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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 5 76 mance to the side. What would be the point? In track and field, the numbers don't lie: The fastest runs, highest jumps and longest throws win out. Mom couldn't dole out a bunch of flowery nonsense while trying to keep the family afloat in the Bahamas; he didn't receive it at Murray State; and definitely didn't find it in the South- eastern Conference, where he was a 16-year assistant for the powerful Ar- kansas women's program before com- ing to Purdue. "I really became a man in the (SEC)," Greene said. "A league where there is no sugar coating the truth, you either got it or you don't. That league will not allow you to lie in the sport of track and field. You have a gun or you have a knife. In small words, the direct approach is always the best approach. I have honed those skills, and I think you can be honest with those young people still while nurturing them to be the best that they can be." Jones knows both sides. After a re- cent meet in which she failed to reach her personal goal, Green called her out, in front of teammates, at the Boil- ermakers' after-meet meeting. But it was therapeutic, too, spurring her to refocus on the task, and with Greene's encouragement, the 400-meter spe- cialist was much improved the follow- ing meet. Those types of performances earn an honest appraisal, as well. As part of a post-meet ritual, every personal record comes with "10 claps" directed toward the athlete, with the Boiler- makers giving kudos in unison. "If you PR, if you set a record, he calls you out for doing well," Jones said. "… He's not a subtle guy. He says what needs to be said and it may hurt right then in that moment, but you know it's going to make you better in the long run. "He wants to make sure every athlete has a relationship with him, so you go in for your own personal meeting with him once a week, into his office, so we talked about (the poor performance a few weeks ago) there and kind of regrouped, tried to figure out what is going on. And then applied it to the next meet." Greene showed those traits early in his career, a reason why Lance Harter wanted to bring him to Arkansas two decades ago. In 1995, the longtime Arkansas head coach had an opening on his staff and immediately wanted Greene, so much so that he shunned his athletic director's attempts to bring in several other candidates to deepen the pool. "Lonnie came in and absolutely wowed everyone," said Harter, who has three national coach-of-the-year awards and 21 SEC titles in his 24 years at Arkansas. "He is of boundless energy. If he has to work 24, 48, 72 hours in a row to the betterment of helping a young athlete, that's not even a question. I've seen him many a time fall asleep standing up because he will work to the point of exhaustion and it's always for the betterment of his athletes. There are individuals in life who will give you the shirt off their back, that is without question Lonnie Greene. He's going to do everything he possibility can, phys- ically, psychologically, emotionally, to allow his athletes to better themselves and realize ultimately their dreams." Harter considers himself lucky to have had Greene on the Razorback staff for so long. As an assistant there, Greene had numerous opportunities to leave before he did, with other warm-weather track and field pro- grams calling over the years. But life was good — still is — with his wife LaTayna holding a position then as an elementary school principal and the couple having four children. But by 2012, the time had come for Greene to direct his own program. A man of strong faith — he's an ordained elder at his church — Greene says he was led to Purdue, then stood by his de- cision to come to West Lafayette after getting an SEC job offer shortly after his arrival. "I came here for the opportunity to build something," he said. And build he has. The year before Greene took over in 2012-13, the Boil- ermakers finished in last in three of