East Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame
Athletic Director • 1953-84
Dr. Jesse J. Hawthorne garnered multiple awards and honors during more than three decades as an educator at East Texas State University. He served as the school's athletic director for 31 years, directing ETSU to five NAIA National Championships and 47 Lone Star Conference titles (11 in football, 13 in track and field, nine in men's basketball, 12 in tennis and two in golf).
Hawthorne and his family came to Commerce in 1951, where he began teaching at East Texas State University, being promoted to the Head of the Department Health and Physical Education and Director of Athletics in 1953.
In 1964, he was elected president of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and was elected to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1973. He was a member of the United States Olympic Committee and a delegate to the Olympic Games both in Tokyo in 1964 and Mexico City in 1968.
Dr. Hawthorne retired from East Texas State University in 1984 and was bestowed the honorary Professor Emeritus. He was inducted into the Texas A&M-Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986 and into the Lone Star Conference Hall of Honor in 1996.
