The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2017
Sport: Track and Field (2004-07)
Inducted: 2017
If decathlon championships go to the "world's greatest athlete" — which the 10-event competition is best known for recognizing — then Trey Hardee will be remembered as one of Texas' all-time greatest athletes. Hardee is a two-time Olympian, two-time World Champion, two-time U.S. Champion, three-time Texas Relays winner, a NCAA Champion, a four-time All-American, former NCAA Record holder and 2012 Olympic silver medalist in the decathlon. An injury prevented Hardee from competing at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials last summer and becom- ing UT's first-ever three-time U.S. T&F Olympian, but he rebounded to claim the 2017 U.S. title and a berth in the World Championships in June. Hardee is no stranger to comebacks. After injuring his elbow during the javelin on his way to winning the 2011 World Outdoor Championship and being forced to undergo Tommy John surgery, he bounced back to finish second at the 2012 Olympic Trials and eventually earn an Olympic silver medal. He also won the U.S. Championship in 2009 and was the Olympic Trials runner-up in 2008. He claimed back-to-back World Decathlon Championships in 2009 and 2011 and was the silver medalist in the heptathlon at the 2010 World Indoor Championships. A versatile prep athlete growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, Hardee didn't take up track & field until his junior year of high school. He signed with Mississippi State to compete in his specialty, the pole vault, but was persuaded to test his 6-5 frame and athletic ability in the decathlon. It proved to be a perfect match, and in his first collegiate decathlon, which came at the Texas Relays, he posted a 2003 NCAA Championship qualifying mark. Hardee went on to finish third at the SEC Championships and fifth at the NCAAs that year. As a sophomore, he won the SEC title and set a MSU record (8,041 points) in finishing as the NCAA runner-up. After that season, Hardee trans- ferred to Texas. In Austin, his career truly blossomed as a multi-event star. Hardee finished second in the heptathlon at the Big 12 Indoor Championships and third in that event at NCAAs as a junior in 2005. He won the Texas Relays crown and went on to set a then-Longhorn record (7,881 points) to become Texas' first-ever decathlon National Champion that spring. As a senior, Hardee set a NCAA Record in the heptathlon (6,208 points) indoors and then later the decathlon (8,465 points) in earning the Texas Relays Most Outstanding Performer award. The decathlon record stood for 11 years and both marks remain as UT all-time bests. He was named the 2006 NCAA Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, and also earned indoor All-America honors in the long jump in 2006 and 2007. Hardee, who also deserves credit for the continued growth of great decathletes at Texas, resides and trains in Austin.
