‘I felt him in the building tonight’

UTRGV honors Lew Hill at basketball game

Lew Hill, the UTRGV Men’s Basketball head coach from 2016-21, who died a year ago, was more than just a coach, as his mantra, ‘Peace & Love,’ was something he lived by and is carried on by the people who knew him.

“It’s a bittersweet moment,” his widow, Renee Hill, said about the Lew Hill Tribute Night last Wednesday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse, where the Vaqueros faced Lamar University.

“It feels sad in the sense of, we’re having this night and, you know, these conversations, but on the other side of that it feels great to know that he’s not forgotten, that he still has a presence,” said Hill, who was married to  the coach for 21 years.

Lew Hill Tribute Night 

The tribute night started with a round of applause for coach Hill while a chair with a No. 3 UTRGV jersey stood alone in the middle of the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Coach Hill wore No. 3 when he played for Wichita State University from 1985-1988.

UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque told The Rider that the tribute night was something they have been planning for a while.

“I loved the round of applause we did at the beginning of the game to celebrate his life and his contributions to not just UTRGV, but to society and to all those that he impacted throughout his life.” 

At halftime, the Intercollegiate Athletics department screened a tribute video that featured Hill’s locker room talks, interviews and footage of his time at UTRGV.

Renee Hill told The Rider she became emotional while watching the tribute video.

“I couldn’t, even as strong as I was trying to be and hold it back, I couldn’t,” she said. “It was amazing. Like I said, just to hear his voice and just to hear those talks again, or hear how he talks about the community, the players, just staff [and] administration.”

Hill said she hopes this is only the beginning and that the presence and energy he left will be felt not just in the basketball program but throughout UTRGV and the community.

Driven by the spirit of Lew Hill, the Vaqueros posted their highest scoring game of the season to defeat the Cardinals 93-79, with three players scoring 22 or more points.

Graduate forward Marek Nelson led the Vaqueros with a career-high 30 points and 10 rebounds for his

first double-double. Junior guard Justin Johnson had his second double-double of the season with

24 points and 10 rebounds. Graduate guard Xavier Johnson scored a season-tying high 22 points and

seven assists.

“Tonight wasn’t really about us, it was about the legacy of coach Hill,” Nelson said in a post-game interview.

After the game, the UTRGV Men’s Basketball Team went to Renee Hill and her children LJ and Elle to wish them well.

“Yeah, it’s just a regular game, man, but obviously there’s a little extra meaning behind it, which was great,” Nelson said. “You know, I felt him in the building tonight, without a doubt.”

‘Peace & Love’

Renee Hill said knowing her husband off  the court was where one saw the greater perspective of who he was and what he stood for.

“His fame and notoriety came from him being a coach but to know him off the court … to describe him in a few words is love, kindness,” Renee Hill said. “Just to be in his presence, you just felt uplifted automatically. Always with a smile on his face. Definitely old school, like from the heart. He’s just an amazing human. And I’m not just saying that, but ask other people and they’ll tell you the same.”

Renee Hill still has her husband’s cell phone and said former players, coaches and friends still text him to this day.

“I don’t open them,” she said. “I don’t read them, but they still text him to this day and that says a lot about him as a human.”

Nelson, who played for coach Hill from 2019-21, told The Rider he was full of inspirational gems, some taking longer for his players to fully understand, but the easiest one that comes to mind is ‘Peace & Love.’ 

“Despite everything that’s going on, just having peace and love about situations, you know, however difficult times may be, if you approach it with peace and love, you’re going to be part of the solution, not the problem,” he said. “So, I just kind of remember that and bring that with me throughout, you know, especially off the court, just for things outside of basketball. Just to treat people with peace and with love, man. There’s not a lot of that going on in today’s world in general.”

Renee Hill said her husband was an advocate for always bringing peace and love to whatever he did and to whoever he met. With coach Hill’s famous ‘Peace & Love’ resonating with anyone who had a chance to know him, she said she has another quote that she holds close to her heart.

“He would always say to me, ‘I know everybody sees me and I get all the accolades and everything, but you’re the real MVP’ still means a lot to me,” Renee Hill said, holding back tears. “And he would always

just say the sacrifices that I make for our family and to make sure that he’s good and to make sure that the kids are good and he just really appreciated it.”