Steve Hatchell (2017) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Steve Hatchell

Induction:
2017
Class:
1970

Currently in his 13th year as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame, Steve Hatchell can trace his roots to the University of Colorado, where he got his first taste of working in sports not in a uniform – serving as the head student manager for the football team for four years … As a student, he was the managing editor for the Coloradan Yearbook (at the time designated in the top five nationally), contributed stories to both the Colorado Daily and Boulder Camera, and worked as an intern two years in the Denver Post’s 20-20 program (20 hours copy boy/20 hours writer) and in the summer for the Daily Oklahoman and Oklahoma Daily News … After graduating from CU in 1970, he was on the fast track in sports administration, as he was named an assistant to athletic director Eddie Crowder, and over the course of the next seven years, he was the director of equipment and grounds as well as serving as co-sports information director for two years; at the same time, he was the communications director for the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA), and was coach Bill Marolt’s right-hand man when the Buffaloes began an amazing run of seven straight NCAA titles in 1972 … He left CU in 1976 to become the assistant athletic director for external affairs and the SID at Colorado State, but moved on after one year to the Big Eight Conference office, where over the course of seven years he served in four roles, starting with director of the league’s service bureau, followed by the assistant then associate director of championships and finally as the interim commissioner.

He was named commissioner of the Metro Conference in 1983 and in 1987, he took over as the executive director of the Orange Bowl … In his role with the Orange Bowl, he was the chairman of the Football Bowl Association and in concert with the organization, helped to create the Bowl Alliance, the precursor to the BCS and CFP … He secured Federal Express as the bowl’s title sponsor, the first in the nation to do so and a relationship that lasted 18 years … One of his thrills while with the bowl was when his alma mater played two consecutive national championship games in the 1990 and 1991 New Year’s Day games, when the Buffs were opposite Notre Dame on both occasions … In 1993, he was named commissioner of the Southwest Conference, and in 1996, when the Big Eight and four SWC schools joined forces to become the Big 12, he became the new conference’s first commissioner … He remained in that role until 1999 before returning to Colorado as the commissioner for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in the Springs … As the NFF president & CEO, he oversees a nationwide organization with 121 chapters in 47 states with over 12,000 members; during his tenure, the NFF has experienced remarkable growth, and his leadership played a critical role in the opening of the state-of-the-art $68.5 million College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta in addition to raising millions of dollars for scholarships … He has also served on several U.S. Olympic Committee boards and as part of the staff for three Olympic games and is also currently on the on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Texas Special Olympics.