Missouri Western Director of Athletics Kurt McGuffin has announced the hiring of Greg Dillon as the new Head Men’s and Women’s Golf Coach. Dillon comes to MWSU after four years at Colorado State University-Pueblo and takes over for Cathy Habermehl and Jim Perry who retired this past summer.
“I believe Greg will be a great fit not only to lead our golf programs but also for the community of St. Joseph,” commented McGuffin. “He is very knowledgeable not only as an instructor of the game of golf but has been a highly successful NCAA Division II Coach.”
While at CSU-Pueblo, Dillon established one of the top women’s golf programs in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. He also established himself as one of the top women’s golf coaches in RMAC history.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to have this opportunity to come to Missouri Western,” Dillon said. “We have a rich golf tradition and I am eager to arrive to build on that and to hit the ground running.”
Dillon, a three-time RMAC Coach of the Year recipient, took the women’s golf program from “worst to first,” taking over a last place program in 2009 and systematically improving the program to conference champions and beyond.
His step-by-step process began in 2010 as the ThunderWolves had their first All-RMAC golfer in Rachel Means.
In 2011, CSU-Pueblo rose to 4th in the conference as RMAC Freshman of the Year Michaela Breit became the program’s first ever golfer to qualify individually for the NCAA Division II Super Regional. In recognition of his team’s performance in 2010-11, Dillon was named the RMAC Women’s Golf Coach of the Year.
In year three, the “worst to first” journey was complete as the ThunderWolves caught fire at the end of the season, winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship and qualifying as a team for the NCAA Division II Super Regional. He again was named the RMAC Coach of the Year.
By 2013, his team won nearly every tournament, barely missing out on a second straight RMAC championship by finishing second to close the season and qualifying RMAC Golfer of the Year, Leina Kim, for the NCAA Division II National Championship as an individual, finishing in the top 40.
“I am very proud of the program we built at CSUP and it was very tough to leave but the opportunity to come to a school and a situation such as Missouri Western was just to enticing to pass up,” said Dillon. “I am excited to work with the current student-athletes and we will recruit nationally to build a team that will compete for MIAA Championships and NCAA Regionals on a yearly a basis.”
In addition to being the Women’s Golf Coach at CSUP, Dillon served as the Director of Instruction at Desert Hawk Golf Club in Pueblo. He is a member of the Professional Golfers Association of America as he has Class A-1 Certification and has received commendation from the PGA as a junior golf instructor.
Dillon has extensive experience in the golf industry as before returning to CSU-Pueblo, he served as a golf professional in a variety of locations, including Pueblo West, Colorado; New Port Ritchie, Florida and Cheyenne, Wyoming including being the Head Golf Professional and General Manager of the Shadow Hills Golf Club in Canon City, Colorado for 17 years.
He also has an extensive background as a player. Collegiately he’s an alum of CSUP and was a member of the ThunderWolves’ golf team from 1975-78 and helped lead the team to the 1978 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship where he was an all-RMAC selection, as well as two NCAA Division II Regional appearances (1976, 1978). He currently competes in many PGA section events as well as other regional qualifiers.
Dillon will officially take over on September 9th as he will join the Griffon Men’s Golf Team in Kearney, Nebraska at the UNK Loper Invitational.
— MWSU Sports Information —