Trojan Lettermen’s Spotlight: Fred Lord

Fred Lord takes his job at the construction site – and his duties as a husband and a father – seriously. No less important to the vice president of the Trojan Lettermen’s Association (TLA) is his job promoting UALR athletics. UALR athletics still mean the world to Fred Lord, and promoting the university he once attended and represented on the men’s basketball team and tennis team is something he gladly does for free. A native of Louisville, Ky., Lord came to UALR as a freshman in 1971 after being recruited by then-head coach Happy Mahfouz. “Happy Mahfouz was the basketball coach then and he came up there to see a couple of different high school players and offered me a scholarship,” said Lord. “I got down here as a freshman. I didn’t play much my freshman year, but I started when I was a sophomore and started all three years and was captain of the team the last two years. I actually played tennis at UALR the last two years also.” In his four years as a Trojan, Lord averaged 9.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He was also able to travel to Europe and play different teams while enjoying international culture. “We played five different armed forces teams over there,” said Lord. “Although, when we got there they told us the armed forces teams were really good and semi-pro teams, and we weren’t going to win any games. I think we played the toughest team the first night we were there and beat them by over 50 points. We got to go around and visit the castles. The sightseeing over there was really a lot of fun.” Since graduating in 1975 with a degree in political science, Lord has developed his own construction company, Fred Lord Builders, Inc. He is married to Karen, and they have two sons, Fred III (Trey) and Andrew. Lord’s oldest son Nick works along with him in his construction business. Lord said UALR served as the building block to his future successes and helped him learn valuable lessons. “Well, one of the things sports does, especially UALR did for me being a member of a basketball team, it teaches you teamwork,” Lord said. “It teaches you how to work with other people. It teaches you how to work with people that are not necessarily like you. Being captain for the last two years taught me how to relate to other people and how to get everybody to mesh together. The teamwork and the leadership skills were the most important values I took away from basketball there.” Even with his busy schedule, Lord now repays UALR with his involvement in the Trojan Lettermen’s Association. His dedication and hard work on the board shows just how much being a Trojan meant to him. “I think it is great, because when I left there they didn’t have any kind of association like this,” said Lord. “Everybody just kind of went their separate ways. The only time we would get together is when we ran into each other just at a chance. This association gives former athletes several opportunities throughout the year to come together. The first TLA weekend that they had last year, I saw guys I hadn’t seen in 30 years, former teammates.” After all of these years, Lord still continues to support UALR as if he was still wearing No. 32 and running on the court. This time he runs out to tell the community and former Trojans about how still being a part of UALR is a wonderful gift.