/news-archive/tag/greg-hatcher/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Mon, 24 Jun 2019 15:51:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2019/06/24/cash-jones-wrestling/ Mon, 24 Jun 2019 15:51:22 +0000 /news/?p=74592 ... One of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 first wrestling recruits ready to make history]]> In the fall, Cash Jones will make his college debut as the University of Arkansas at Little Rock鈥檚 first official member of the university鈥檚 new NCAA Division I wrestling program. As one of the first members of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 debut wrestling cohort, the Bentonville native is coming off an impressive record at Bentonville High School and has plans to keep the momentum going at the college level. 鈥淚 want to be a national champion, and I want to be a conference champion,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淚 want to make my family proud of me, and I want to make Arkansas proud.鈥� The applied communications major hopes to help establish Arkansas as a major wrestling state. 鈥淚 hope that we can begin to start establishing ourselves as a serious state in wrestling,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 want to build a good team at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock with good coaches and good wrestlers. I also want to establish more youth teams, so we can have more wrestlers compete at a higher level.鈥� Wrestling has been a major part of Jones鈥� life since he was a child. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been involved in combat sports like karate, jitsu, and boxing,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I was 9, my dad brought home a paper advertising the local youth wrestling league, and I鈥檝e been wrestling ever since.鈥� By the time he was in seventh grade, wrestling became Jones鈥� primary sport. Under Coach James Rappe, Jones became a three-time state champion at Bentonville High School. He helped lead the Tigers to back-to-back Class 6A/7A state titles in 2017 and 2018 and posted a career high school record of 227-11, including a mark of 62-1 as a senior. Jones recorded 15 individual championships during his high school career, all while serving two years as captain of the wrestling team and making the honor roll all four years. 鈥淚n high school, I had a very good support system. They kept me motivated and kept me doing the right thing so I could succeed,鈥� said Jones, adding his love of the sport comes from the rush he gets every time he steps on the mat. 鈥淲restling is one-on-one. It鈥檚 just me out there,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an individual expression. I don鈥檛 have to rely on anyone else but me. It鈥檚 high-risk, high-reward, and a gamble every time. I love it.鈥� It seems as if Jones was born to be an athlete, since his parents, David and Sheila Jones, named him after a rodeo star who was a friend of the family. 鈥淢y dad grew up these rodeo guys: Cash, Rope, and Ty. When I was born, Dad told my mom that she could choose between those three names,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淣o one is going to call their son Rope, and everyone is named Ty, so they decided on Cash.鈥� After high school, Jones originally committed to Campbell University in North Carolina, but transferred to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock after learning the university was starting the first college wrestling program in his home state. 鈥淚鈥檓 ecstatic to be at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not often that you get the opportunity to be the first at something, and here you can be the first person to do everything in wrestling. You can be the first person to win a match, the first person to be a national champion, and the first person to All-American. That鈥檚 an opportunity I鈥檇 really like to have.鈥� That鈥檚 an opportunity he hopes to achieve under the mentorship of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 head wrestling Coach Neil Erisman. 鈥淐oach Erisman is my mentor,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淗e is a great guy. He鈥檚 not just an on the mat coach, which is what you get at a lot of colleges. He genuinely cares about you on and off the mat. He does everything he can to shape you into a and make you a better person.” His advice for anyone who aspires to become a collegiate wrestling athlete is to work hard and prepare yourself for the challenges that come with being a college athlete. 鈥淭here is a lot that goes in wrestling at the college level, some good times and some bad times,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淲ork as hard as you can and make the right the decisions, because you have to make it through the bad times to make it to the good times.鈥� ]]> /news-archive/2018/07/10/fundraising/ Tue, 10 Jul 2018 14:00:29 +0000 /news/?p=71097 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock exceeds fundraising goal, raises $18 million]]> The University of Arkansas at Little Rock finished the 2018 fiscal year with $18 million in private gift support, surpassing its annual goal and making it the third-best year in the university鈥檚 fundraising history. 鈥淥ne of our top priorities is to make a quality college education accessible and affordable in central Arkansas,鈥� Chancellor Andrew Rogerson said. 鈥淧rivate philanthropy is vital to providing this pathway to support student scholarships and experiential learning opportunities. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be more grateful to our supporters who understand the value of a college degree and why supporting a university in Little Rock is good for everyone in central Arkansas and in the state.鈥� More than 7,400 individuals, corporations, and private foundations gave 24,642 gifts between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018. Twenty-nine new endowments, totalling nearly $1 million, were established during the 2018 fiscal year, bringing 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 聽total endowment to more than $78 million. Among the gifts were nearly $1 million from Windgate Foundation to establish a professorship in applied art; $800,000 from Dr. Bruce Murphy, president and chief executive officer of , to benefit students in the College of Education and Health Professions; and nearly $1 million to create a more affordable pathway to a law degree for Pulaski County residents and future law students who want to practice law in the county. The money is part of the charitable component left over in a $45 million cigarette settlement fund. Private funding allowed for the creation of the Signature Research Experience Awards, a new program in 2017-18 that provided 79 students an opportunity to work with a faculty member on a research or creative works project. The program helps students gain knowledge and skills required to compete in a competitive workforce upon graduation. Trojan Athletics posted a banner year with $4.3 million in gifts designated for student-athlete support. 聽The university鈥檚 largest gift was a $1.4 million gift from Greg Hatcher, chief executive officer of The Hatcher Agency, to start a NCAA Division I wrestling program in the state. 鈥淭he growth of interest and support for the Little Rock Trojans continues to make a significant impact on our athletics program,鈥� said Chasse Conque, director of athletics. 鈥淲e are most grateful for the generous contributions of our loyal donors who believe in our vision to elevate Trojan Athletics to heights we have not seen before.鈥� The 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Alumni Association also contributed to the university鈥檚 fundraising efforts. Its signature fundraiser – Taste of Little Rock – raised more than $130,000 for student scholarships. 聽More than half of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock employees also contributed through the university鈥檚 鈥淎ll In鈥� campus campaign. Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Christian O鈥橬eal said the university is well-positioned moving forward into its five-year comprehensive 聽campaign. 鈥淲e exceeded 聽our annual goal, and we have strong momentum as we begin our campaign,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur community and supporters are driving us forward, and the best is yet to come as we anticipate publicly launching our capital campaign in Fall 2019.鈥� External constituents of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock are also proud of the fundraising success in 2018. 鈥淎s students at our university continue to excel in academic success, it is paramount that we continue to partner with our alumni, friends, and organizations that are vital to the continued growth and success of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock,鈥� said Foundation Fund Board Chair Carlton Billingsley 鈥�02. 鈥淚 look forward to working with our board and the Advancement staff to continue to work together in achieving more for our university and the region as a whole.鈥� Alumni Board President Becky Blass 鈥�73 and 鈥�82 added, 鈥淭he 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alumni board is proud of its role in helping raise monies this fiscal year which directly benefit so many of our outstanding students. 聽We plan to work even harder this next year in our fundraising mission for 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.鈥�  ]]> /news-archive/2018/03/19/wrestling-team/ Mon, 19 Mar 2018 14:23:55 +0000 /news/?p=69832 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock announces addition of wrestling team]]> Chancellor Andrew Rogerson said 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock plans to add wrestling as its 15th sport, becoming the only NCAA Division I wrestling program in the state. The news was announced at the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday, March 17. Pending board approval, Little Rock wrestling will begin competition in fall 2019. “This is exciting news for the university as we continue to elevate and grow our athletics program and find opportunities for enrollment growth,” said Rogerson. “Our student-athletes as a group have the highest Division I graduation success rate in the state, so we’re confident this program will bring in additional students with high GPAs and success in the classroom.” The addition of wrestling is a major milestone for both the athletics department and the sport. Arkansas has seen tremendous growth with about 200 high schools across the state supporting a wrestling program. “Little Rock Athletics is thrilled to announce the addition of Division I wrestling to our campus,” said Director of Athletics Chasse Conque. “This serves as an exciting milestone for our department, adding a program that will complement and enhance the profile of our existing 14 sports.” The idea came to fruition after a recent $1.4 million pledge from Greg Hatcher to secure funding to begin the program. The gift from Hatcher, a prominent Little Rock businessman and supporter of youth sports, will help 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock build a wrestling facility, purchase equipment, and fund operational expenditures. “Thanks to Chancellor Andrew Rogerson and Athletic Director Chasse Conque, Little Rock and the state of Arkansas will now be the home to Division I wrestling,” Hatcher said. “This will now bring wrestling at the highest level to our city in the grandest way possible, and I couldn’t be happier for our city and state.” “Trojan Athletics is most grateful to Greg Hatcher for his generous commitment, helping take this from a concept to a reality,” Conque said. “Greg’s passion for wrestling has been felt across the entire state as interest in the sport has gained tremendous momentum in Arkansas over the last decade.” Little Rock will begin the process of seeking the program’s first head coach, who will then begin recruiting student-athletes. With the addition of wrestling, as well as increased scholarship opportunities in a number of female sports, the Trojans will bring the number of student-athletes competing for Little Rock to more than 250 in the next few years. Wrestling is not new to the Jack Stephens Center, which has served as the host venue for the Arkansas State Wrestling Championships since 2008. The Little Rock Trojans will host their home meets at the Jack Stephens Center with the first meet anticipated to take place in late 2019. Bringing a Division I wrestling program to Little Rock has been a conversation that has been ongoing for a number of years. The decision was reached independently of the ongoing feasibility study, which is expected to conclude in late spring 2018. The possibility of adding a football and marching band program remains viable.]]>