Murray State University Athletics
Hatcher Named 17th Head Coach at Murray State
12/21/2009 4:00:00 PM | Football
The Murray State football program is ushering in a new era as Director of Athletics Allen Ward announced the hiring of Chris Hatcher as the 17th head coach of the Racers at a press conference Monday afternoon.
“I am really excited to have Coach Hatcher leading the Racer football program, especially when I think about the impact he is going to make on the young men in our program,” said Ward. “He is a proven winner and exceptional leader. He will immediately capture respect and credibility with our team.”
“He is an exceptional coach, having worked with some of the most respected and talented coaches in all of college football. Everyone I talked to about Chris echoed the very same sentiments about his extraordinary abilities to connect with and lead young men.”
“I am extremely excited about the opportunity to be the head coach at Murray State and I'm looking foward to the opportunity to get he Racers back on top of the Ohio Valley Conference,” said Hatcher. “In the coming weeks, I will assemble an excellent staff, we will evaluate the current players on the team, and we will get out and recruit the best students-athletes possible to help us win. We will be an exciting football team to watch and you can look for our boys to play hard every time they step onto the field.”
Hatcher brings his spread offense 'Hatch Attack' to MSU after a three-year stint at Georgia Southern, where he led the Eagles to an 18-15 record and a 12-11 mark the competitive Southern Conference.
In his first season with the Eagles in 2007, Hatcher led GSU to the second-best regular season turnaround in program history, a plus-4 improvement from 2006. The Eagles ranked among the national leaders in various categories on offense, defense and special teams. He also coached five All-America players, including quarterback Jayson Foster, the second Walter Payton award winner at GSU.
The Eagles returned to the national rankings after a 14-week hiatus as the Hatcher era got off to a 4-1 start. GSU climbed as high as No. 11 after the Eagles recorded three-straight victories at No. 5 Appalachian State, ending the Mountaineers 30-game home winning streak, at home against No. 25 The Citadel and at No. 10 Wofford.
The prolific offense ranked first in rushing, eighth in total offense, eighth in scoring offense and 23rd in sacks allowed. The defense was 14th in turnover margin and 17th in fumbles recovered, while the special teams ranked 25th in net punting.
The 2008 season saw Hatcher guide the Eagles to the program's 25th winning season in 27 years.
In late October, the Eagles set an NCAA record for the largest fourth-quarter comeback as GSU erased a 31-3 deficit for a thrilling 38-31 overtime victory at Western Carolina. The OT contest was just the first of an NCAA record four overtime games played by the Eagles in 2008.
The 'Hatch Attack' provided impressive numbers in all three phases. The offense ranked 20th nationally in passing and scoring, while the defense ranked 26th in sacks and 22nd in tackles-for-loss. The special teams units finished 14th in punt returns and 36th in kickoff returns.
All of this was done as Hatcher and his staff were forced to play in upwards of 30 freshman on a consistent basis throughout the season. In all, five Eagles received all-league honors and seven freshman representing offense, defense and special teams were named to the inaugural SoCon All-Freshman Team.
Prior to his time at GSU, Hatcher molded Valdosta State into one of the most dominant teams in Division II.
The winningest coach in Blazers' history, Hatcher was 76-12 at his alma mater. When Hatcher took over as head coach in 2000, he wasted no time molding the Valdosta State program into the 'Hatch Attack'. In his first year back at VSU, Hatcher took a 4-7 squad the previous year and turned it around to a 10-2 record (8-1 in GSC action) and a berth in the Division II playoffs. He coached quarterback Dusty Bonner who was a two-time winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy as the NCAA Division II Player of the Year, an award Hatcher won himself in 1994.
His 2001 and 2002 teams posted back-to-back undefeated records during the regular season, part of a Gulf South Conference record 35 straight victories during the regular season.
During the 2004 championship season, the Blazers lost their season-opener before rattling off 13 consecutive victories, capped by a 36-31 victory over Pittsburg State in the title game. Hatcher was named 'National Coach of the Year' by the American Football Coaches Association and was the offensive coordinator for the East squad at the Hula Bowl.
In 2005, Valdosta opened the season ranked No. 1 for four straight weeks and saw the season culminate with a sixth-straight NCAA postseason appearance. Despite an 8-2 record in 2006, the 10th-ranked Blazers did not receive an invitation to the playoffs marking the first time that occurred in the Hatcher era.
The 2006 team finished sixth nationally in passing offense (283 yards per game), 12th in scoring offense (34.9 ppg) and 19th in total offense (389.9 yards). However, Hatcher's teams have been successful in all three facets. The 2006 defense ranked 27th nationally in scoring defense (15.7 points allowed) while the special teams ranked third in punt returns (17.3 yards) and blocked seven kicks.
The Macon (Ga.) native spent one year as quarterbacks/tight ends coach at the University of Central Florida where he worked with Miami Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper. He then spent three years working with the quarterbacks at the University of Kentucky where he worked under former VSU head coach Hal Mumme. During his time with the Wildcats he coached the No. 1 NFL draft pick, All-America quarterback Tim Couch. While at UK, Hatcher and the Wildcats played in the 1999 Outback Bowl, the program's first New Year's Day Bowl in 47 years, then followed that the following year with a berth in the '99 Music City Bowl. It marked the first time the Wildcats had consecutive bowl appearances in 15 years.
Hatcher carried his success on the playing field to help him develop into one of the nation's winningest coaches. A two-time All-American quarterback at VSU (1993 and 1994), Hatcher threw for 11,363 yards and 121 touchdowns during his stellar career. During his senior year in 1994, he led the Blazers to their first postseason berth, advancing to the quarterfinals, and when it was all said and done set 29 VSU passing and total offense records.
Among the national records he once set were a 68.5 career completion percentage and streak of 20-straight completions in a game against New Haven. Hatcher held 14 Valdosta State, 13 Gulf South Conference and 17 Division II national records. He also started 41 consecutive games, posting a 29-10-2 record.
Not only did Hatcher excel on the field, he was just as successful in the classroom. Twice he received the Guld South Conference's Commissioner's Troply which is awarded to the league's Most Outstanding Student-Athlete. He finished his senior year by winning several national honors including: the NCAA Top Eight Award, the CoSIDA Academic All-America National Player of the Year and a postgraduate scholarship from the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.
At the time when Hatcher won the Harlon Hill Trophy, he won by the second-largest voting margin in the then-19-year history of the award. Hatcher was also voted the GSC Football team of the 1990s.
The honors continued to add up even after his playing days. Hatcher was named to the Valdosta State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001, in his first year of eligibility. The personable head coach was also elected into the Macon Sports Hall of Fame the same year.
Hatcher graduated from Valdosta State in 1995. He and his wife, Lori, also a graduate of VSU, are the parents of a son, Ty, and daughter, Talley.
“Coach Hatcher is here to make an investment in this program and in this community. And he is here to win,” said Ward. “He will certainly make a difference on the field and in the locker room, but his actions off the field will speak just as loud.”
The Hatcher File
Personal Data:
Full Name: Christopher Michael Hatcher
Age: 36
Born: February 18, 1973 in Macon, Ga.
Wife: Lori
Children: Ty, Talley
Education:
1995 Valdosta State University; Bachelor's Degree: Kinesiology and Physical Education
Playing Experience:
1991-1994 Valdosta State
Two-Time All-American (1993 and 1994)
1994 Harlon Hill Trophy Winner (Division II Heisman)
Coaching Experience:
2007-09 Head Coach, Georgia Southern University
2000-06 Head Coach, Valdosta State University
1999 Assistant Coach, University of Kentucky (QB/WR)
1997-98 Graduate Assistant, University of Kentucky (QB)
1996 Assistant Coach, University of Central Florida (QB/TE)
1995 Student Assistant Coach, Valdosta State University
HATCHER COACHING RECORD
Year Record Final Ranking Postseason
Valdosta State
2000 10-2 (.833) 9th (AFCA) NCAA Playoffs
2001 12-1 (.923) 4th (AFCA) NCAA Playoffs Quarterfinals
2002 14-1 (.933) 2nd (AFCA) NCAA National Runner-Up
2003 10-2 (.833) 7th (AFCA) NCAA Playoffs
2004 13-1 (.929) 1st (AFCA) NCAA National Champions
2005 9-3 (.750) 14th (AFCA) NCAA Playoffs
2006 8-2 (.800) 10th (AFCA)
Total 76-12 (.864)
Georgia Southern
2007 7-4 (.636) 17th (SN)
2008 6-5 (.545) 38th (SN)
2009 5-6 (.455) NR
Total 18-15 (.545)
Totals 94-27 (.777)
Six NCAA Playoff appearances;
Two National Championship Game appearances
2004 National Champion
AWARDS AND HONORS
2004
AFCA National Coach of the Year
Johnny Vaught Coach of the Year
Macon Touchdown Club Coach of the Year
Atlanta Touchdown Club Coach of the Year
Offensive Coordinator for East squad at the Hula Bowl
NCAA Division II National Champions
2002
AFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year
Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year
Schutt Sports National Coach of the Year
Atlanta Touchdown Club Coach of the Year
2001
AFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year
Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year
Atlanta Touchdown Club Coach of the Year
2000
Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year
Schutt Sports National Coach of the Year
Atlanta Touchdown Club Coach of the Year
What They Are Saying About Coach Hatcher
Mike Leach (Head Coach at Texas Tech)
Chris is a great coach and a tremendous over achiever. He has a lot to offer and will do great things at Murray State. I like to call him 'the General” because he knows how to lead and how to win. I have always been interested in hiring him, but he wants to run his own show and he has done a tremendous job.
Hal Mumme (Former Head Coach at Valdosta State and Kentucky)
Chris played for me and later worked along side me. He is a great coach and an ever better person. Chris possess a great mind and I believe he will be very successful at Murray State. Murray State made a great choice in hiring Chris Hatcher.
Will Muschamp (Defensive Coordinator/Coach in Waiting at Texas)
Chris is a great person and an outstanding coach that will represent himself in a first-class manner. He was on the right track with things at Valdosta State and Georgia Southern, and there is no doubt that he will have Murray State as a force to be reckoned with in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Tim Couch (Former Quarterback at Kentucky and No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns)
Coach Hatcher is probably one of the best coaches that I had throughout any level of football (high school, college or NFL). He came to UK with Coach (Hal) Mumme and they installed the passing offense that guided me to the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.
