HANOVER, Ind. –Hanover College Director of Athletics Lynn Hall has announced her retirement at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.
Hall a lifelong educator, athletic administrator, coach, mentor and fan is stepping down after almost 40 years of service to the Hanover campus community.
"It has been an honor to serve my alma mater for the past 37 years," added Director of Athletics Lynn Hall. "I will certainly miss my colleagues and the student athletes, but I won't be far away in retirement and will have opportunities to cheer for the Panthers. There are exciting things ahead for Hanover College and I know the athletics department will continue to thrive under new leadership."
Hall has been woven into the fabric of Hanover College athletics playing a significant role in the integration of Hanover's men's and women's athletic programs. Hall was named acting director of athletics in May 1998 before having the interim title removed in September of 1999 combining Hanover's men's and women's athletic departments for the first time. She became the College's first female administrator with oversight of all intercollegiate sports.
With Hall at the helm, the number of student-athletes on campus remains near 50 percent of the total student body, indoor and outdoor facilities have received major upgrades, health and wellness services have greatly expanded, and coaching, training and athletic performance staffs have increased in size. Hanover's athletic offerings have also continued to expand as well, with the addition of men's and women's lacrosse and men's and women's swimming.
While participation continues to thrive, so does success on the playing fields and in the classroom. Under Hall's oversight, Hanover has captured 89 conference regular-season and tournament championships, earned 44 national tournament appearances, three times earned the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Commissioner's Cup, hosted three cross country national championship meets (2003, 2008, and 2013), and produced hundreds of all-conference and academic all-conference athletes and numerous all-Americans and academic all-Americans.
Prior to her role as Director of Athletics, Hall competed as an athlete on the Panthers' volleyball team and women's basketball squad. She earned a degree in history with a minor in physical education in 1982 before earning a Master's degree in 1987 from IU Bloomington. In 1987, she returned to the Hanover campus community where she served as the head volleyball coach and assistant basketball coach.
As head volleyball coach, Hall became the winningest coach in program history with 217 wins from 1987-98. In addition to her coaching duties, she also served as intramural director in the early 1900s and helped start the College's women's golf team in 1993.
Earlier this year, on behalf of the Governor's office, Hall was awarded the prestigious The Sagamore of the Wabash Award.
