Dr. Ben Sells, Ouachita president, revealed Hickingbotham’s gift during a Sept. 12 meeting of the university’s Board of Trustees, where guests included Steve Guymon, cross country and track & field head coach at Ouachita, and the men and women student-athletes who compete in Ouachita’s track & field and cross country programs.
“I want to announce to the Trustees, but more importantly to the students, we have reached our fundraising goal,” Sells said. “Since 2019, we’ve had a vision for what our cross country and track & field programs could become. As our coaches and athletes have worked hard to bring the dream to fruition, so many parents, alumni and friends of Ouachita athletics have showed their support with gifts and pledges to finance construction of a track & field facility on campus. All the money has now been committed. We’ve reached the goal because of a generous capstone gift that put us over the top, and that gift is from Trustee Frank Hickingbotham.”
Introduced by Board President Scott Street, Hickingbotham said, “This is an honor for my family and me. I’ve been around Ouachita a long time, but this particular moment is very special to me.”
He then addressed the student-athletes.
“Several months ago, Dr. Sells and I began to talk and pray about this track,” Hickingbotham recalled. “It became a dream, then a vision and a reality. I said, ‘I cannot believe you have a track program and no track! How do you do that?’ And he said, ‘They’re doing it.’ Today, you represent the hard work and faith he had to bring this where it is today.”
Hickingbotham came to Ouachita as a freshman in 1955 from his hometown of McGehee.
“I only got to be here for three semesters,” he said. “I ran out of money and had to leave. And that was one of the saddest days of my life. But even at three semesters, my blood turned Ouachita purple. Ouachita is deep in my heart.”
Hickingbotham’s professors and friends created an indelible mark on his life during his time on campus, he added; however, “the thing that impacted me most was my introduction to the Bible. I had read the Bible – I’d done all the stuff you do in little Baptist churches,” but studying the Old and New Testaments at Ouachita “brought me where I am today.”
Hickingbotham has served on Ouachita’s Board of Trustees for more than two decades. During his long affiliation with the university, many campus projects have been completed because of his generosity including Riley-Hickingbotham Library; the Hickingbotham School of Business as well as Hickingbotham Hall, the building where it’s housed; and a women’s residence hall named for his late wife, Georgia.
The number of student-athletes participating in Ouachita’s track & field and cross country programs has grown from seven in 2019 to 130, representing more than 50 academic majors. This increase has been a key factor in the university’s sustained record enrollment, which grew again in Fall 2024 with a total headcount of 1,858 — the highest since 1966.
As the programs have expanded, the student-athletes have excelled. Among them, they’ve achieved four individual conference championships, won five combined Great American Conference sportsmanship awards and claimed 170 spots on the GAC All-Academic team. There have been 20 All-GAC selections in cross country and 75 in track & field. The women’s cross country team won the 2022 GAC championship; the women’s track & field team has been no. 1 and 2 in the country for team GPA. Guymon was named the 2022 Coach of the Year.
Under his leadership, the programs thrived and the athletes distinguished themselves without benefit of a track & field facility at Ouachita.
“This group you’re looking at, during the last few years, they’ve worked out everywhere. Probably the town’s a little tired of us,” Guymon joked. “We’ve got long jumpers who had no pit who placed third in the conference. Pole vaulters who placed in the conference who had nowhere to vault. Not one time did I hear them complain. They’re very patient; just incredible. To do what they’ve done to this point is remarkable.”
Laynie White, a senior nutrition & dietetics major from Vilonia, Ark., is a team captain who holds three school records and set six personal bests at the 2023 GAC Championships.
“We’ve spent time running on every road, trail, sidewalk and grass field this town has to offer in order to train for our upcoming seasons, but due to the creativity of our coaches, we’ve made it work,” White said. “Last year alone, we had 30 or 40 All-Conference athletes without a track. We know we’re capable of so much more and can go beyond conference and to nationals. We have a lot of talent on this team.”
Whit Lawrence, a senior chemistry and biology double major from Mountain Home, Ark., is a GAC Elite Scholar-Athlete who broke a school record in the 10K last season that had stood since 1987.
“Thank you so much for this track. We’re so grateful,” said Lawrence, a cross country and long-distance track runner. “The best races you have are the races where you can just stop thinking and you find a rhythm, and you just go for it. Having a track like this, we’re going to be able to find our rhythm in practice, which is something we haven’t ever been able to do before. We’re not going to wig out when we’re in a huge meet on this giant track that feels a lot different than the grass field we’ve been practicing on. It’s going to be an invaluable tool for us to get better, to run our best and to break even more records.”
White said, “As a senior, I cannot help but think about what this complex means for the future of our program. Having this track will draw many young high school student-athletes who are looking for a place to fulfill their athletic dreams, but just like my teammates and me, they’ll receive much more than that. Because coming to Ouachita, not only do you receive love and great training from great coaches, but you receive the gospel. And they may come for the track, but they’ll by impacted by the Christ-centered education we get here, just like all of us have been. That’s truly invaluable, and so important in shaping each of our futures.”
“I just want to say thank you. We’re truly honored and humbled by your generosity,” she added. “I can’t wait to continue competing at the sport we love, for the school we love and with the people we love. So God bless you all, and go Tigers!”
Lewis Architects Engineers in Little Rock, Ark., led the design of the Hickingbotham Family Track & Field. Construction manager for the project is Baldwin & Shell Construction of Little Rock, and primary contractor is United Turf and Track in Arcadia, Okla. Beynon Sports Surfaces is manufacturer of the track surface.
For more information about the Hickingbotham Family Track & Field, contact Brian Ramsey, assistant athletic director for communications, at [email protected] or at (870) 245-5186.