Hamline University Athletics

Shawn Johnson-Hipp is in her 30th year as a head coach at Hamline University, spending 16 years coaching both track and field and cross country, 10 years coaching just track and field, and four years coaching just cross country. Her specialty is coaching the hurdle events for both the men’s and women’s programs.

Under her leadership roster sizes have consistently increased and the Pipers have continued to consistently produce national caliber performers. She has coached dozens of conference champions in the sprint/hurdle events and during the 2019 season, Johnson-Hipp’s Pipers placed a program-best second in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, earning her MIAC Coach of the Year honors in each season. With Johnson-Hipp at the helm, the team has had 21 All-American performances within the women’s track and field program.
 
Johnson-Hipp was Hamline’s first full-time head track & field coach from 1983-1996, and also was the head women’s cross country coach from 1983-2000. When she arrived at Hamline, she inherited a track and field team that finished last place in the MIAC, and brought them up to an eighth place finish her first year. Four years later, the squad improved three spots to finish fifth overall. In cross country, the Pipers improved from last to fourth in one season, finishing fourth in both 1984 and 1985—which is still their top finish historically.

Johnson-Hipp took a sabbatical from coaching the collegiate ranks in 2000, but stayed involved as a track coach for her sons’ teams at Minnesota Waldorf School and as an assistant track coach at Totino-Grace High School in Fridley, Minnesota. During this time, she maintained her ties to Hamline, leading the teacher preparation program in physical education.

 In 2007, Johnson-Hipp rejoined the track staff at Hamline for her second stint as the head women’s track and field coach. She led the Pipers to a sixth-place finish at the outdoor MIAC Championship meet. They have been climbing up the ladder both in number and in their conference finish ever since, finishing third in 2011 and second in 2019. 

In her career her teams have produced 37 provisional and national qualifiers, 21 All-Americans and two national champions. Her teams have also consistently received NCAA All-Academic awards. 
 
As an athlete, Johnson-Hipp was a five-time state champion in various hurdle events between her high school and college careers, and competed at the national level before there were any divisions. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in physical education and health from Mankato State University in 1980, she landed a teaching and coaching assistantship at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and was hired at Hamline immediately after graduation. Johnson-Hipp holds Level II USA Track and Field Coaching Education certifications in three different areas: Sprint & Hurdles, Distance Events, and Jumps. 

Throughout her coaching career, Johnson-Hipp has become known as a fierce supporter of women, especially women in sport. Early on she was heavily involved with the Coalition to Promote Women in Athletic Leadership and did volunteer work for Melpomene Institute for Women’s Health Research. In the early 90s, Johnson-Hipp also served as the state coordinator for the Girls & Women in Sports Day celebration at the state capital for several years.

In 2010 she was publicly recognized for that commitment to women in sport, receiving the Minnesota Girls and Women in Sports Day Breaking Barriers Award for her contributions to women’s athletics. More recently, Johnson-Hipp was the site director and coordinator of meet officials for the USOC Paralympic Championships held at Hamline in the summer of 2015. 

Johnson-Hipp enjoys dabbling in different fitness activities herself, and holds the USATF state record in the 80-meter hurdles in her master’s division and has earned All-American honors as well.  

Shawn and her husband Charles reside in Saint Paul. Her older son Carl, a 2011 grad, had a stellar basketball career at Hamline, and continued to play semi-pro basketball after college. Her younger son Ryan graduated from Roseville High School and then Elmhurst College. Both are now employed in the Twin Cities.