One minute you’re a high school wrestling state champion. It’s your senior year and you have a scholarship to attend college based on your wrestling skills.
Life is good.
But then life throws you a wicked curve ball. An opposing wrestling coach finds out you never took your high school physical, which is required. The coach protests and wins.
Just like that, your championship is revoked, and worse, so is your scholarship. When you come from a one-parent household with limited funds, college suddenly seems like a far-fetched possibility.
Welcome to the obstacle that Jermaine Hanspard faced in 1993.
Wrestling had been his lifeline at Poly High School in Long Beach, Calif. But with his scholarship gone, he became frustrated and quit wrestling. He tried college, but couldn’t afford it.
And then came the television commercial that changed his life.
“I saw that Army commercial with ‘Be All You Can Be,’” said Hanspard. “I saw that I could earn $30,000 for three years of service and went for it.”
While in the military, Hanspard participated in inter-fort track competitions and played on the local football team. He thrived under such discipline, and upon finishing his three years of service, he enrolled at his hometown Long Beach City College.
Hanspard excelled in both track and football while at LBCC, earning a first-team All-Region IV pick as a defensive back and running sprint times of 10.5 seconds and 46.2 seconds in the 100 and 400 meters, respectively.
But he wanted more. He wanted what Oregon provided: a chance to compete in Tracktown, U.S.A, and in one of the nation’s most up-and-coming football programs.
In the spring of ’99 he was pulling double duty in both sports, and his grades suffered.
“Man, last spring, school was kicking my butt,” Hanspard said. “School is definitely the most important thing right now. “

This spring he is as focused as ever. He recently completed a spring football season and also ran in the 100- and 200-meter dashes for the track team. He’ll also serve as a key member of the relay team this weekend in the Pacific-10 Conference Championships at Hayward Field.
To swing this heavy load, Hanspard relies on his respective coaches to plan his schedule. Football coach Mike Bellotti and Smith said they meet throughout the year to coordinate schedules.
But Hanspard always loves having a full plate on his table. As he says, “I love being busy. I want to just stay on a constant move.”
He was doing just that in April. But for Hanspard, it was business as usual.
Wake up at 8 a.m., go to school until 1 p.m., go to track practice from 1 to 3 p.m., then head over to the football field and practice until 6 p.m. and attend study hall from 6 to 8 p.m. And then the next day do it all over again.
Despite the tough schedule, Hanspard loves the unique challenges that both sports provide.
“Man, in track, they’re more mild,” Hanspard said. “That’s why [sprint] coach [Tony] Veney loves to have football players out there. He says we give the team a toughness.”
It is a toughness that Hanspard has kept from his military days. And in order to understand why he goes through all he does, one must go back to those five simple words that shaped him into the person he is today:
“Be All You Can Be.”