads to meets with names such as the Les Duke Invitational at Grinnell College and the Lee Calhoun Invitational at Western Illinois University.

Earlier this year, in his first season since 1982-83 of not serving as head coach of at least one of those Fighting Scots teams, Haynes had the opportunity to attend another named meet — the Roger Haynes Invitational.

The home track and field meet was held Feb. 11 at Monmouth’s Huff Athletic Center. The six-team event included a ceremony for Haynes, and more than 100 of his former athletes were there to see it.

Not long after the meet, Haynes was also honored by the Midwest Conference, receiving its prestigious Meritorious Service Award, an accolade that’s not presented annually but, rather, when outstanding circumstances are present.

Sneakiness

“The track meet came about after some sneakiness from Coach (Brian) Woodard,” said Haynes of his longtime assistant coach, who took over the track programs last summer after Haynes announced his retirement from coaching. “He didn’t include me in the process.”

Since stepping down as coach last school year, Haynes has continued his role as Monmouth’s director of athletics, recreation and fitness.

Woodard said he originally bounced the idea of naming an invitational in Haynes’ honor off former Fighting Scot athlete and coach Jon Welty ’12

“It was maybe a little bit sneaky, I guess,” said Woodard. “We kind of took it and ran with it. My intent was to find a way to get alumni back to campus and to showcase some of the history of the program that he built. Track and field has been a huge part of his life for all his life, and to honor him in this way is more meaningful than simply giving him a plaque. Relationships were a huge part of his coaching career, and they still are. He’s still passing on his knowledge to other Monmouth coaches, myself included.”

Asked what it feels like to have a meet named for himself, Haynes replied: “I really haven’t thought about it that way. It was more about spending time with the alums who come back for it. They’ve all enriched my life and made this kind of career possible. It was a once-in-a-lifetime day.”

Alumni such as Eric Ealy ’86 and Roger Well ’86, who were on the first team that Haynes coached in 1984.

“Without that group of guys buying in, maybe this whole thing doesn’t even happen,” said Haynes. Ealy won a national high jump championship, and so did Tyler Hannam ’11, who is perhaps the poster child for the effect that Haynes had on his athletes.

An average high jumper in high school with a personal best of an even 6 feet, Hannam didn’t ini- tially plan to compete in track and field for the Scots. But after being encouraged by Haynes to give the sport a try at the collegiate level, and after following the training regimen Haynes prescribed, Hannam began to see improvement.

More than 100 former members of the Fighting Scots track and field program joined Director of Athletics, Recreation and Fitness Roger Haynes, above center, for the inaugural Roger Haynes Invitational, held Feb. 11 at the Huff Athletic Center. Under Haynes, the Fighting Scots finished in the top four of the NCAA four times, with a high of second place at the 2008 men’s indoor championships. In 2007, he was named the U.S. Track and Field Coaches Association Men’s Indoor National Coach of the Year.

He kept on improving in the high jump throughout his career, topping out at just a fraction of an inch under 7 feet and winning a national championship, one of 12 national titles that individuals coached by Haynes have won.

“I give all the credit to Coach Haynes,” said Hannam in a recent interview that looked back a decade on his national title. “He helped me develop a passion for knowledge about the sport. He had so much information to give, and all of it was right.”

A Sterling R Sum

The buy-in that Haynes inspired led to more than 200 student-athletes earning All-American honors while competing for him. The Scots had at least one All-American every season from 1985 — Haynes’ second season in charge of the men’s team — through 2021.

As a team, the Fighting Scots finished in the top four of the NCAA four times, with a high of second place at the 2008 men’s indoor championships. In all, Haynes oversaw 23 teams that finished in the top 20 nationally.

In 2007, he was named the U.S. Track and Field Coaches Association Men’s Indoor National Coach of the Year, and he was named the Midwest Region Coach of the Year four times, most recently in 2016.

At the Midwest Conference level, Haynes’ achievements are staggering. Leading the Scots at his final conference meet last May, he was named MWC Track and Field Coach of the year for the 53rd time following a championship by his women’s team, which he coached for 22 years. He led the men’s team for 39 seasons.

His teams won either an indoor or outdoor men’s or women’s Midwest Conference championship — many years, all four championships — each year from 2001 to 2022. In all, he coached the Scots to a combined 83 men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field conference titles.