Coach Steve Lynn is referenced as “one of the good guys!” by former colleagues, athletes and friends. Coach Lynn was the head Men’s Track and Field Coach at Iowa State University from 1993-2007 where his teams won Conference Championships in 1993 and 1994, as well as placing third at the 1997 Indoor NCAA Championships. Throughout his career, Lynn coached 56 All-Americans, four Olympians or World Championships competitors and three NCAA individual champions. He was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame in 2015.

A native of Oskaloosa, Iowa, Lynn took most pride in turning “good kids great.” Many of his most successful athletes were Iowa preps who weren’t highly recruited out of high school.

Coach Lynn passed away in January 2013. He is remembered for being a mentor, teacher, and friend. Since his death, Coach Lynn’s athletes have expressed that Lynn believed in them when no one else did. One of his athletes was quoted saying, “There were a lot of athletes that ran for Steve that he took care of. If it hadn’t been for Steve, they probably wouldn’t have gone to college. And now in their adult lives, they’re very successful, and they owe that to Steve and the chance he took on them.”