Dr. Hallie Gregory at his University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hall of Fame induction.

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Former Hawks AD Hallie Gregory passes away

Sept. 18, 2017
PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland - Former University of Maryland Eastern Shore Athletic Director Dr. Hallie Gregory passed away on Sunday (Sept. 17) in Salisbury, Maryland. He was 78.
A member of both the Maryland Eastern Shore Athletics Hall of Fame and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, Gregory was the Hawks Athletic Director from 1989-2000.
In his very first biography written for the 1989-1990 media guides, it stated that "his task is to expand the facilities and to enhance the athletic programs."
Responsible for the planning and building of the William P. Hytche Athletic Center, Gregory advanced the program into a facility that today still stands as one of the jewels of the conference.
In his tenure with The Shore, Gregory was instrumental in the addition of bowling, soccer and tennis, while also overseeing MEAC championships in women's outdoor track and field (1992), men's cross country (1995), and men's indoor track and field (1996-97).
"Dr. Gregory was an innovator and a forward thinker, who was concerned about the welfare of student athletes with preparing our student athletes for the future," Hawk Athletics Director Keith Davidson said. "He was a man of integrity and fair play. He was a respected and accomplished figure in the industry of intercollegiate athletics.
"It was my great fortune that he took an interest in me personally and professionally and his advice, council, and encouragement served as comfort to me. Dr. Gregory will be sorely missed by the entire Hawk Family and our thoughts go out to Nydia and his family."
While he was athletic director for more than a decade, Gregory will forever be most linked to the creation of the women's bowling program at the institution.
Just two years into the program's existence, he hired Maryland Eastern Shore and MEAC Hall of Famer and two-time National Coach of the Year Sharon Brummell.

Upon her induction to the MEAC Hall of Fame - one year before his own - Gregory said: "As an administrator, you do a lot of hiring of people, some you get right some you don't, and when I look at the whole span of my career, one thing is for sure, I did get one right, I hired Sharon Brummell. I can rest my entire career on that hire."
The hire was instrumental and the Hawks went on to win national titles in 2008 and 2011 under her leadership.

Brummell, who is now the senior associate athletic director for business and finance and senior women's administrator at Georgetown University, was equally complimentary of her former boss.

"Dr. Gregory was not only a great athletic administrator, he was a friend who cared about his coaches and the overall experience of his student athletes," Brummell said. "He worked tirelessly to ensure that everyone was successful, athletically and academically. He was a special person who will be missed by many."

Gregory also hired former track and field and cross-country coach Ernest Barrett, who went on to win seven MEAC championships as the head coach of the Outdoor Track and Field, Indoor Track and Field and Cross Country squads.
Before he came to Maryland Eastern Shore, Gregory was a professor and coach at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy from 1971 to 1989. In 1980, Coast Guard Academy Athletic Director Otto Graham appointed Gregory - then the Academy's assistant track and basketball coach - as the Academy's head track coach, making Gregory the first African-American head coach in the history of the Academy.
Gregory, a 2001 inductee to the Coast Guard Academy Athletic Hall of Fame, was head men's track and field coach from 1980-1984 and the men's basketball head coach from 1984-1989 while also serving as Assistant Director of Athletics in 1989.
From 1967 to 1971, Gregory served as an assistant professor of physical education and head track coach at Central State University in Ohio.
Gregory earned a Doctorate of Education in higher education administration from Indiana University. He holds a Master of Science in physical education from Moorhead State College in Minnesota and a Bachelor of Arts in health, physical education and recreation from Dakota Wesleyan University in South Dakota.
After his tenure at Eastern Shore, Dr. Gregory continued his success at another MEAC institution - Delaware State University - from 2000-2003. He was instrumental in developing long-term strategies for each of the Hornets' 17 sports, placing special emphasis on affirming the university's commitment to provide equal opportunities for all student-athletes.
In the fall of 2002, he ushered in soccer as the ninth sport offered for women. In the 2001-02 season, Delaware State won its first MEAC women's indoor track and field championship since 1986, as well as winning MEAC regular season divisional titles in baseball and softball. The Hornets won the MEAC regular season divisional baseball title, while the women's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the conference tournament in his first year.
Gregory remained a fixture on the Eastern Shore after leaving Delaware State. He served as athletic director at Holly Grove Christian School from 2006 to 2014 where he also worked as a physical education teacher with the middle school and launched and coached the school's track team as well as helping with other sports.
A viewing will be held at the Bennie Smith Funeral Home at 917 West Isabella Street, Salisbury, Maryland on Sunday, Sept. 24, from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

The funeral will be held on Monday, Sept. 25, at the Bennie Smith Funeral Home at 717 West Division Street, Dover, Delaware at noon, with a viewing preceding the funeral service from 10 a.m. until noon.

Interment will follow immediately after the service at the Sharon Hills Memorial Park, Dover, Delaware. A repass will at Parkway Church of God in Salisbury will follow the internment.
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