The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2019
- Class:
- 1975
A true trailblazer in the sport of golf, Nancy (Hager) Hale was the first woman to be awarded an athletic scholarship at The University of Texas. She competed for the Longhorns from 1971-75 and was a member of the program's first varsity team in 1974-75. The 1975 Texas AIAW individual champion, she won the Texas Invitational – now the Betsy Rawls Invitational – in each of its first two years of its existence. Hale was named her team's Most Valuable Player as a senior in 1974-75, a year in which she won all five tournaments in the spring portion of the schedule. She led the Longhorns to a fourth-place team finish at the AIAW National Championship in 1975 – the program's first varsity season – and placed fifth individually. She is one of only two golfers in program history (Michiko Hattori is the other) to win five tournaments in a single season. Hale was a highly accomplished golfer prior to coming to UT, playing in seven-consecutive USGA Junior Girls Championships from 1964-70. She won three Texas Junior Girls Championships in 1967, 1968 and 1970 and holds the all-time scoring record in the Texas Junior Girls Championship. She was a two-time Dallas City Junior Girls Champion and a medalist at the 1968 USGA Girls Junior Championship. Hale was a semifinalist in the 1969 USGA Women's Amateur and a member of the 1970 USGA Curtis Cup Team. While playing for the Longhorns, she was the runner-up at the 1972 Women's Western Amateur Championship and an alternate for the USGA Curtis Cup Team that same year. She also claimed the 1974 WTGA State Amateur Championship at Austin Country Club. In her final State Amateur appearance in 1977, Hale was a semifinalist. She earned a degree in Interior Design from The University of Texas and resides in her hometown of Dallas.
