Greg Waggoner speaks with pride when describing his upbringing as a child in Steamboat Springs. It is the reason his career took off the way it did, and the reason he has been inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame. 

A long-time Athletic Director and wrestling coach for Western Colorado University, Waggoner poured his heart into his career and helped shape student athletes to be better people on and off the field. 

On June 10, Waggoner’s induction became official at the NACDA Hall of Fame ceremony at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. He learned of his nomination at the start of the year, and said he is incredibly honored to have been selected for such a prestigious honor. 

“I think three things stand out to me,” Waggoner said. “One is it’s a national-level honor and two it is bestowed upon me by peers from all divisions that are represented on that hall of fame selection committee for NACDA. They felt I was worthy of that induction with my classmates and other people in classes that have gone before me — which are some pretty remarkable people. That certainly hits you, and the third thing is simply how fortunate I have been to be around so many other people that made this happen.” 

Growing up in Steamboat Springs, Waggoner was the youngest of four children. He had many mentors growing up between his father, older brother and public school physical education teachers, Billee and Bob Harris. 

It was former Sailors high school wrestling coach, Carl Romano, who would pass along his passions for the sport to Waggoner, and in 1975, Waggoner would go on to be recruited to wrestle for Western Colorado University (at the time known as Western State College) in Gunnison. 

Waggoner’s recruiter? His eventual mentor and best friend, coach Tracy Borah. 

Waggoner was the first member of his family to go to college, but said he had spotty interest in his academics and lucked out by going to college on a scholarship. He pointed to athletics and people like Borah for giving him structure and guidance in his life to help him stick with school. 

“I actually had pretty modest grades in college until late, and then it hit me,” Waggoner said. “I wanted to be a teacher and a coach; just like coach Harris, coach Romano and coach Borah. I wanted to pay back and do for young men what sports did for me. It was more the impact and guidance, next was the educational value it gave and then next was the competitive value. While I put them in that order, the competitive value was still very high.” 

After wrestling in college from 1975-1980, Waggoner became the assistant coach to Borah through a graduate assistantship. Upon his retirement, Borah handpicked Waggoner to take over as the full time wrestling coach in 1985, and he held the position for 12 years. 

In 1994, WCU recruited Waggoner to become the school’s athletic director. He held the position for 20 years, serving as the longest-tenured AD in school history, and left in 2014. After a brief hiatus, Waggoner held roles for a short time as athletic director for Eastern New Mexico University and Johnson and Wales University, before officially retiring in 2020.

In Waggoner’s time at Western Colorado, the school won 11 NCAA Division II team national championships and had 71 individual national titles. The school also earned 97 top-10 team finishes at NCAA championships and collected 32 conference titles. 

Waggoner’s accomplishments as athletic director go far beyond the on-field success, however. He took great pride in creating good human beings in his athletes and helping them receive a college education. 

For a small NCAA Division II school, Waggoner was also applauded for his ability to fundraise at a high level. A lot of that fundraising helped him develop the athletic facilities over the years, including a $30 million indoor fieldhouse that would rival any Division I facility in the country. 

Academically, Waggoner proudly said that the school’s student-athlete graduation rate was higher than its general student body for the entire duration of his time as AD. 

After learning of his nomination to the NACDA Hall of Fame, Waggoner looked back on his accomplishments fondly. He said he would be remiss to acknowledge that none of it would have happened if it weren’t for the people around him in his life, specifically his wife Gloria and children Dillon and Destiny, as well as the power of the place he was raised. 

“Growing up in Steamboat is a very special thing,” Waggoner said. “Particularly when I grew up, it was a lot smaller, and out of all the places somebody could grow up in the world, it is a very special place to grow up. I will always cherish that and I am always proud to interject and share with someone where I was born and raised. So, anchors away!”