William H. Hollinger Hall of Fame
Murray Hartzler was one of the longest tenured men’s soccer coaches at Hiram and is still currently the winningest coach in program history. Hartzler spent 10 seasons as head men’s soccer coach (1984-93) and posted an 85-62-21 career coaching mark (58.5 percent) during that span. He helped lead the Terriers to a combined four Ohio Athletic Conference Championships, including the first-ever OAC Tournament Title in 1992. Also during that span, Hartzler was named the OAC “Coach of the Year” on two occasions (1990 and 1992). His squads consistently ranked regionally in the Great Lakes Region near the end of his coaching tenure and he coach 37 All-Conference players during his 10 seasons at Hiram.
Hartzler went on to become the head men’s soccer coach at NCAA Division II Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina where he also became the program’s all-time winningest coach with a 133-106-13 record in 13 seasons (1994-2006). He helped the program claim its first-ever conference title in 1999 which led to the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II National Tournament. The following year, FMU posted their best record in program history (17-3-1), claiming their first conference regular-season title and advanced to the “Elite Eight” of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Hartzler went on to earn Peach Belt Conference “Coach of the Year” accolades on two occasions (2000 and 2002). In addition to coaching the men’s program at FMU, Hartzler also began the women’s soccer program in 1995 and coached the team for eight seasons, posting a 109-35-4 record and two trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
Hartzler retired from coaching in 2006 with a combined 219-167-34 career coaching record in men’s soccer and 109-35-4 as the women’s head coach. As of his induction, he was in his 13th year as the Athletic Director at FMU where 10 of FMU’s 12 athletic programs compete at the NCAA Division II level and one at the Division I level. In the fall of 2012, Hartzler was honored by FMU with the renaming of its soccer field in his name – Hartzler Field at the Griffin Athletic Complex.
