By TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – When Bruce Hatfield finished his career at Tennessee Tech, he stood as the fourth-best tackler in Golden Eagle history. That was in 1987 – 34 years later, only four players (Tra'Darius Goff with 373, Marty Jones with 356, Austin Tallant with 354, and Josh Symonette with 349) have been able to pass him.
He is one of five inductees into the 49th class of the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame. Along with Hatfield, Tristan Archer (baseball, 2010-13), Tim Benford (football, 2008-11), Dr. M. Dianne Murphy (women's basketball/volleyball/women's tennis/supporter, 1969-present), and Beth Underhill (women's golf, 2002-06) will be inducted during the annual Hall of Fame Dinner on Friday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. CT at the Roaden University Center's Multipurpose Room. Tickets for the dinner are on sale by calling (931) 372-3940, visiting the Eblen Center ticket office, or by visiting TTUsports.com.
From 1984 to 1987, Hatfield started 35 of 40 games for the Golden Eagles and was a force on defense, wrapping up his Tech career with 348 tackles. He also forced two fumbles, recovered three, broke up five passes, and intercepted a pass.
That didn't stop the New York Jets from taking a chance on him, signing him as an undrafted free agent in 1988.
Hatfield led the Golden Eagles in tackles as a junior in the 1986 campaign – even after missing two games with a hand injury – taking charge as fellow linebacker and Tech Hall of Famer Thomas Squires missed the year after head coach Jim Ragland chose to redshirt him.
The combination of Hatfield and Squires drew comparisons to the legendary linebacking tandem of Jim Youngblood and Mike Hennigan, and the duo proved it in 1987 with Hatfield collecting 109 tackles and Squires 136.
Along with Lorenza Rivers, Hatfield was named a permanent team captain for the 1987 squad and also earned the 1987 Sonny Allen Leadership Award.
Following his stint with the Jets, Hatfield returned to Tech in 1989 and served as the strength and conditioning coach for the Tech women's basketball team, then earned his degree in Health and Physical Education in 1990. He later earned a master's degree in administration and supervision from Trevecca.
He spent 28 years as a high school coach and teacher. Starting with an assistantship at Lawrence County from 1990 to 1993, Hatfield was then hired by Hendersonville High School, where he built a legacy. As the head coach from 1998 to 2018, he collected a 159-89 record with the Commandos, becoming the school's all-time winningest football coach. Hatfield was named region coach of the year in 1999, 2001, 2008, and 2014, then took teams to the TSSAA BlueCross Bowl four times – 1998, 2001, 2010, and 2013.
He was also named the Middle Tennessee Fellowship of Christian Athletes Coach of the Year in 2016.
Hatfield left Hendersonville High School in 2017 to become the linebackers coach at Tech when Dewayne Alexander was named the new head coach.
Under Hatfield's direction, three linebackers (Josh Poplar – 2018; Aderick Moore – 2019; Seth Carlisle – 2022) have earned the Sonny Allen Leadership Award. Additionally, Moore was named to the 2019 All-OVC Second Team, and Seth Carlisle was named the 2020-21 Robert Hill Johnson Award winner, an honorable mention for National Defensive Player of the Week by STATS Perform, and to the 2022 All-OVC Second Team.
Hatfield also serves as the team's Tennessee High School liaison and has overseen alumni efforts for the program.
He is married to TTU Sports Hall of Famer Melinda (Clayton) Hatfield.
