In his 36 years as coach of the Cameron golf team, Jerry Hrnciar (pronounced hurn’-shire) has set high standards for his players both on and off the course. He has helped shape Cameron into one of the premier NCAA Division II golf institutions in the Southwest, taking his teams to 17 national tournament appearances including the 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2007 NCAA Division II Championships.
In 2007, Hrnciar was honored by the Golf Coaches Association of America as the NCAA Division II District 6 Coach of the Year. The award marked the 13th time Hrnciar has been named a District Coach of the Year, at both the NCAA and NAIA level, during his career.
Hrnciar was volunteer golf coach for the Aggies while working as head golf professional at the Lawton Country Club. His tenure at the country club spanned 16 years.
The Aggie teams under Hrnciar were a dominate force in the NAIA ranks. Cameron qualified for the NAIA national tournament eight times, including a remarkable run of six consecutive trips form 1982-87. He was named the National Coach of the Year in 1983, as his team won the school’s first men’s golf national championship that year. In 1989, the school realigned itself with the NCAA and became a member of the NCAA Division II’s Lone Star Conference.
Hrnciar was named Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year in 2004 after leading the Aggies to their sixth conference title. He also was named LSC Coach of the Year in 2001, 1992, and 1990, when his team won its first ever outright league title and finished fifth at the national tournament. In 1992, he earned the same honor as the Aggies won their third conference championship. His 1996 team finished third at the NCAA Division II Championships, while the 2001 team finished ninth at nationals. Hrnciar has coached 36 All-America players and 18 Academic All-Americans during his career.
Hrnciar has currently completed his eighth year as the Division II representative on the National Advisory Board of the Golf Coaches Association of America. The GCAA is the professional association of college golf coaches organized for developing and recognizing coaches and players in collegiate golf.
Hrnciar was a three-year golf letter-winner at Texas Tech University, where he graduated in 1967 with a degree in marketing. He was named the Texas Panhandle Hall of Fame’s Player of the Year in 1965. He played on the Canadian and Asian tours after college and made it to the PGA Tour school finals on his two attempts at qualyfying. He and his wife Suzanne have two children, Amy and Matthew.
