Ben Hardesty ’69 and Rick Wagener ’69
“Brotherhood that I learned while pledging 50-years ago assisted in my training as you must depend on the person roped up to you with your life. My climbing partner for many expeditions was Robert (Bob) Steptoe Jr, Virginia Alpha ’63. Another Phi Psi bond and brother you can trust. Nobody can let go of the rope at 15,000 ft. The situations you encounter (when climbing) will physically and mentally break you down.”
– Ben Hardesty ’69
Two pledge Brothers, Ben Hardesty ’69 and Rick Wagener ’69, arrived in Morgantown from different backgrounds and for different reasons.
Hardesty grew up in Shinnston, WV. Preceding his arrival in Morgantown (and the Fraternity) was his older brother, David Hardesty ’64, who also attended Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. He later became the 21st President of West Virginia University (1995-2007). Ben earned his B.S. degree in 1972 and his M.S. degree from George Washington University in 1976. While at WVU, in addition to Phi Kappa Psi, Hardesty was a member of Sphinx, Mountain, the Student Legislature, the Athletic Council, and Army ROTC. He served as an active-duty reserve Army officer.
Hardesty noted that it was not a foregone conclusion he would pledge Phi Psi. He visited other fraternity houses, and he also knew a couple of older brothers, Richard Adams ’65 and Ricklin Brown ‘65, who were contemporaries of his brother. In the end, he pledged Phi Kappa Psi, where his Big Brother was George Zivkovich ’68 and his Little Brother was Herschel ‘Ned’ Rose ’70. After military service, he worked on Capitol Hill, where John Nutter ’66 was instrumental in helping him secure a position as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Before founding Alta Energy, Hardesty was the President of Stonewall Gas Company, Dominion Exploration & Production, and affiliated Dominion Energy companies. Hardesty is the owner and CEO of Alta Energy, a consulting firm focused on oil, natural gas, and energy.
He serves on the boards of several private energy and financial companies. At the WVU College of Engineering Commencement on May 12, 2024, Hardesty was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering. He also delivered commencement remarks to about 450 graduates. Previous WVU Honorary Degree recipients include Charles Vest ’60 and Robert “Bob” Reynolds ’71.
Wagener, a native of Linthicum, Maryland, was the son of a blacksmith and a bookkeeper. He chose to attend WVU to further his burgeoning baseball career. In many ways, it was fate for Rick to go to WVU, where he met his wife, Jay, during their freshman year in an economics class. In the late 1960s, few athletes participated in fraternities. However, the WVU Baseball Coach, Dale Ramsburg, was a Sigma Phi Epsilon alumnus, and he encouraged players to explore fraternities to build a network of non-athletic friends. Ironically, Matt Ruckman ’69 was also a member of the football team. Consequently, the decision was made to rush and pledge Phi Psi. Rick has stayed close to his Big Brother, Mike Hoffman ’68; and (2nd Big Brother, Bill Richards ’68, and Jim Dailer ’69.
Wagener, a left-handed pitcher, finished with an impressive 16-3 overall record and a 1.79 ERA during his WVU career from 1968 to 1971. He pitched 156 career innings at WVU, totaling 193 strikeouts in 26 career appearances. In terms of his WVU baseball career, Wagener ranks No. 2 in program history for strikeouts per nine innings (11.13) and No. 5 in career ERA (1.79). Notably, Wagener was the first-ever freshman to compete at the varsity level for the Mountaineers in 1968.
“I attended Rick’s last game vs Pitt. He pitched a gem, beating them for the 4th time during his career,” noted Hardesty. Wagener shared: “Before the game, the Pitt Coach asked me if I was ever going to graduate.”
He spent three seasons in the New York Mets organization from 1971-73, after being selected by the club in the second round of the 1971 January Secondary Draft. ‘I was drafted after my junior year but decided to stay (at WVU) and finish school,” noted Wagner.
Wagener attended graduate college during baseball off-season and earned a master’s degree from George Washington University. He is the Managing Partner and Registered Principal at Wagner-Lee, LLC, in Columbia, MD. For more than 30-years he has practiced comprehensive financial planning and portfolio management and is a Registered Principal with Raymond James Financial Services.
His business success has created the opportunity for both Rick and his wife, Jay, to make several significant donations to the WVU Baseball Program since 2022, leading to the renaming of the field as Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark. The Wagener’s have also supported the recently completed construction of a new state-of- the-art indoor WVU baseball facility.
Having achieved significant success in their personal and business careers, these pledge brothers created their own ‘Bucket List’ for climbing the world’s major peaks.
Wagener’s list includes Mount Everest, Nepal; Mount Cook, New Zealand; Mount Aconcaguna, Argentina; Patagonia, Chile; Chamonix, France; Mount Courmayeur, Italy; Mount Ranier, Seattle; and Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
For Hardesty, his list includes Grand Teton and Gannett Peak (WY), Mount Rainer (WA), Mount Hood (OR), Granite Peak (MT), Mount Shasta and Mount Whitney (CA), Grand Canyon-South Rim (AZ), The Matterhorn, Switzerland, Mount Elbrus, Russia, Mount Kilijamaro, Tanzania, Mont Blanc, France, Pico de Orizaba, Mexico, Mount Khuiten, the volcanoes of Ecuador, and the Volcanoes of Iceland.
Note: Due to weather and safety conditions, not every summit attempt was successful, and both Hardesty and Wagener made second summit bids. They have NEVER ‘summitted’ together.
Both brothers share another common bond: they married wonderful women. Rick has been married to Jay for 52 years, and they have two daughters and three grandchildren. Ben and Jeanie will celebrate their 50th anniversary on August 2, 2025. Today, they are proud parents of three children and five grandchildren.
