College president Mauri Ditzler announced at a news conference this afternoon the promotion of interim associate director of athletics Roger Haynes ’82, to the director of athletics, recreational sports and fitness. Haynes will succeed Dr. Terry Glasgow, who is retiring after 30 years in the post. Haynes, who holds a master’s degree from Western Illinois University, has been serving as interim athletic director since last fall.

“Roger possesses a great blend of understanding the history and tradition of Monmouth College and the openness to new and creative ideas,” said Ditzler. “He has long been a valuable member of the college community. His unparalleled success with the track team and his leadership abilities make it a natural progression to name Roger our new director of athletics. I’m sure he will lead the department to even greater heights.”

Haynes was named the Division III men’s national indoor coach of the year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association last spring and has guided the Fighting Scots men’s and women’s track and field and cross country teams to a combined 45 conference championships during his 24-year coaching career. He has coached five national champions in track and field including three in the last three years. The veteran coach is anxious to address the challenges of a growing campus community.

“I’m, without question, excited about the new challenge,” said Haynes. “While I look forward to the challenges of the position, I realize the need for support by Dr. Glasgow, the entire athletic department staff and, especially, the administration to move our department forward. Division III athletics is much more involved than it was just a few short years ago. We have more sports, more staff and more responsibilities than ever before.”

In addition to supervising 20 varsity sports, Haynes will oversee the college's expanding intramural and wellness programs, which he predicts will continue to grow under the direction of athletics staff members George Perry and Molly McNamara. Approximately 20 intramural sports, ranging from basketball and flag football to chess and Frisbee golf, are currently offered. Club sports are also experiencing renewed growth. In only its second year, the men’s water polo team placed seventh at last fall’s national tournament and three athletes were named all-conference. The Trotter Fitness Complex serves the entire campus community offering fitness programs such as traditional aerobic workouts to yoga and healthy-living classes.

"George and Molly have brought great enthusiasm and professionalism to these programs," he said. "As our enrollment has continued to increase, we have seen a steady increase in participation, which makes for a healthier student body."

Haynes will also continue teaching courses in kinesiology and the physiology of exercise.

A native of Avon, Ill., Haynes enrolled at Monmouth in the fall of 1978 and quickly established himself as a standout track-and-field athlete. He still holds the college’s javelin record and was inducted into the M-Club Hall of Fame in 1997. Following his graduation, Haynes served as assistant football coach from 1982-99 and after one year as an assistant track coach he was named to the head men’s position in 1984. He took the reins of women’s program in 2000.

Monmouth’s varsity teams have won 61 team conference titles in the past 20 years and produced 99 All-Americans and 48 academic All-Americans as chosen by various national organizations over that same time span. The men’s varsity teams have won the Ralph Peterson All-Sports Trophy, awarded annually to the most successful men’s program in the Midwest Conference, each of the past three years.

During Glasgow’s tenure, the Monmouth athletic department experienced unprecedented expansion. In the spring of 2000, the college opened the $1.7 million Peacock Memorial Athletic Park which features the home field for Fighting Scots baseball, two soccer fields and a throw area for the Scots’ track teams. The $22 million, 155,000-square-foot Huff Athletic Center, which incorporated the original 1925 gymnasium and Glennie Gym, followed in the fall of 2003, and the $1-million six-court Monmouth Tennis Stadium completed the athletic facilities expansion in 2004.