Melvin "Mel" Rosen served as head track coach for the Auburn Tigers for 28 years and has had one of the most outstanding careers of any Auburn coach.
After completing his master's degree in physical education at the University of Iowa in 1951, he joined the U.S. Army in 1953 and was appointed head coach of the regimental track team.
He first came to Auburn in 1955 as assistant to head coach Wilbur Hutsell and took over as head track coach in 1963, when Hutsell retired.
"That was a key time," Rosen said, "because when I got that job, I knew this was a place I was going to stay for quite a while."
He fit right in at Auburn.
Rosen stepped down after the 1991 season to coach the 1992 U.S. Men's Olympic team, making him the only coach in Auburn's history to head an Olympic team of any sport.
Under his guidance, the team won a total of 20 medals and included stars like Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson.
Rosen's success has not gone unnoticed. In all, he has been inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the U.S. Track Coaches Hall of Fame and the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
He has also led the Auburn track team to many achievements, including numerous SEC titles and NCAA top 10 finishes.
In 1978, he received the Coach of the Year Award from the SEC and NCAA for both indoor and outdoor competition and won NCAA Coach of the Year for indoor competition, also winning NCAA Coach of the Year for indoor competition in 1980, with the same award from the SEC again in 1985.
Michael DeHaven is a sprinter for the Auburn Track and Field team and works closely with Rosen, who he refers to as an "encyclopedia."
"He's forgotten more about track than I will ever know," Dehaven said. "He really helped me in my development as an athlete."
While at Auburn, Rosen has coached many of the nation's best track athletes, including 143 All-Americans, 63 SEC champions, eight NCAA champions and seven Olympians.
He is known for his well-told stories and his acute ability to recall minor details from any story.
Johnathan Haynes runs the 400-meter hurdles for the Tigers and hears these stories firsthand at practice. He said Rosen helped him find his rhythm in the hurdles.
"In any given situation, there's a story that goes along with it," Haynes said, "and there's pretty much a moral to every story."
Haynes said Rosen is one of the reasons he is still at Auburn.
"He knows how to make you laugh whenever you're down," said Haynes, "he's down to earth; he'll tell you exactly what you need to hear."
For the past 17 years, Rosen has worked as a consultant for the Auburn track team, helping out any way he can.
"He does a little bit of everything," DeHaven said, "timing, coaching, setting up hurdles; he does it all."
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