The University of Northern Colorado and its athletic programs meant a great deal to the late John Haefeli, and his life and legacy will be celebrated this weekend by one of the teams he supported.
The UNC volleyball team will remember Haefeli before the Bears’ season-opening match Friday evening against the University of Washington. The match begins at 6 p.m. at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley.
Haefeli died May 31 at age 67 after a nearly year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. A well-known Greeley-Evans School District teacher, Haefeli was also involved in Colorado sports as a coach, official and administrator.
John Haefeli earned a master’s degree from UNC in 1986, he was adjunct faculty in teacher education and he was a volunteer coach and assistant coach of the UNC baseball team.
Delia Haefeli, John’s wife, will take the ceremonial first serve of the match. Also a UNC graduate, Delia was invited for the first serve by UNC and head coach Lyndsey Oates. Oates knew John and Delia since Oates was a high school student and athlete in Eaton.
John Haefeli was then a high school basketball official, and Oates played for Eaton.
University of Northern Colorado head volleyball coach Lyndsey Oates claps for her team during a 2024 match at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. (Greeley Tribune file photo).Haefeli was also a season ticket holder for the volleyball team. He also served on a committee Oates started three years ago to help the program sell tickets and raise funds.
“We want to still pay tribute to him,” Oates said last month. “I do wish we would have done it while he could have been honored in person. He did have a lot of those experiences around town where he was honored. He was a warrior until the end.”
On the day he died, Haefeli attended a state high school baseball championship game at Butch Butler Field in Greeley. The Class 3A state tournament was named for Haefeli, and he threw out the first pitch before the title game between University High and Coal Ridge from New Castle.
Haefeli graduated from University High and coached the Bulldogs’ baseball team from 1988-90.
The Haefelis started the Delia and John W. Haefeli Opportunity Fund within The Success Foundation, a fundraising arm of District 6. The Haefeli Fund was created to close equity gaps and remove financial barriers for District 6 students to internet access, academic course fees and extracurricular activity fees among other needs.
Oates said a few years ago the Haefelis donated money so local children who might not have the resources could attend a UNC match.
“That was important to them,” Oates said. “He was big on ‘if you can see it, you can achieve it.’ And some of those kids don’t see college volleyball because they can’t afford it, and that can be them in several years down the road if we can show them that opportunity.”
Members of the University of Northern Colorado volleyball team shake hands following a team scrimmage Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025 at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. UNC opens the regular season Friday, Aug. 29 hosting the University of Washington. The match begins at 6 p.m. (Anne Delaney/Staff Reporter)Haefeli spoke to the UNC team in the spring, which fell at the six-month mark from when doctors gave him six months to live.
“He really gave an inspirational message to our team about making the most with your life,” Oates recalled. “He’s been impactful on our program because there’s moments our team will say things going back to that speech.”
UNC’s match against Washington of the Power 4 Big Ten Conference is the first of three in the UNC Classic this weekend.
UNC hosts Patriot League member Colgate at 6 p.m. Saturday. Colgate and Washington play at 11 a.m. Sunday.
Volleyball tickets are available at tickets.unco.edu.
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