Recently retired Francis Marion University Director of Athletics Murray Hartzler will receive an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree at the University's Fall Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 13. The event begins at 10 a.m. in the Smith University Center.
Students from the College of Liberal Arts and Schools of Business, Education, and Health Sciences will receive their degrees during the ticketed ceremony, which will be streamed online at www.fmarion.edu and on the FMU YouTube channel.
Serving as the athletics director for more than 25 years, Hartzler oversaw a Francis Marion athletic program that offers 17 sports (eight men and nine for women), 16 of which compete at the NCAA Division II level and one at the Division I level.
He was instrumental in beginning the women's soccer program in 1995 and acrobatics and tumbling program in 2023, as well as the re-establishment of the track and field programs. He help direct the school's move from the Peach Belt Conference to Conference Carolinas in 2021, and also directed the award-winning National Youth Sports Program, hosted by FMU during the summers of 1997, 1998, and 1999.
Under his guidance, FMU constructed the Griffin Athletic Complex and has undertook facility improvements in the Smith University Center and on the Kassab Tennis Courts.
Hartzler joined the FMU staff in the spring of 1994 as the men's soccer head coach. He went on to compile a 133-106-13 record, becoming the winningest coach in the program's 51-year history. He directed the Patriots to an appearance in the NCAA Division II national tournament quarterfinals (Elite Eight) in 2000. He finished with a career coaching mark of 219-167-34 across 23 seasons, including 10 at Division III Hiram College in Ohio.
He is also the winningest coach for the Patriot women's soccer program, having posted a 109-35-4 record in eight seasons and twice earning invitations to the NCAA Division II national tournament.
In the fall of 2006, he retired from his role as head men's soccer coach to concentrate fully on his role as director of athletics.
Under his guidance, FMU student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom with an overall grade point average of above 3.1. That figure continues to exceed the overall student body GPA. Athletically, four FMU programs advanced to NCAA Tournament play in 2024-25 to continue a string of having student-athletes compete in NCAA post-season competition every full year since joining the NCAA in 1992.
In 2012, Hartzler was honored by Francis Marion by having the soccer field at the new Griffin Athletic Complex named after him. The same year, he was inducted into Hiram's William H. Hollinger Athletics Hall of Fame. He was inducted into FMU's chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa national honor society in the spring of 2018.
He previously served as the national chair of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Committee, which governs the Division II men's soccer championships. He garnered conference Coach of the Year honors six times during his career.
A native of Clarence, N.Y., Hartzler earned a B.A. degree in communications from Goshen College (Ind.) in 1980, and received a M.A. degree in physical education, recreation, and dance from Kent State University in 1991. He also attended Hesston (Junior) College in Hesston, Kan.
Murray Hartzler
