Born March 24, 1928, Bronx, New York.

An outstanding coach in his 28 years as head coach at Auburn University, Melvin "Mel" Rosen also has been an outstanding international coach in both Olympic Games and World Championship competition.

He was an assistant coach on the 1984 Olympic team and became head coach with the 1992 team. He also was head coach at the 1987 World Outdoor Championship team. A 1960 graduate of the University of Iowa, Rosen coached there as an assistant for three years before moving to Auburn in 1955. He became the school's second head coach in 1963 and went on to produce one of the outstanding collegiate coaching records in the nation. At Auburn, he coached seven Olympians and 143 All-Americans. He was NCAA Coach of the Year, both indoors and outdoors, in 1978 and repeated as NCAA Indoor Coach of the Year in 1980. From 1977 to 1980, his teams won four-straight Southeastern Conference indoor titles. Active in USA Track & Field, he has served as men's track and field committee chairman and in 1994 received the Robert Giegengack Award for outstanding service to the organization. In 1993, Rosen was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.