DALLAS – Conference USA approved the renaming of its top men’s golf coaching accolade at the annual C-USA Winter Retreat last week. It will be known as the “Phillip Hatchett Coach of the Year” award to honor the late WKU graduate and head coach who passed away in June.

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“We really appreciate Conference USA and the men’s golf coaches honoring the legacy of Coach Hatchett by designating the league’s coach of the year award in his name,” said WKU Director of Athletics Todd Stewart. "Phillip was a great representative of not only our golf program, but our entire university.  He was an outstanding individual, a person who was respected and liked by everyone he interacted with, and he and his wife, Beth, cared very much for our players.  This is a very meaningful gesture.”
 
Hatchett was a four-year letterman for the Hilltopper golf team and 1985 graduate of WKU before returning to lead the program as its first full-time head coach in 2010. The Russellville, Kentucky, native steered a recent resurgence as the team earned five top performances last season and produced its best conference tournament round since 2008.
 
In 2017-18, Hatchett produced an All-Conference Second Team selection in Billy Tom Sargent, who became just the second Hilltopper, and first since 2008, to qualify for an NCAA Regional. Sargent obtained WKU’s best individual conference finish in eight years at the 2018 C-USA Championship.
 
Hatchett’s passion for developing young golfers reached past the golf course and into both the classroom and community. Three of his teams within his tenure received WKU’s Academic Team of the Year award for posting the top cumulative GPA of all the university’s men’s sport programs. Two of his players were also named the school’s Male Academic Student-Athlete of the Year.
 
Hatchett was a valuable presence in the South Central Kentucky golf community, where he founded the Phillip Hatchett Junior Golf Camp in 2008. His dedication and effort to fostering the sport’s growth helped mentor more than 200 young golfers since its launch.