UTRGV Basketball: Remembering Vaqueros Head Coach Lew Hill

The college basketball world was dealt a devastating blow on Sunday morning when the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley announced the passing of Head Coach Lew Hill at the age of 55.

The news came just a day after the Vaqueros fell on the road to Texas Southern, 77-75, on Saturday night.  It is also now the second instance of a head coach passing during the season after UT Martin’s Anthony Stewart passed back on November 15th.

In his five-year tenure with the Vaqueros, brought substantial success to a program that has not necessarily enjoyed much prosperity.  Inheriting a program that went 8-22 in 2015-16, Hill – within three years – led UTRGV to its first overall winning record since 2007-08, as well as its first winning record in conference play since 1994-95.

That should come as no surprise, considering who Hill learned from throughout his career.  After helping lead San Jacinto College to an NJCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship title in 1984 – and receiving JUCO All-American honors in the process – Hill finished his collegiate career at Wichita State under Eddie Fogler.

After averaging 9.6 points per game in 1985-86 before missing the following year with a back injury, Hill returned to the starting lineup with a vengeance in 1987-88 – as the only senior starter, Hill became a team leader on and off the court, averaging a second-best 13.1 points per game – and a team-best 14.1 points in Missouri Valley Conference play, where they went 14-1 en route to an NCAA Tournament berth.  Unsurprisingly, Hill received honors for his stellar season, being named the All-MVC Conference team at the end of the year.

Hill never left the game, even after graduating from Wichita State – after playing a season professionally in Germany, he joined Wichita State High School as an assistant almost immediately in 1989, staying there for one season before jumping to the college ranks at South Alabama.

Until earning the Texas-Rio Grande Valley in 2016, Hill was an assistant for 27 years – at multiple stops, too, with the aforementioned two institutions as well as Southeast Missouri State, East Carolina, Texas A&M, UNLV, and Oklahoma.

In his 27 seasons as an assistant coach, Hill amassed a stellar 456-330 record on the sidelines – including a dominant, combined mark of 272-128 in his final two stops at UNLV and Oklahoma.  Those 12 combined seasons at UNLV and Oklahoma saw Hill learn and serve under Lon Kruger – and saw Hill’s tenure capped off by the Sooners’ Buddy Hield-led Final Four run in 2016.

Understandably and deservedly, Hill’s 27-year pedigree – as well as being a crucial part of OU’s stellar season – catapulted him to his first head coaching gig, when he accepted the Texas-Rio Grande Valley job in 2016.  Inheriting a squad that finished with less than 10 wins the year prior, the Vaqueroes experienced improvements in every single one of Hill’s five seasons.

After finishing his first season at 10-22 overall and 2-12 in WAC play, Hill led his team to 15-18 overall and 6-8 WAC marks the following year – which led the team to earn a CBI berth.  The next season, the Vaqueros won 20 games for the first time since 2001-02, finishing fourth in the WAC with a 9-7 record and earning a CIT berth where they knocked off Grambling State in the opening round.

And – despite finishing the 2019-29 season with a losing overall record – the Vaqueros still finished 9-7 in the WAC, and entered the conference tournament as the number-two seed.  This year, UTRGV appeared to be one of the top contenders again in the WAC, being just one of two undefeated teams left in conference play – the other being Grand Canyon.  At 8-4, none of UTRGV’s losses have been awful by any means, coming to Texas, Texas A&M,  Sam Houston State, and Texas Southern – the latter two by three and two points, respectively.

Not many basketball coaches – assistant or head – embodied winning quite like Lew Hill.  Hill’s 67 win total at the helm of the Vaqueros is the fifth-best mark in program history.  In his final 22 games, UTRGV won 16 games – including eight of their final 10 during the 2019-20 season.  Hill finished his career – as an assistant and head – with a combined 515-435 overall record.

Hill’s well-renowned service did not stop with his players, either.  UTRGV’s tribute to Hill outlined his willingness – and leadership – in bringing awareness to issues such as diabetes, as well as social justice – particularly in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the shooting of Jacob Blake, and the NBA and WNBA’s decision to cancel games.  No paragraph in UTRGV’s tribute highlights Hill’s service as much as this one, however:

"[Hill] also believed greatly in giving back to the campus and the community. Hill was known for buying large amounts of breakfast tacos and walking to faculty and staff offices around campus to deliver breakfast and thank his fellow UTRGV employees for their hard work and dedication. When UTRGV Athletics started a weekly story time series this past spring, Hill was the first employee to sign up, reading The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Back Yard with his daughter, Elle."

Hill’s service to his players, the UTRGV community, and the greater basketball world cannot be overstated.  A tremendous 32-year career on the sidelines has led to winning cultures at numerous institutions – and that career also yielded one of the most generous and dedicated men in the business.

All that being said, Hill was, most importantly, a family man.  He is survived by his wife, Renee, and their two children, Lewis Jr. and Elle – as well as three daughters from a previous marriage in Sierra, Erica, and Asya.

Hill led an exemplary life, complete with a culture of winning and family – and has now left a legacy that should be celebrated.  What Texas-Rio Grande Valley does moving forward has yet to be seen – but what is most important is recognizing and honoring the impact, love, and legacy that Hill had for his players, his community, and his family.