The University of Mary Washington and Fredericksburg communities mourn the loss of former athletic director and coach Dr. Edward Hegmann, unquestionably the greatest champion of Mary Washington athletics, who passed away on September 24.

Through his 36-year tenure, the UMW athletic program entered and excelled as NCAA Division III emerged, growing from the six sports that existed when he arrived in 1976 to 23 varsity programs by his retirement in 2012.

As women's tennis coach, Hegmann coached at Mary Washington for 23 years and led the Eagles to three national championships, including the AIAW national title in 1982 and NCAA Division III titles in 1988 and 1991. He  achieved Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the Year awards and captured nine straight CAC championships after the league was formed in 1990 through his retirement as coach in 1999. He was named the NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year in 1988 and again in 1999, and he was inducted into Mary Washington's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. Along the way, he won 382 matches as one of the elite NCAA coaches in the nation at any level, as evidenced by his numerous wins over NCAA Division I programs.

Today, the outdoor tennis facility at UMW bears his family's name, and his work to build the Mary Washington Athletics program and place among Division III peers is unmatched. This skill at building – developed during his time as a surveyor in Vietnam – is demonstrated through the best athletic facilities in the region at any level. He turned a six-hole golf course into the Battleground Athletic Complex, which has hosted more than 30 NCAA tournament events, including national championships in field hockey, women's soccer, men's soccer, men's tennis, and women's tennis. The William M. Anderson Center, home to UMW men's and women's basketball and volleyball, has hosted NCAA Tournament events in all three sports since opening in 2011, including three rounds of the men's basketball tournament in 2026 as the Eagles went on to win their first national championship since Hegmann's women's tennis team took home a trophy in 1991.

Hegmann also had an instinct of hiring an amazingly talented group of coaches. Many of his coaching hires in the 80s and 90s had little to no previous head coaching experience, and he mentored them into a group that was the envy of Division III with national accolades. His belief that every program was important was evident in the broad-based success of the program during his time, as nearly every single program achieved national success, evidenced by the school's annual high ranking in the Learfield Director's Cup.

Hegmann, with the full support of President Dr. William Anderson, solely built the Mary Washington athletic program – both literally and figuratively.

After retirement, he remained the single greatest supporter of Mary Washington athletics, aiding the programs with the same zeal for success he led with as athletic director and coach for so long. For hundreds of student-athletes, coaches, staff, and colleagues, he will be deeply missed.