Published on November 19, 2018  

Among his assortment of priorities was to work with his team, amidst unexpected adversity, to carve out a winning season (which occurred against East Tennessee State University last Saturday).  But one day earlier this month, Chris found the time to send a Samford jersey, on which he had scrawled “Go Dogs!” and “Chris Hatcher, Head Coach,” to a young man in a hospital in Atlanta.  The young man, a high school senior who already had his heart set on attending Samford next year, was seriously injured when the driver of another vehicle ran a red light.  His recovery is long and excruciating.  The young man wants to be an archeologist, not a football player, so Chris violated no obscure NCAA recruitment rule in sending him the jersey.  I’m not certain that Chris even knows the young man, nor his family.  But he saw an opportunity on a November morning, and he took the time to meet the need.

Chris Hatcher loves to win.  More than winning football games, however, Chris Hatcher cares for people.  I’m glad he’s our football coach.     

The world is better because of the winning ways of Chris Hatcher.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.