Chris Hill (athletic director)

Last updated
Chris Hill
Biographical details
Bornc. 1950 (age 7374)
Playing career
1969–1972 Rutgers
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1973–1974 Utah (GA)
1975–1979 Granger HS
1979–1981Utah (assistant)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1985–1986Crimson Club (director)
1987–2018 Utah
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Mountain West Conference's Commissioner's Award (2004)
Utah High School 4A Coach of the Year (1975)

Chris Hill (born c. 1950) is an American college athletics administrator and former basketball player and coach. He was the athletic director at the University of Utah from 1987 to 2018. His responsibilities included overseeing the athletic department and supervising all the coaches. During his thirty-one years in his position, he has hired several coaches, secured funding for facilities upgrades, and negotiated the University of Utah's entrance into the Pac-12 Conference.

Contents

Background

He served as co-captain of the 197172 Rutgers team. [1]

Coaches hired

During Hill's tenure, the Utah Utes have shown success in several different sports. He has been responsible for hiring Rick Majerus in college basketball and Ron McBride, Urban Meyer, and Kyle Whittingham in college football. From 2004–2009, he served on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee, which decides which teams are accepted into the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournament held each March. [2]

A March 2013 story appearing Yahoo! Sports suggested that Hill ignored complaints from students and parents about abusive behavior from Greg Winslow, a swimming coach at Utah from 2007 to 2013. [3]

Facilities improvements

Hill has helped improve the athletics facilities at Utah. In 1998, the school remodeled Rice-Eccles Stadium in preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympics, which held the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the stadium. [4] In addition, the following facilities have been improved or built during his tenure: the George S. Eccles Tennis Center, Dee Glen Smith Athletics Center, and the McCarthey Practice Fields. [5]

Pac-12 Conference

Hill and University of Utah president Michael K. Young negotiated with the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) to make Utah a member. Utah joined the Pac-10 for the 2011–12 academic year. The University of Colorado at Boulder also joined the Pac-10 in 2011, when the conference was renamed as the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). [6]

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References

  1. "July 1, 2014 (Page C3)" . Home News Tribune . July 1, 2014. p. C3. ProQuest   2058958058 . Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  2. "The Official Athletic Site of the University of Utah". Archived from the original on 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  3. Adelson, Eric (March 8, 2013). "Students, parents claim University of Utah ignored coach's abusive behavior". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
  4. "UTAH OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE - Traditions". Archived from the original on 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
  5. "The Official Athletic Site of the University of Utah". utahutes.cstv.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008.
  6. "University of Utah's Pac-10 dream began years ago, materialized in months". Deseret News. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-23.