General | 2/28/2017 2:40:00 PM
Courtesy of Gene Wang, Washington Post
For more than three decades, Edward Hill, Jr. has been the backbone of the Howard University athletic communications department. Working tirelessly behind the scenes, Hill connected coaches and athletes with the media, drawing coverage for the school's many teams while becoming one of the most respected and beloved sports information directors in the industry.
On Monday night with Hill's retirement looming, the university community celebrated "Ed Hill Day" honoring his 33 years as Howard's SID. Howard Athletic Director Kery Davis emceed the ceremony at Burr Gymnasium that took place during halftime of the men's basketball game against Maryland Eastern Shore.
"We use the word legend a lot, but Ed Hill is someone who truly fits that description," Davis told a cheering crowd that included many family members and friends.
Hill, 66, is set to retire at the end of the school year following a distinguished career as the longest-serving SID at any historically black college or university. He's worked 371 straight Bison football games and 10 NCAA tournaments in which Howard has participated.
The highlight of his professional career, he said, was being part of the 1993 football team with Coach Steve Wilson and quarterback Jay Walker that went 11-0 in the regular season and was crowned black national champions. Among the most memorable games that season was a 38-36 win against Alcorn State, which had the late Steve McNair as its starting quarterback.
Hill's list of sports information protégées includes New York Jets senior director of media relations Bruce Speight and Teri Washington, former director of media relations for the Denver Nuggets
"It's surreal," said Hill, inducted into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2010 and recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America in 2005 for his community service outside the profession. "It's unexpected. They said they were going to do a day for me, but I had no idea it was going to be like this. It's very gratifying."
Among the keepsakes presented to Hill during halftime of the Bison's 79-69 win against UMES were a Howard letterman's jacket with his name stitched on the right front chest and a framed basketball jersey with the number 33 representing his years of service.
The grand finale was a 50-inch flat screen television after Hill indicated he planned to spend his retirement years watching children's programming with his grand kids.
"Number seven is on the way," he said with smile.
Before working in sports information, the native of Wilmington, N.C., and graduate of the University of the District of Columbia was a staff writer for the Winston-Salem Chronicle and also worked briefly as a news aide with The Washington Post.
It was during his time at The Post that Hill accepted a job offer from then-Howard SID Ricky Clemons. The two had worked together at the paper, and when Clemons left Howard to work at the 1984 Olympics, Hill served as interim SID before taking over full-time in March 1986.
He since has outlasted five football coaches and watched more than 40 Bison players reach the NFL. In January, Hill welcomed Howard's newest football coach, Mike London.
Hill also serves as an adjunct professor at the university, teaching a course on sports and the media. He is the co-founder of the D.C. Warriors youth basketball program and a counselor with the National Youth Sports Program.
"Ricky called me said, 'Hey I need somebody,'" Hill said. "I came here, and it became a natural."
