BERKELEY – Robyne Johnson, an assistant coach on the U.S. Olympic Team in 2016 and a three-time winner of the USTFCCCA Northeast Indoor Track & Field Women's Coach of the Year award, has been named Cal's Director of Track & Field/Cross Country.
Johnson returns to Cal after spending the past 14 years as the Director of Track & Field/Cross Country for Boston University. While directing the Terrier program, Johnson won nine conference track & field titles, five conference cross country titles and was named Coach of the Year seven times by the America East Conference and three times by the Patriot League.
Johnson served as an assistant coach at Cal from 1995-2003 as the horizontal jumps and short sprints coach under Erv Hunt. While at Cal, Johnson coached six Pac-10 champions, six MPSF Champions and 11 student-athletes to the NCAA Championship final site, including seven first team All-Americans.
"We are thrilled that we are able to bring Robyne Johnson back to Cal as our Director of Track & Field/Cross Country," said Director of Athletics
Jim Knowlton. "Robyne emerged amongst a talented pool of candidates for the work she has done in developing the entire student-athlete while leading the Boston University program. The abilities she has demonstrated in coaching high-level athletes, hosting meets, recruiting nationally and her familiarity with Cal all made her the perfect candidate to lead our programs forward."
Johnson will be the 14th coach to be charged with leading either the men's or women's track & field programs (ninth men's coach/ninth women's coach) at Cal. She is the fourth Golden Bear coach to be named Director of Track & Field/Cross Country for both programs and the first female to do so. Johnson becomes the seventh female to be named Director of Track & Field/Cross Country at a Power Five program, joining Beth Alford-Sullivan (Tennessee), Amy Deem (Miami (Fl.)), Karen Dennis (Ohio State), Maurica Powell (Washington), Connie Price-Smith (Ole Miss) and Caryl Smith Gilbert (USC).
Johnson brings elite coaching experience and years of working at rigorous academic institutions back to her hometown. Johnson grew up in Oakland and attended Berkeley High School, down the street from Cal's campus.
"I'm ecstatic to be coming back to Cal," Johnson said. "It's like coming home for me. When I was at Berkeley High, we used Edwards Stadium every day. It was my home track. I am honored to have the opportunity to host meets at that track now and I am excited to work with the caliber of student-athlete at Cal. I am looking forward to getting back in touch with our alumni and I am really excited about moving the program onward and upward."
At Cal, Johnson had a huge hand in the success of jumpers Lenards Ozolinsh and Amy Littlepage. Ozolinsh took second in the triple jump at the 1995 NCAA Indoor Championship and third at the 1995 NCAA Outdoor Championship. He won two Pac-10 titles and two MPSF titles and is still the indoor school record-holder in the event. Johnson also coached Littlepage to three straight Pac-10 Championships in the triple jump. Twenty-two years after she graduated, Littlepage still ranks second in school history in the outdoor triple jump, behind only Sheila Hudson.
Johnson has a multitude of experience at the international level. She was named an assistant coach for multis and jumps for the 2016 USA Olympic Team that competed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She worked with women's long jumpers Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese, who took the gold and silver medal, respectively. Bartoletta set a personal best as the duo became the first Americans to take the top two spots at the Olympics in event history. During Johnson's time in Rio, the U.S. team won three gold, three silver and one bronze medal in horizontal jumps. She also helped Keturah Orji set a national record in the women's triple jump.
Johnson also did an exceptional job of developing student-athletes at Boston. David Oluwadara had a personal best of 47-3.75 in the triple jump when he entered school, but Johnson helped him increase his personal best by six feet as he earned two second-team All-America honors, won 10 Patriot League Championships and was twice the Patriot League Indoor Field Athlete of the Year. Tahari James is another standout pupil who won 12 America East titles and qualified for four NCAA Championships, recording a sixth-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championship. Johnson also coached California natives Lovie Burleson and Kennedy Jones to success this year - the duo took the top two spots in the Patriot League triple jump competition and Burleson was named the Patriot League Female Field Athlete of the Year.
Overall, Johnson has coached student-athletes who have achieved 30 All-America honors, 50 Patriot League Championships, 52 America East Championships, and set 62 school records. This past year 56 student-athletes were named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll for maintaining a GPA of 3.20 or above.
In addition to coaching the 2016 USA Track & Field Olympic Team, Johnson has coached internationally at a number of other competitions. She was an assistant coach for the United States at the 2012 DecaNation meet in France, as well as the head women's track & field coach for Team USA at the World University Games in China. Johnson was also an assistant coach for the United States team that captured its first title at the 1998 World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa and was an assistant coach for the 2003 Pan American Games.
As an athlete, Johnson was a five-time All-American in the triple jump at the University of Texas and was a key contributor to the Longhorns' first outdoor national championship squad in 1982. She was a four-time participant at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the triple jump and competed at the 1991 World Championships in Seville, Spain, earning a ninth-place finish in the triple jump. Johnson was ranked in the top-10 in the nation in the triple jump for 10 years and ranked seventh in the world in 1992.
Johnson received her bachelor's degree in history from Texas and holds a master's degree in education from California State University, Hayward. She also has six years of collegiate teaching experience in physical education.
Johnson is an active leader in the track and field community, serving in numerous leadership positions. She spent five years on the NCAA Division I Track and Field Committee, where she was one of 13 members who provided a legislative agenda for cross country and track and field. She has also served on the jury of appeals for the America East Conference and the IC4A games committee.
What They're Saying
Edrick Floreal, Texas Director of Track & Field/Cross Country
"Robyne is a very successful woman, one of the few who has led a combined men's and women's program. She has developed BU into a national program and will do a great job of restoring Cal to national prominence."
Mike Holloway, Florida Director of Track & Field/Cross Country
"I think the biggest thing that Robyne brings to the table is passion; not just for track but for people. She wants to see them be not just good athletes, but good human beings. At a place like Cal, where academics is so important, I think she is the perfect fit for a job like that."
Erv Hunt, Former Cal Director of Track & Field/Cross Country
"I think Robyne will do an excellent job as the director of the Cal program. She knows Cal; the fact that she was there for nine years and is a Berkeley native are big pluses. When she was working with me, she did an excellent job. She runs a top-notch program and will bring discipline and an ability to connect with alumni. I think she's a great choice for the job."
Ed Miller, Former Cal Assistant Track & Field Coach
"Welcome home to Robyne. She is a world-class athlete from one of the best high school teams of all-time at Berkeley High. She's an excellent coach and administrator and she's capable of bringing people together. She understands the intricacies of Cal; it takes a special person to navigate the academics and athletics and everything else on a campus like Cal. I think she's a great choice."
