2021 Hall of Fame Feature: Pete Spratt

The list of athletes who have competed in two sports at Southeastern is a fairly long one.
 
The number of athletes who have been as dominant in both sports as Pete Spratt is significantly smaller.
 
But after recruiting him out of high school in Sherman, Texas, it looked like this story was not in the cards as Spratt chose to continue his career at Division I Northwestern State in Louisiana.
 
"During the recruiting time of my senior year," said Spratt talking about Southeastern's recruiting efforts, "I think you guys kind of had the idea that you wouldn't be able to get me out of high school."
 
But the time and effort in the recruiting process was not wasted, and one final show of respect for the athlete who had opted to play elsewhere would make all the difference a year later.
 
"But I remember during the recruiting process," added Spratt, "That I got a note from you guys. It wasn't even a letter, it was a note from you guys."
 
"The note basically said 'if you ever need us, give us a call,'" he said.
 
And early on in his time in Louisiana it looked like he may need to find a phone.
 
"So at that particular time I signed with Northwestern State (La.)," he said. "Ended up going to Northwestern and first semester there I didn't like it. I just couldn't get used to the city and the environment. I didn't like it and I quit."
 
"Then the second semester I went back," added Spratt, "I'm like, OK, Let me just try it again to make sure I'm not trippin' and I can make this work. I go back the second semester. Same thing. I just could not relate to the environment there so I quit again."
 
After things failed to click at Northwestern State, Spratt found himself in a position to do some soul searching.
 
"So now I'm sitting out and doing stuff I shouldn't be doing," he said. "So I'm either going to be dead or in jail, or I need to figure out what I'm going to do.
 
That encouraged Spratt to dig back in his recruiting history as he weighed his options.
 
"I'm like," he said, "Let me dig through my letters. So I'm digging through all these letters and I see the note. And I'm like, 'I'm calling them right now.'"
 
"So I called Coach Sloan, set up a meeting," he continued. "Came in, I had my little folder with all my stuff organized together. Came in and sat down. You guys got me in there and welcomed me in and the rest is kind of history."
 
And quite a history it turned out to be for the two-sport star who had previously left his mark on the Sherman High School football and track record books before ultimately cross the Red River.
 
When athletes play multiple sports, it is usually easy to pick out which one they are dominant in or have a natural affinity for.
 
But for Spratt, you could have that debate and never settle on the right answer.
 
For instance, in the Fall over his career on the gridiron he would earn All-American honors in 1995, pick up a pair of All-Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference awards, and become Southeastern's first 2,000-yard career receiver. His 1,009 yard effort in 1996 still ranks as the fourth-best single season in school history, while his 2,336 yards over his career remains fourth on the all-time receiving list.
 
But not so fast in making that decision, in the spring he plied his talents in both track and field events. Spratt is a two-time national qualifier in the long jump and added a national qualification in the 4x100M relay, He would finish 10^th in the nation in the long jump in 1995. He was a six-time event champion in the OIC, winning the long jump all three years he competed, picking up a pair of triple jump championships and adding a 4x100M relay title.
 
So in any given season between 1992 and 1996, it was not unusual for Spratt to torch DB's down the sideline in the fall, only to come back and torch his opponents around the track surrounding the field in the Spring.
 
In fact, it was pretty common.
 
Following a storied career such as that one might choose to chase a playing career or take up a headset on the sidelines and climb the coaching ranks. Or even just put the trophies up on a shelf and start down the road of life using the degree they earned.
 
And while these options may have tugged at Spratt, his encore was a turn even he didn't see coming.
 
I think I was a freshman when the UFC first came out," said Spratt. "I want to say the first UFC was in 1992, and I remember sitting in the dorm room watching the UFC and was like 'I would never, ever do something like that in my life. I would never do that.'"
 
And if the movies have taught us nothing, it's when you say something like that you know what is coming next.
 
"And lo and behold," he inevitably added, "Years later I would end up making a career out of fighting in the UFC."
 
So the decorated athlete who dominated multiple sports through high school and college was set to put all that athleticism and skill to use in an entirely new endeavor.
 
Spratt would collect 25 wins over his time as an MMA fighter, including an impressive 8-1 start to his career.
 
He would headline fights across the country as well as Canada, Japan and Brazil over an active fighting career that spanned from 1999 through 2013.
 
"I fought all over the world," said Spratt of his time as an MMA fighter, "First of all, I never imagined going all over the country, let alone going all over the world. That was something that coming from a small town like Sherman, Texas, thinking one day I would be able to travel the world and do something I love to do, I never had an inkling that I would be able to do something like that. And mixed martial arts allowed me to do that."
 
He would take that experience, and parlay it into a career.
 
"It's been a blessing," said Spratt. "I have my own business, and they say if you never feel like you're working, you never have a job. And I don't feel like my job is work."
 
"I'm giving back to my community," he continued. "I'm making some kids dreams come true. And that's the biggest and most important thing for me is being able to give that knowledge to these kids and help them achieve their goals. And I've got several people who have achieved great things in mixed martial arts. That's what is satisfying for me as a person and as a coach."
 
Spratt's journey from Sherman High School standout to Southeastern Athletics Hall of Famer was as wide and varied as any. But that journey shows the drive and determination of an athlete who was driven to be the best, as well as the importance of a cultivated and well maintained relationship and how its effects can have lasting results.
 
"Had it not been for y'all leaving me that note," said Spratt, "I have no idea where I would be to this day."