One of the most successful high school track and field coaches in the state’s history, Bob Newland, Sr. followed the great Bill Bowerman at Medford High School and won nine state championships in ten years between 1949 and 1957. Then he joined Bowerman at the University of Oregon and built a lifetime as a respected meet director.
Newland was an outstanding four-sport athlete for the Black Tornado in Medford from 1938-40. Bob was two-time All-Southern Oregon Conference as a back in football. He was All-State in basketball, playing multiple positions. On the track he excelled in low hurdles and the high jump (two-time state champion). He was a pitcher and hit .455 for the Junior American Legion baseball team.
World War II interrupted his college years at Oregon, but Bob would return from the Navy and graduate, returning to coach in the Rogue Valley. When Bowerman moved North to Eugene, Newland began his championship streak in Medford. At the time of his hire, the Medford superintendent called him "The most versatile athlete to ever come out of Medford High School."
In 1957, Newland moved to Eugene to coach track and serve as an administrator at North Eugene High School. That's when he connected with Bill Bowerman again, managing track meets. Newland and Bowerman laid the groundwork for development of all-comers meets as well as the Prefontaine Classic and the Portland Indoor.
Newland won numerous honors for athletics administration. He was a three-time meet director for four NCAA championships, two national AAU championships, and on Pan American Games trials. He was director of the Oregon Indoor meet from 1961-1978 and directed every University of Oregon track meet for 20 years. He was named manager of the 1976 and 1980 US Olympic teams.
Bob Newland is a member of the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame and the Medford Hall of Fame. The Bob Newland Classic has been contested every spring for over 20 years at South Medford High School. His son, Bob, Jr. was a multi-sport athlete at North Eugene who played for the Ducks and the NFL's New Orleans Saints.