HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Dr. Mel Collazo and Greg Hatcher have some common bonds. Among those are professional success following successful collegiate sports careers and a passion for Little Rock athletics. After Friday night, they will have one more connection – election into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in the 2025 Class.
"It means a lot, it's nice. I didn't plan to get in or anything," said Hatcher, who has been involved in the ASHOF as a board member. "Sometimes good things happen. Most of the time in my life when good things have happened, I didn't have them on my to-do list. I was just working and doing things I love. I love sports. I love helping kids, and love wrestling. It just kind of evolved."
Collazo was a standout Texas Junior Tennis player in the 1970s when he came to Little Rock and enjoyed two successful seasons before joining the pro circuit.
"The people at UALR were so wonderful and nice and really cared about me and tennis," Collazo said. "We really fell in love with it."
Hatcher was a three-sport letterman at Albion (Mich.) College before following his parents to central Arkansas in 1984. Over the years, he's become a successful businessman as the owner of the Hatcher Agency. He used his financial resources to fund a youth sports program and then turned to high school wrestling and eventually started collegiate wresting programs in Arkansas, including Little Rock in 2018. This year, the Trojans ranked No. 15 in the NWCA Coaches Poll and placed in the Top 20 at Nationals.
"When I think back to college – you are young and righteous and think you know everything in college. But, I remember saying, 'When I get out, if I ever do anything I am going to give at least 10 percent of everything I have to sports because I loved playing so much in college.' I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew I was going to do that."
Hatcher founded the Mighty Bluebirds youth athletic programs as his five kids, all who became collegiate athletes, began playing youth sports. He built multiple youth fields and facilities on his property in West Little Rock so the teams had places to practice.
As a former wrestler, he was troubled that Arkansas was one of two states that didn't have prep wrestling. He contacted the Arkansas Activities Association and began buying mats for high schools. The first state wrestling tournament was held at the Stephens Center on the UA Little Rock campus in 2009 and still is. Eventually, wrestling became a sanctioned sport recognized by the AAA. Forty teams competed that first year and now there are 69 boys high school wrestling programs and 57 girls programs.
Hatcher then set his sights on collegiate wrestling starting the program at Division II Ouachita Baptist after a chance meeting with one of the school's former presidents. He helped start the Trojans program in 2018 funding the Construction of the Greg L. Hatcher Wrestling Center and hiring former Oklahoma State wrestler and OSU and North Carolina assistant coach
Neil Erisman. Erisman has built the Trojans into a national program.
Collazo was never supposed to have attended UA Little Rock. The Texan was committed to playing at the University of Texas after considering Florida State. A group of central Arkansas tennis boosters convinced Collazo and his doubles partner Paul Kostin, a Sweden native, to play in the Arkansas International Tennis Tournament in Little Rock that featured greats such as Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg.
"It didn't take us long to figure out that we would really like it there after playing in the tournament," Collazo said. "It was a good decision.
"Larry Walton was a great coach and set on building a good tennis program. We had good support from the administration."
In Collazo's second year, he and Kostin beat the nationally ranked doubles team from TCU. Kostin went on to coach the Little Rock program for nine years and built the VCU men's and women's programs into NCAA powers for more than 30 years.
Collazo eventually returned to UA Little Rock to finish his degree and attended dental school. He established a successful orthodontics practice in Little Rock where he also specialized in jaw disorders and surgeries.
"Tennis provided me a free education and a way to make a living," Collazo said. "It also provided me so many friendships, not only with teammates but fellow competitors. Tennis is a strategic game, and being able to think on the tennis court translates to life. It definitely helped me in my career."
Even with a successful orthodontics practice, Collazo never stopped playing tennis and still is active on the amateur circuit. He has won six National Championship Balls and has been ranked No. 1 as a singles and doubles player and mixed doubles play in different age divisions playing in tournaments in the United States and internationally.
Already a member of the Arkansas Tennis Hall of Fame, Collazo is now recognized with some of the state's all-time great athletes and sports figures including his former coach, Walton.
"It is a tremendous honor," Collazo said. "It is a great thrill to be elected and included in such a prestigious group. Tennis has been great for me, and I am glad I can continue to play."
