Greenville, S.C. - Two new inductees join the National Christian College Athletic Association Hall of Fame. Jack Hazen from Malone University and Jeff Santarsiero from Geneva College make up the NCCAA Hall of Fame Class of 2013.
Jack Hazen has served as head coach of men’s cross country at Malone University for 45 years and as women’s cross country head coach for 21 years. His men’s program still ranks as the all-time winningest program as ranked by the NAIA. In NCCAA national competition, Jack’s men’s and women’s teams have captured numerous team national titles and a “top-five” finish in nearly every NCCAA national meet in which the Pioneers’ teams competed. The men earned 21 NCCAA national titles while the women tallied 12 NCCAA national championships. In addition, numerous Pioneer student-athletes earned a first-place individual national finish at NCCAA national competitions. The Pioneers have captured a total of four NAIA men’s cross country titles and one women’s cross country title during Hazen’s tenure.Jack has also coached men’s track & field for 28 years and women’s track and field for 3 years. He has coached over 325 NAIA All-Americans in cross country and track & field, which represents over 80% of the All-Americans in all of Malone athletics history.
Jack recently served as an assistant coach for the USA Track & Field Team during the 2012 Olympic Games. In addition to working with the men’s distance runners for Team USA at the London Olympics, he has had several international coaching opportunities. He was named Head Manager for the 1999 Junior Pan American Track & Field Team and was twice named as U.S. Coach for men’s cross country at the World Championships in Boston and Capetown, South Africa. He was also selected the Assistant Coach for the U.S. World Championship meet in Helsinki, Finland in 2005. Jack has coached 2 Olympians and served on the Track & Field Competition Management Team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA.
Jack has a long, successful career in coaching, but, most importantly, he has impacted many lives for Christ at Malone University and outside of its borders. “His student-athletes certainly respect his coaching ability, but they also greatly appreciate his sincerity with each of them as he helps them grow to become the individual that God wants them to be. Jack makes it a priority to let everyone on his teams know that the Lord must come first in their lives and that everything else will fall into place,” said Mark Bankert, Associate Athletic Director/Sports Information Director at Malone University. Malone University Director of Athletics Charles R. Grimes added about Jack, “He truly embodies the ‘transformational’ model of sport coaching. Thousands of lives have been directly and indirectly touched by his mentoring and teaching.”
Jack is an active member and elder of his home church, Christ Presbyterian, and resides in North Canton, Ohio with his wife, Jill. He has one daughter and three grandchildren.
Geneva College is one of the founding members of the NCCAA. For over 45 years, Geneva and the NCCAA have built a solid foundation for student-athletes to compete on a regional and national level in the sports arena. One of the main cogs in the relationship has been Geneva men’s head basketball coach Jeff Santarsiero. Geneva’s head coach since 1996, Santarsiero was also involved with the NCCAA as a coach at Nyack in the 1980’s and as an assistant at Geneva College for eight years prior to becoming the head coach.Santarsiero has been the head coach at Geneva for the past 17 years where he has accumulated 259 victories. Throughout his entire career, Santarsiero has posted 331 wins during his time at Geneva and Nyack. Four times during his tenure at Geneva Santarsiero has guided the Golden Tornadoes to the NCCAA national championship, including winning the 2001 NCCAA National Championship.
Perhaps even more impressive than the victories on the court has been Santarsiero’s dedication to the NCCAA as an influential member of several regional and national committees for men’s basketball. Santarsiero served as the Men’s Basketball East Region Chair from 1999-2002 and from 2005-2008. He then served as the National Vice-Chair from 2010-2013 and is currently serving as the National Men’s Basketball Chair for the first year. Santarsiero has received the NCCAA East Region Coach of the Year Award on many occasions (1986, 1988, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011). He was the East Region Chair from 2005-2008 and was also awarded the NCCAA Meritorious Service Award in 2009.
“We are very pleased that Jeff is receiving this well-deserved honor from the NCCAA,” says Geneva College athletic director Dr. Kim Gall. “Jeff is passionate about coaching and mentoring young people and has successfully been doing so for many years.”
“Jeff has an amazing work ethic and will always go the extra mile to help his student-athletes, the athletic department or the college in general. He has a passion for basketball, his players and the NCCAA,” Said Geno DeMarco, Geneva College Head football coach.
Jeff and his wife, Sue, reside in Chippewa Township, PA. They have two children, Ashley and Drew. The Santarsiero’s attend Pathway Church in Chippewa Township.
The 2013 NCCAA Hall of Fame class will be inducted at Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN during the Hall of Fame Banquet on May 31st at the NCCAA Annual Convention.