During a news conference held Wednesday, Renee Hill, the widow of late UTRGV Men’s Basketball head coach Lew Hill, expresses her thoughts on the plaza honoring her late husband on the day that would have been their 16th wedding anniversary. MATTHEW GONZALEZ/THE RIDER PHOTOS
Fieldhouse Plaza to be named after late men’s basketball coach
The UTRGV Fieldhouse Plaza will be renamed in honor of the late UTRGV Men’s Basketball head coach Lew Hill. Hill, who coached the team from 2016 until his death in late 2021, had a lasting impact on UTRGV and its community.
During a news conference outside the Fieldhouse in Edinburg Wednesday afternoon announcing the plans for the memorial plaza beginning in 2023, Hill’s widow, Renee Hill, spoke about the significance of the day.
“First and foremost that comes to mind is, ‘This is a magical day,’ because it’s also Lewis and I’s anniversary today,” Renee Hill replied when asked for her thoughts about the renaming. “And for this announcement to be made today, for the world to hear, it’s just like him further saying that he’s always with me.
“There’s a ton of people that [it] took to make this happen, so I’m super, super thankful and appreciative of each and every one of you, whether it was through prayer … through a monetary donation, or just supporting me and our family as we continue to find what our new normal is.”
Hill said this means more to her than renaming a plaza.
“This means more than just a monument or just a name,” she said. “It means all of the student athletes and people that will come here will feel his presence. They will feel his kindness, his gentle heart. Just how he cared about people in general, student athletes, professors, the administration, just everyone in general will be able to feel just that little solace of peace and love that he embarked on every single day.”
Asked how she thinks coach Hill would feel about the plaza being named in his honor, Hill replied, “We have a joke in our house that the kids and I would always tease him and say, ‘Oh, you’re just [Rio Grande] Valley famous,’ so now he would say to us, ‘Oh, I’m more than Valley famous’ now. The whole world’s gonna know who I am and what I stand for. So I know he’s in heaven having a blast and bragging like crazy.”
UTRGV Men’s Basketball head coach Matt Figger said the new additions will help bring in new talent and recruit, saying the “Lew Hill memorial will be right there in the forefront.
“And you know, he’s [Lew Hill] from New York. So, you know … we have East Coast recruiting ties and so when you talk to kids back east, and things like that, they know who coach Hill is and him being from Mount Vernon, New York,” Figger said during the news conference. “So yeah, it’s gonna be great. It’s just another piece to be competitive in this league to have, you know, the things that kids like to see, obviously the atrium and things there and the new practice facility, new weight room, all those things. It’s a huge addition to our program.”
He also spoke about the importance of having these new additions, saying it ensures the students have what they need and helps bring in recruits.
“Every athletic department is kind of in an arms race to have bigger, better, nicer things, because it is about the student athletes,” Figger said. “You want to have something that your student athletes take pride in. You want them to feel good about their situation. …
“As a coach, you don’t ever want them to want or need anything. And it’s also something that is going to be a drawing point for our community. We want our community to be involved in what we’re doing here and what we’re trying to build. … It helps us in recruiting and helps us to draw people to this wonderful campus. It’s a wonderful university, and it helps our community to see what we’re doing in investment to grow as a program, as a university.”
UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque was asked how the upgrades and renovations compare to other Western Athletic Conference universities.
“The WAC has some phenomenal programs,” Conque said. “The expansion over the last 18 months has brought in some great institutions that have joined some schools that are very strong athletically and academically.
“You look at UT Arlington and Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian. And if you just look at the Texas footprint of those institutions and what they built and what they’re doing for their athletic programs, this is necessary for us and it falls in line with what we need to be competitive.”
Conque said he believes they are “stretching a dollar” and able to impact all 16 UTRGV sports programs.
