Chris Hill stepping down as U of U Athletics Director

SALT LAKE CITY – Major changes are announced at the University of Utah.  Athletics Director Chris Hill will be retiring in the next two months.

Chris Hill has been Athletic Director for over 30 years. So, why retire now?  Hill says he’s been thinking about it for a while, and he and his wife made the decision was made back in January.

“My heart is telling me and it feels good.  So, that’s all there is,” Hill says.

He choked back tears a few times as he thanked his family, fellow AD’s and coaches for supporting him.

“I played basketball at Rutgers.  I coached, I taught and I got the chance to spend my life in sports.  That is known as ‘the circuit’ in baseball,” Hill says, adding, “Hours and days of the week don’t matter when, every day, you do it because you have so much passion.  It really is a lot of fun, gang.  It really is a lot of fun.”

He plans on dusting off the resume and doing some work for a consulting firm.  He’s even tossing around the idea of writing a book filled with personal stories he’s gathered while at the helm of the Athletics Department.

He had a few words of advice for the new AD.  He says that person should surround themselves with people who are not afraid to tell them that they’re “full of it.”  He believes one of the best decisions he ever made was to ask for advice from those around him when he was newly hired.

Football Head Coach Kyle Wittingham says their program has improved dramatically under Hill’s guidance.  He hopes for more of the same from the new AD.

“Where was the program from when he took it over, and look where it is, now.  It’s night and day,” Whittingham says.

(Photo Credit: Jacob Wiegand, Deseret News)