Executive Director

Rick Hatcher was hired in May of 1998 to create the Lexington Area Sports Authority (LASA). LASA was the first sports commission in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and currently works with over 40 events annually.

Since 1998, LASA has assisted in bidding and securing, marketing, promoting, and hosting of such prominent events as the Cincinnati 2012 Olympic bid effort, World Equestrian Games 2006 & 2010, NAIA Men's and Women's National Tennis Championships, AAU National Cross Country Championships, Southern Bowling Congress, Fourteen Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Championships and many more high profile events.

Rick is a former Chairman of the National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) and also served as chair of the Certified Sports Events Executive (C.S.E.E.) committee. He is also a graduate of that program.

Rick also serves on the Board of Directors for the Bluegrass State Games, Children's Charity Golf Classic, Downtown Lexington Corporation and the National Congress of State Games. In 2003, Rick served as chairman of the American Heart Association "Heart Walk". He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Lexington.

Prior to coming to Lexington, Rick was the Executive Director of the Tallahassee Sports Council from 1996 to 1998 and also served as the Senior Director of Sales and Marketing for the Tallahassee Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. While in Tallahassee, Rick assisted with the hosting of the USA Cycling National Championships - Masters Division and the bid presentation for the Babe Ruth World Series, which was played in Tallahassee in 1998.

Rick's background is filled with sports. After graduating from high school in Port St. Joe, Florida in 1976, Rick played one year of football at the University of Nebraska before transferring to Florida State University to resume his first love, baseball. After completing his playing career at Florida State University (1979 - 1981), he played three seasons in the minor leagues for the Atlanta Braves. One of the many highlights of Rick's playing career occurred when he pitched a perfect game for the Durham Bulls in 1982.

Rick served as an assistant baseball coach at the University of Tennessee, Georgia Tech and the University of South Carolina. In 1994, while coaching at Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets finished runner-up in the College World Series held in Omaha, Nebraska. Rick also coached on the high school level for six years in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

In 1980, during Rick's time with the Seminoles, the Florida State University baseball team reached the College World Series. Rick is one of only a handful of College World Series (CWS) alumni to have played (1980) and coached (1994) in the CWS.