Dr. Brent Hardin is the Founder and Director of the University of Alabama Adapted Athletics program and a nationally recognized leader in collegiate adapted athletics and Paralympic sport. Since arriving at The University of Alabama in 2003, Hardin has led the development of one of the nation's most comprehensive collegiate programs for student-athletes with disabilities.
A graduate of the University of Georgia and Florida State University, Hardin earned his degree in Human Performance from Georgia and his doctorate in Adapted Physical Education from Florida State University. He joined The University of Alabama in 2003 as a faculty member and, with co-founder Dr. Margaret Stran and the support of University leadership, began developing what would become Alabama Adapted Athletics.
The program began in 2003 with women's wheelchair basketball and expanded to men's wheelchair basketball in 2006, wheelchair tennis in 2013, and para track and field in 2024. What began as a small volunteer initiative has grown into a comprehensive high-performance program serving more than 40 student-athletes and supported by a professional staff of coaches and administrators. The program provides opportunities for student-athletes with disabilities to compete at the highest levels of collegiate sport while pursuing academic, professional and personal development.
Under Hardin's leadership, Alabama Adapted Athletics has captured 26 national championships, establishing a sustained record of competitive excellence in collegiate adapted athletics. The program has also become a significant contributor to the international Paralympic movement, with student-athletes and coaches representing the United States and other nations in international competition, including the Paralympic Games.
Hardin has also overseen the development of nationally significant facilities supporting adapted athletics. In 2018, Alabama opened Stran-Hardin Arena, a $10 million facility dedicated to adapted athletics and named in honor of Hardin and co-founder Margaret Stran. The facility includes a wheelchair basketball arena, sports medicine and athletic training areas, strength and conditioning facilities, locker rooms, coaches' offices, conference space and student areas. In 2021, Alabama further expanded its adapted athletics infrastructure with the opening of the Parker-Haun Tennis Facility, designed specifically to support collegiate wheelchair tennis.
Beyond athletic competition, Hardin has developed Alabama Adapted Athletics as a model that integrates sport, academics, research, career development and community engagement. The program has established partnerships with national governing bodies, disability sport organizations, universities and community organizations, while Hardin has provided consultation and program-development guidance to collegiate and international disability sport organizations.
Hardin's leadership and contributions to The University of Alabama were recognized in 2017 when he received the Frederick Moody Blackmon-Sarah McCorkle Moody Outstanding Professor Award, one of the University's highest faculty honors. The award recognizes an innovative, creative or useful accomplishment that captures the imagination and reflects significant contributions to the University and its broader community.
Under Hardin's direction, Alabama Adapted Athletics has continued to expand its academic and educational mission alongside its competitive success. The program has developed new academic opportunities related to Paralympic sport, supported research and interdisciplinary collaboration, and provided student-athletes with opportunities for internships, career development and transition planning. In 2025–26, the program reported a 91 percent four-year graduation rate over the previous five years and a program GPA of 3.61.
Hardin has served in numerous national and international leadership roles throughout his career, including work with U.S. Paralympics, national wheelchair basketball organizations, international disability sport federations and collegiate Paralympic initiatives. He has also coached and advised athletes and organizations internationally and has been involved in the development of collegiate adapted athletics programs across the United States.
Through more than two decades of leadership, Hardin has helped transform collegiate adapted athletics from a developing concept into a high-performance model that combines competitive excellence, academic achievement and student-athlete development. His work has positioned The University of Alabama as a national leader in collegiate Paralympic sport and established a foundation for continued growth and opportunity for student-athletes with disabilities.
Â
