Augustana College Athletics

Consistency and versatility are two words that accurately describe the Augustana career of track & field standout Greg Haynie. Modest and unassuming would best reflect Haynie’s reaction to all his success. While his list of accolades and accomplishments could fill a page, his attitude throughout it all could be written in a book. That book might be titled “How to Handle Success.”

From 1976 through 1979, Haynie was one of the most dominant performers for the Vikings track & field team of legendary head coach Paul Olsen. When he graduated in May of 1979 with a degree in math, computer science and psychology he could rightfully stake his claim among the greats in a long line of greats who performed for Olsen. Even today, nearly 50 years later, his achievements stand up to any who wore the Blue & Gold.

Haynie left Augustana as the school record holder in three separate events: the 110 high hurdles, high jump and decathlon. He was a four-time NCAA national meet qualifier in the high jump, and he earned All-America recognition twice, once with a fourth-place finish as a junior and a third place as a senior. Three times he won the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin in the high jump and twice he was the CCIW record holder. He was also team captain as a senior.

To this day he is still listed as third on the school’s all-time list outdoors and second indoors. He was also a national meet qualifier in the high hurdles and as a senior he placed in running (sixth in high hurdles), jumping (champion in high jump) and throwing (sixth in javelin) events at the CCIW Championships.

Haynie is matter of fact when describing his success. “I think one of Ols’ “superpowers” was his ability to give the individual athlete the power to succeed,” reflected Haynie. “When I got to campus, I was just a sponge in terms of understanding the mechanics of the high jump. I learned most of the technique from John Farwell (assistant coach at the time who eventually became the director of athletics), and I learned confidence and how to have fun competing from Ols.”

And to think that it all began with a visit organized by then football coach Ben Newcomb. “I remember coming down on a visit as a football recruit (he had been a safety and receiver at Rockford Jefferson High School),” recalled Haynie. “Coach Newcomb introduced me to Ols and things just took off from there. I fell in love with the campus, and I never really was interested in a bigger school. I just wanted to see what I could do.”

What he could do was evident very early in his freshman year. Despite the fact that he barely cleared a height in his first high jump practice as a collegian, he qualified for the NCAA Division III national meet two weeks later. By the time his first year was over he not only was a national meet qualifier, but he also owned the Augustana school record in the high hurdles.

From there the hits just kept on coming as he qualified for the national meet all four years and was consistently among the top point scorers for Olsen’s Vikings.

“I feel privileged to have been part of a great track & field program,” said Haynie. “Having been coached by four Hall of Fame coaches and having competed alongside 12 Hall of Fame teammates was truly a blessing.”

Haynie was not done contributing to the Augustana athletic department upon his graduation. He put his computer science degree to good use by hooking on with John Deere & Company as an analyst/programmer in 1979. In 1981 he combined with former teammate John Hammermeister, and the pair took on the role as co-head coaches for the Vikings women’s track & field program.

While coaching the women, Haynie and Hammermeister helped lead Augustana to five Illinois Small College state titles and he had a hand in coaching eight NCAA Division III All-Americans.

“That time when I was coaching track & field with Hammer was one of the most fun times I have ever experienced,” he said upon reflection of this six-year stint. “I don’t think I have ever laughed so much as I did when we worked together.”

Eventually he left the Quad Cities to take a job in database administration with Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin) in Denver, Colorado. His professional career continued to progress, and he eventually retired in 2020 after stints as vice-president of three different departments for Healthgrades Company in Denver.

“My years at Augustana did an amazing job of preparing me for my career and life in general,” he remarked. “My experience coaching the women’s team was very impactful in my development as a future parent, coach and business leader. It allowed me to use so many of the things I learned from the amazing Paul Olsen, including the fact that life can be serious but needs to remain fun.”

Greg and his wife Bev, a retired elementary school principal, reside in Littleton, Colorado and have six children and seven