Steven J. Hatchell

Steven J. Hatchell is a career sports administrator who currently serves as the president and CEO of the National Football Foundation (NFF)^[1] & College Hall of Fame, Inc., which operates the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

Hatchell joined the NFF after serving for six years as the commissioner of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).^[2] Prior to the PRCA, he served as the first commissioner of the Big 12 Conference in Dallas, an entity he helped establish in 1995.^[3] While with the Big 12, he played a key role in negotiating the television contracts and bowl game formula for the conference. During his time at the Big 12, he also served as the chairman of the Power of One, an NCAA promotional initiative to combine the marketing resources of collegiate sports into a unified force and led the Bowl Alliance as its chairman for six years.

From 1987-93, Hatchell headed the Orange Bowl as its executive director, landing Federal Express (now FedEx) as its title sponsor. He was director of sports information for Colorado State University from 1976-77 before leaving to become an associate commissioner of the Big Eight Conference from 1977-83. He left to become the commissioner of the Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, a post he held from 1983-87. After his time at the Orange Bowl in 1993, he began a two-year stint as the commissioner of the Southwest Conference.^[4]

Hatchell has also served on several United States Olympic Committee boards and as part of the staff for three Olympic games. He was also information director for the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) and on the board of directors for the Doral Ryder Open in Miami. He currently serves on the Development Steering Committee for Special Olympics of Texas. He graduated from University of Colorado with a journalism degree in 1970. He is married and has two sons.

References

1. Schecter, Anna (June 13, 2008). "Football Charity Says It Deserved a $500,000 Govt Grant Despite Not Even Applying, the Charity Was Awarded a Grant; Some DOJ Staffers Objected". ABC News. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
2. Alm, Richard (2001-10-25). "Commissioner Hatchell rides rodeo to higher level". The Dallas Morning News. Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
3. Brooks, B.G. (April 26, 1998). "Big 12 Figures To Start Looking For Commissioner Hatchell's Imminent Departure Raises Questions About League.(Sports)". Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO). Retrieved 20 December 2009.
4. "New Leagues For SWC Leftovers?". Chicago Tribune (pre-1997 Fulltext) - Chicago, Ill. February 27, 1994. Retrieved 20 December 2009.