In 1989, Gary Hall was an up-and-coming name in soccer coaching circles. He had been honored as Coach of the Year in the Big South Conference the previous fall after leading Campbell University to a 17-3 record, a league championship and an NCAA Division I national ranking of 14th.
So imagine the surprise to many when Hall announced he was leaving to direct the program at then-Atlantic Christian College instead.
“I had many friends, particularly in the soccer ranks who knew me at that time, that thought I was crazy to leave Campbell University to then go to this small NAIA school,” Hall said. “But those folks that only knew me through soccer didn’t understand my love for this place and how it was such a great honor to be asked to come back.”
Nearly 30 years after making that move, Hall’s love for Barton is as fierce and unwavering as it was then.
“I think that passion draws itself back to my days as a student here,” Hall said. “I came in and immediately was able to be a part of our first two championship soccer teams, and that was something that I and my teammates and coaches took great pride in. It was one of those things that gnawed at me in a positive way when I was offered the opportunity to leave Campbell University to come here and take on the awesome combination of responsibilities that I had.”
Hall first joined the Barton family in 1978 as a student-athlete after transferring from Methodist College (now University). He became an integral part of league title teams in 1978 and 1979, earning all-conference and all-district honors both seasons. He earned Barton’s Kiwanis Male Athlete of the Year award in 1979-80 before graduating magna cum laude with majors in English and physical education.
“It was great to be on the front end of what became a dynasty in small-college soccer in Eastern North Carolina, with those two teams being the first to ever win championships here, and to be the first two in a string of five consecutive championship teams here,” he said.
“I played with a great group of fellows. In fact, in my office there is a photo of seven of us who were seniors at the same time. Those seven guys are among my best friends.”
Hall began his coaching career as an assistant at Wake Forest University while earning his master’s degree there, then served head coaching roles at Lenoir-Rhyne University and Campbell before returning to Atlantic Christian.
When he accepted the position at ACC, it was not just as head soccer coach, but also as athletic director, assistant professor of physical education and chair of the PE department.
“I don’t know how in the world he did all those things,” said Todd Wilkinson, who served as assistant athletic director under Hall for many years before following him into the AD role in 2014. “That alone was fascinating.”
Although he served as PE chair for only a couple of years, he taught for eight and coached at BC for 18, leading the Bulldogs to three conference titles. His entire coaching career spanned 27 seasons and earned him induction into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame in 2008.
Hall’s most enduring legacy at Barton, however, has been as director of athletics, the role which he served continuously between 1989 and 2014.
When asked about his accomplishments over that 25-year span, he modestly said “There’s nothing that I accomplished. If we re-word it to say what ‘we’ accomplished, I’ll take a stab at it.”
Among the numerous highlights of his tenure as AD, Barton went from nine sports at the beginning of his tenure to 18 (now 21), transitioned from NAIA to NCAA Division II, and won 47 combined championships, including a national title in men’s basketball in 2007.
Near the top of the list, however, may be the three consecutive Hawn Cup awards Barton received in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 for having the best all-around sports program in the conference.
“We really had to step our game up as a full department and among our teams to make that happen,” he said.
Hall said those Hawn Cup trophies were a direct by-product of good coaches.
“The greatest challenge I faced when I arrived (as AD), and one I tried to address directly, was the ability to have stability in our staffing,” he said. “We had much more of a revolving door than I felt we needed to have, and our goal of winning Hawn Cups I felt would be largely attached to the ability to have stability in staffing.
“I feel the most important thing an athletic director is charged with doing in a setting like ours is to hire, support and retain good people. And if you look at our stability in staffing with people like Wendee Saintsing, Todd Wilkinson, and Ron Lievense among others, that stability of great people is why we’ve been able to establish a very strong athletic program.”
Those coaches say having an effective leader at the top like Hall played a key role, too.
“The respect I have for Gary for doing this job for the past 25 years at Barton College is at the highest level,” Wilkinson said. “And he did it with such class and dignity. He is truly a lifer of this institution, just a legend here at Barton College.”
Since stepping down as AD, Hall has transitioned to a new role as athletic campaign consultant. In that capacity, “a significant responsibility is maintaining contact on behalf of the institution with former student-athletes.”
“What a joy it’s been to reconnect often with young men and young women who finished here a number of years ago, did very well here and are now doing very well otherwise,” he said, “and to share memories of their special times here and how much their Bulldog experience has shaped who they are today.
“So yes, I am a Bulldog for life.”
And now, with his induction into the Barton Athletic Hall of Fame, a Bulldog forever.
