The man who is responsible for bringing a Division I wrestling program to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has been nominated to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
Greg Hatcher is a nominee for the 67th class in the regular (under 65) voting category for wrestling. Inductees are selected based on the lasting impact and contributions they’ve made to their respective sports. Voting will continue until Oct. 31. Those who would like to vote may join the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
“It’s nice to be nominated for my work with wrestling, but it’s never seemed like work,” Hatcher said. “It’s just been fun helping grow wrestling in the state and across the country. Of all the things I have been involved in, nothing has been more satisfying than watching kids turn into confident, strong men through wrestling competition. Once you’ve wrestled, everything else is easy.”
When Hatcher graduated from Michigan’s Alma College in 1983, he was captain of the wrestling team and named All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association in wrestling. He was also a member of three hall-of-fame wrestling teams, two hall-of-fame baseball teams, and six MIAA championship teams.
Following graduation, he coached baseball at Notre Dame University for one year. Hatcher was named the Distinguished Alumnus by Alma College and was inducted into the Alma College Sports Hall of Fame in soccer, wrestling, and baseball. In 2008, he became a member of the Alma College Board of Trustees.
Hatcher’s greatest work has come from his efforts in getting wrestling started in Arkansas. Hatcher founded The Arkansas Wrestling Association and has purchased the mats for 65 high schools and 13 colleges to help get new programs started at these schools. For his efforts, he has been honored with the Dan Gable America Needs Wrestling Award, named WIN Magazine’s Man of the Year, and awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Arkansas Activities Association. Hatcher has been inducted into the Arkansas Wrestling Hall of Fame as well as the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
In February 2009, the Jack Stephens Center at UA Little Rock hosted the first sanctioned high school state wrestling tournament, featuring 460 athletes from 40 teams. This early connection between UA Little Rock and the high school wrestling community helped pave the way for the university to establish the first NCAA Division I wrestling program in Arkansas.
In 2018, Hatcher donated $1.4 million for Division I wrestling to be added to Little Rock Athletics. The Greg Hatcher Wrestling Center is named in his honor. In 2019, UA Little Rock honored Greg and Lee Hatcher as the honorees of SpectacuaLR, Little Rock Athletics’ biggest annual fundraising event in support of student-athletes.
Neil Erisman, a Kansas high-school state champion and Big 12 champion at Oklahoma State, came to UA Little Rock to serve as head coach. The Trojans are coming off a historic season this year. The Trojans captured the Pac-12 regular season, coming away as the conference Dual Meet Champions, and were crowned Tournament Runners-Up at the Pac-12 Championships. At the National Tournament, Little Rock finished within the top 20 as a team, coming in 19th overall out of 68 teams represented at the NCAA Championships.
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