SEMO Track & Field coaching legend Joey Haines Dies at 76

Former longtime Southeast Missouri track and field coach Joey Haines passed away at age 76 on Tuesday.

Haines coached the Redhawks from 1982-2008. He is among the SEMO Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2008.

Haines was inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014. He was also inducted into the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame in 2009.

Prior to arriving at SEMO, Haines, a native of Columbus, Georgia, coached at Austin Peay from 1978 to 1982 and Lipscomb from 1971 to 1978. He was an assistant at Lipscomb, his alma mater, from 1969 to 1970.

When then-SEMO athletic director Marvin Rosengarten was searching for a new track coach in 1982, he and his committee picked Haines out of 40 applicants because he was “a solid citizen” and had success in sprints and relays.”

“The committee felt, first off, that we wanted a solid citizen, a solid person,” Rosengarten told the Southeast Missourian during Haines’ introductory press conference on Thursday, July 15, 1982. “We wanted someone to add stability to our program. We’ve had two changes in the past two years.

“Also, they felt what he did with the AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) meet was impressive. And thirdly, he has had success in sprints and relays. Coaching is getting so complicated that sometimes you forget the main reason you hire a coach in the first place. He’s very proven in the sprints and has had a lot of success in that area.”

During SEMO’s Division II years, Haines’ men’s and women’s teams combined for 24 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) championships during the indoor and outdoor seasons. SEMO won the 1985 NCAA Division II indoor team title in the meet’s inaugural season and finished runner-up in 1991 during its final year in Division II. Haines led the Redhawks to 21 Ohio Valley Conference titles - 15 by the women and six by the men, including the outdoor men’s crown earlier this month - since the program moved up to Division I in 1992. He was named OVC Coach of the Year 20 times during his career.

Among the more than 200 combined conference titles, 17 came in the javelin, which was Haines’ event while competing at Lipscomb in the 1960s.

“What can you say about coach Haines and everything he’s achieved? He’s been outstanding,” then-SEMO athletic director Don Kaverman told the Southeast Missourian in 2007. “He has represented this university in a first-class manner.”

When reflecting on his career, Haines said in 2007 that one of his favorite memories was seeing his runner, Miles Smith, win a gold medal at the 2005 World Championships in Finland as a member of the United States 1,600-meter relay team.

“There are so many things that are just really sweet, but probably from an individual thing, nothing can compare to going to Helsinki with Miles and watching him running in the World Championships,” Haines told the Southeast Missourian in 2007. “I’m there while he’s working out in one lane, and there are world record-holders working out in other lanes. You can’t imagine how satisfying that is to know one of your guys is among the best in the world.”

Eric Crumpecker took over for Haines after his retirement in 2008. Crumpecker spent 17 years as Haines’ assistant and has built a legacy of his own in SEMO, most recently leading the Redhawks to win both the men’s and women’s OVC outdoor championships this year.

“I can’t say enough about coach Haines giving me the chance 17 years ago,” Crumpecker told the Southeast Missourian in 2008. “He set the bar pretty high for the program.”

Arrangements have been made with a visitation scheduled for Saturday, June 17 from 10-11:30 a.m. at Ascension Funeral Home (1016 Hillcrest Road) in Mobile, Alabama.