Coker University

In his third year as Head Coach of Men's and Women's Golf, Hackney coached two South Atlantic Conference players;Killian Ryan and Fred Tindale. Killian Ryan also made an appearance at the NCAA Regionals in Davie, Florida.

John Hackney was hired as the head men's and women's golf coach at Coker in August 2021. 

Hackney spent the previous three seasons as the head men’s golf coach at fellow South Atlantic Conference institution Wingate, where he coached 10 South Atlantic Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll selections, two All-Conference selections, two All-Tournament selections and five Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-America Scholars. During his tenure, the Bulldogs registered three of the four lowest team scoring averages in school history including a school record 292.4 during the shortened 2019-20 season. In 2018-19, Wingate finished third nationally amongst all collegiate golf programs in community service hours. In his three seasons, the Bulldogs also posted two tournament victories and numerous other top-five finishes in powerhouse fields. Hackney also coached two individual NCAA tournament medalists in Jarett Stowe and Yannick Koehnen. His 2018-19 team earned the GCAA Team Academic Award with a 3.2 team GPA. Hackney also served on the All-Region Committee for the Southeast region.

Prior to Wingate he spent three years as the head men’s and women’s golf coach at California Baptist, where he helped the programs transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. On the men’s side, Hackney guided the Lancers to Top-20 national rankings in two of his three seasons, while leading the women’s team to Top-5 national rankings during all three seasons, including a No. 1 national ranking in the fall of 2015. In total at CBU, Hackney coached 38 PacWest All-Academic selections, 13 All-America scholars, five All-Americans, two PacWest individual champions, two PacWest Freshman of the Year selections, 17 All-Conference selections and 16 All-Tournament selections. His 2016 men’s team finished tied for fifth at the 2016 Division II National Championships, while the Lancers qualified for the NCAA tournament in two of Hackney’s three seasons and two players earned individual medalist honors. Hackney’s men’s team earned the GCAA Team Academic Award during all three of his seasons. On the women’s side, Hackney led the Lancers to 10 tournament victories in 31 events, finishing runner-up six times and posting a head-to-head record of 330-61-7 (.884). in 2015, he coached the PacWest women’s golf Student-Athlete of the Year while the team posted a 3.3 GPA each year. Hackney led the women’s team to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, and he also was named the PacWest Coach of the Year in 2014.

Before California Baptist, Hackney wore several different hats at Barton College from 1996-2013. He coached men’s golf from 1997-2013, served as the Sports Information Director from 1996-2013 and also coached the men’s and women’s cross country programs from 1997-2000. On the golf course, he led the Bulldogs to 45 team titles over 16 seasons and 14 consecutive NCAA tournament berths. Barton was ranked in the Top 25 for 12 of his final 13 seasons, including rankings in the Top 10 during seven of those seasons. In total, he coached 32 individual medalists, 11 All-Americans, 11 Scholar All-Americans and one Freshman All-American. The Bulldogs posted a 341-82-8 (.806) head-to-head record in Hackney’s final three seasons. Hackney also coached Barton’s women’s golf team from 2010-13, posting four All-Conference selections.

Before his involvement in college golf, Hackney worked as a sports writer for various publications from 1984-96.

Hackney holds a Bachelor of Science in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.