The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Defining Moments: Hall of Honor Inductee Trey Hardee
09.30.2017 | Track & Field / Cross Country
More than a decade ago, Trey Hardee toured campus as a potential transfer. He still hasn’t found a reason to leave.
By James Rodriguez
When Trey Hardee stepped onto the podium at the IAAF World Championships in 2009, he had no intention of showboating, no plans for a grand gesture. Instead, as he stood elevated above the field, his fingers instinctively curled in the shape of a pair of horns.
"It just came natural," Hardee said. "So every podium I was ever on, that's what I did, just paying homage and respect and showing how proud I was of where I came from."
For Hardee, a two-time Olympian in the decathlon and a decorated track athlete while at Texas, representing the Burnt Orange has become second nature. But if not for a coaching change at the university he briefly attended before Texas, he may never have ended up on the Forty Acres.
Hardee, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, originally committed to Mississippi State to compete in the pole vault, but proved his all-around abilities when he switched to the decathlon. His first time competing in the event came, coincidentally, at the 2003 Texas Relays, where he recorded an NCAA Championship qualifying mark. He went on to finish fifth at the NCAA Championships.
"My first decathlon, I wasn't showing up trying to win the thing or trying to stick it to any of the Texas athletes," Hardee said. "I was just, 'Oh my first decathlon is going to be at the Texas Relays? Okay, great.' And that was just kind of it. Obviously, there's not many better places in the world to do it than in Texas, so I definitely had a good taste in my mouth after that."
Hardee had just completed his sophomore season at Mississippi State when he learned that the University would be eliminating its indoor track season. That news, combined with the departure of the University's head coach, prompted Hardee to request a release and explore other schools.
Texas was the first visit scheduled on his calendar.
"I just really hit it off with Mario (Sategna, current head coach), hit it off with Bubba Thornton, the head coach at the time," Hardee said. "It was my first time actually seeing the campus. I really clicked and got along with all the guys on the team. I just had a great time."
Hardee felt good on the plane ride home to Birmingham, but he was in no hurry to make a decision. That changed once the plane touched down in Alabama.
"Before I even made it home from the airport, I was like, 'You know what? That's it,'" Hardee said. "I couldn't find any faults, I couldn't find anything wrong. I tried to nitpick the whole visit, and I was at the point where I didn't even want to visit any other place. There wasn't any other place in the country that I thought could have been better than that, and it ended up being true."
Hardee cancelled his remaining visits and called Coach Thornton the next day to commit. A few days later he drove to Mississippi State to grab his things before heading to Austin, where he checked into Jester dormitory about a week before the fall semester of classes began.
His upward trajectory continued at Texas. In his first season as a Longhorn, he placed third in the heptathlon at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships and won the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, setting a then-UT record in the process.
Hardee remembers sitting in Thornton's living room during the 2006 Rose Bowl, where he watched two of his track teammates, Jamaal Charles and Brian Robison, win a national championship. As the confetti rained down in Pasadena, Hardee thought of his own career and what was possible at Texas.
"That kind of sparked my professional career," Hardee said. "That was the moment, those months where I went from being just a good college athlete to, 'Okay, I can do this.' I can be one of the best athletes in the world, and I can do it right here in Austin, Texas, with my team behind me."
In 2006, Hardee set NCAA records in the heptathlon and decathlon, earning the Texas Relays Most Outstanding Performer award. He finished as the 2006 NCAA Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.
The individual achievements continued to stack up for Hardee after he graduated from Texas. A two-time World Champion and two-time U.S. Champion, he also competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, earning a silver medal in the decathlon in London.
When Hardee looks back on his career at Texas, it's the group achievements — the Big 12 Championships they won as a team, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Waco, Texas — that stick out most in his mind. He remembers every detail, down to what his friends ran and the places they finished in.
"That's what I'm proud of, is that we won championships while we there," Hardee said. "It wasn't just a collection of individuals who were doing their own thing. We had several Olympians and guys who are still playing in the NFL on those teams that I was on, but we won as a team, and those were really special times."
More than a decade after he first toured campus, Hardee still hasn't found a reason to leave Austin. He has spent the last 10 years of his life, every day except Sunday, on the track at Mike A. Myers Stadium on campus, surrounded by alumni and current student-athletes.
"I've been all over the world and that surface and that track and that wind, and the equipment and everything right there, there is no better place," Hardee said. "And the city of Austin has grown and it's just become such an amazing, vibrant place to live. It's the perfect place."
The consistent presence of Coach Sategna was another deciding factor for Hardee when he decided to remain in Austin. As Hardee stayed around the track, he too became a mentor to scores of Texas athletes as they passed through the University.
"It was really, really special to see the success that they've had," Hardee said. "When they succeeded, I succeeded. I really learned a lot about myself, it helped me in my life and my professional career and just personally. I made a lot of friends."
Hardee estimates that being surrounded by a young crop of Texas athletes added a few years to his own career.
"It got to be pretty comical there toward the end, where I'm literally the old man on campus and kids called me 'Mr. Hardee,'" Hardee said. "It got pretty bad for a time. I'd be playing my own music and it's a little bit older for them. They're playing new stuff and I have no idea what I'm listening to. But it was a lot of fun."
Like all athletes at Texas, Hardee spent his collegiate career walking past images celebrating members of the Hall of Honor. He's still getting used to the idea of his own name alongside them.
"I walked by some pretty amazing names," Hardee said. "I learned about those guys, I learned the history of Texas athletics and what the Hall of Honor meant. Now I feel like I have to do more with my life after track than I could have ever possibly imagined so I can live up to this honor."