Hill On Top

Jet, Jan 8, 2001

HILL ON TOP: Fitz Hill gestures during a news conference in San Jose, CA, where he was recently announced as the new head football coach at San Jose State. Hill, 36, was the assistant head football coach and recruiting coordinator at Arkansas this past season before becoming San Jose's 26th football coach.

Hill brings a varied background to San Jose, including a doctorate in higher education, Army service as a lieutenant in Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War and 11 seasons at Arkansas under five coaches. Becoming just the fifth Black head coach in Division I football, Hill says he hopes "to open up more opportunities for minorities in the future, but I can't do that if I'm not successful. There were a lot of people who could have been tapped for this job. I don't intend to waste this opportunity." Hill is married with three children.