ERAU golf coach named 2017 NAIA Coach of Character Award winner

Kim Haddow, head golf coach at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), has been named the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) 2017 Coach of Character Award Winner.
The award was announced nationally in late September.
Haddow was singled out from among the hundreds of coaches in the 250 member- colleges and universities that are part of the 80-year-old NAIA. Paige Salveter, a vice president in the NAIA home office, Kansas City, said Haddow was named outstanding in embracing the five core values that characterize the award: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and leadership.
Haddow joined the staff at ERAU in 2010 as head coach of both men’s and women’s golf. Competing in the Cal-Pac Conference, her men’s team has won five consecutive championships. The men’s teams also posted the highest overall grade-point average for all collegiate golf programs in both 2015 and 2016.
Her women’s team has won four consecutive Cal-Pac championships. It was the 2017 NAIA Women’s Golf National runner-up.
ERAU Chancellor Frank Ayers praised Haddow.
“Kim is the special combination of teacher, coach and mentor, who has devoted her life to helping young people achieve their potential,” Ayers said. “Her golf teams have excelled athletically and academically. After graduation, they excel in life. We are so proud that she is part of the ERAU Eagle family.”
One of Haddow’s senior All-American woman golfers, Trae Jones, said, “Coach Kim is an inspiration to us all. The dedication she exhibits every day motivates the team to give our all and play for each other.”
The Iowa native, prior to coaching the Eagles, had coached at the University of Florida and later, at the University of Arizona. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Southern Methodist University and a master’s from the University of Arizona. She and her husband Mike (the assistant golf coach) are the parents of two adult daughters.