Honoring the “Father of UAB Football”—Lynn Artz Makes Planned Gift to UAB Athletics to Recognize Her Late Husband, Coach Jim Hilyer

On the first day of tryouts in 1989 for the new club football team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the field was full of student-athletes who either didn't get the chance or chose not to play at the collegiate level. That didn't stop Coach Jim Hilyer, Ed.D.

Over the next few years, Hilyer transformed the football program from a club team to an NCAA team—and he was never paid a dime. It didn't matter, according to his wife, Lynn Artz. He loved the players, and he loved the game. With no scholarships to offer players and no funds to promise coaches, he still guided the Blazers to a winning season in each of his four seasons at the helm. When Blazer Football returned after its hiatus in 2017, 26 years after those early tryouts in 1989, Hilyer was proud to volunteer on the sidelines.

After Hilyer’s death in 2022, Artz wanted to honor his memory. Together with several of Hilyer's former players, she made a commitment to support UAB Athletics. Their collective pledge, made in Hilyer’s honor, was the amount needed to complete the funding for the new UAB Football Operations Center.

"For him to start the program, volunteer through the phase of its return, and then have his family and former players honor him with this gift to complete the football facility funding is an incredibly special legacy tribute," Deputy Athletics Director for External Affairs Brad Hardekopf said.

In addition to a bequest Artz made in her will, the pledge made in Coach Hilyer’s honor will go toward naming the Coach Jim Hilyer Strength and Conditioning Center in the facility, pending approval by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees.

"I wanted to honor Jim because he was so important to UAB football," Artz said. "Given the importance that strength and conditioning played in his life personally and professionally, it just seemed like a good fit."

A JACK OF ALL TRADES

Long before he began his career at UAB, Hilyer was a dedicated athlete who was recruited to play football in college. After graduating from Stetson University and achieving early success as a teacher and coach at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, Hilyer joined the collegiate coaching ranks, first at Mississippi State University, then at Auburn University.

As an assistant coach to Auburn legend Ralph “Shug” Jordan, Hilyer began emphasizing the importance of both strength and conditioning and film study to the team—aspects of training that are now essential elements in every successful football program. After five years coaching at Auburn—during which time he earned a doctorate in educational psychology—Hilyer joined George Allen and the NFL team now known as the Washington Commanders for three seasons, including a run to Super Bowl VII.

’TIL DECADENT DESSERTS DO US PART—A master's degree and marriage

Following a few more years of coaching various teams, Hilyer accepted a faculty position with UAB, where he directed research programs and evaluated workforce wellness in the city of Birmingham. During this time, he also ran a fitness center for city employees and worked as the strength and conditioning coach for the UAB Athletic Department.

While working at UAB, Hilyer enrolled in the Master of Public Health program. He had no idea then that his professor, Dr. Lynn Artz, would someday become his wife.

Although Artz didn’t realize it at the time, Hilyer soon developed a crush on her. Because the class met late in the evenings, students brought their dinner. Artz recalls that Hilyer would bring decadent desserts to share with everyone, only learning much later that this was his attempt to catch her eye.

Artz didn't get the hint. When desserts failed to get the point across, Hilyer started routinely dropping by his professor's office to "ask questions." But fate seemed to be against him; every time Hilyer went by, Artz was elsewhere or in a meeting. When the two ran into each other during a jog on campus, Hilyer stopped to tell Artz he had been trying to catch her at her office.

Without stopping, she ran past him, looked over her shoulder, and said, "Make an appointment!"

Three years later, on January 1, 1990, they were married.

BACK ON THE SIDELINES—Blazer football beginnings

Artz recalls that Hilyer was so multifaceted that it took several dates before she learned he had formerly coached collegiate football.

"He's hard to describe because he had such diverse interests and amazing skills and achievements in completely different fields," Artz said.

A few years into their dating relationship, Gene Bartow, the coach of the UAB basketball team, approached Hilyer with a comprehensive vision for UAB Athletics. Bartow thought a football team might attract more talent for the basketball program, so he asked Hilyer to start a club team.

Despite his crowded schedule, Hilyer was eager to get back on the sidelines. Through a volunteer head coach position, he guided the Blazers through their two club years in 1989 and 1990, then led the Blazers into NCAA football as Division III members in 1991 and 1992 and Division I-AA members in 1993 and 1994. He coached UAB to an overall record of 28-12-1, and he still holds the team record for the highest winning percentage.

"Many coaches have winnings records," Artz said. "Not many of them do that with no financial support. He was one of those 'where there's a will, there's a way,' incredibly persistent people."

As Hilyer got the team in shape for games, he convinced Artz to be the team's kicking coach.

"I'm glad he did," Artz said with a laugh. "Football coaches work such long hours, so I would've never seen him. He convinced me that I had the skills needed."

Hilyer loaded Artz up with books, videos, lessons, and drills for kickers, and for four years, she was the official kicking coach for UAB—the only female football coach in the NCAA.

"I had a blast with it, and I took the role very seriously," Artz said.

FATHER'S DAY CARDS AND THE FATHER OF UAB FOOTBALL

Hilyer was more than a father figure to UAB Football. Although a tough disciplinarian on the field, Hilyer’s players “loved him, and he loved them,” Artz recalled.

"He was a real father figure to them and used to get Father's Day cards from quite a few of them," she said. "If somebody didn't have any money, he put them to work in our yard."

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, a former UAB defensive tackle, said Hilyer’s attention to his players both on and off the field was what made him an excellent coach. When Maddox wrote about one of his football experiences for the student newspaper, Hilyer praised the article like it was an award-winning piece.

"He had no idea how much that meant to me," Maddox said. "I'm sure for him, it was just a conversation in the hallway. But for me, I'm still talking about it all these years later. The fact that he cared enough and took the time to say something was the type of coach he was."

Maddox has been the mayor of Tuscaloosa for nearly two decades. In that time, he has led the city through change, growth, and difficulty, including the aftermath of a devastating tornado in 2011. Through it all, he remains thankful for all that Hilyer pushed him to be.

"I wouldn't be having this conversation as mayor if it weren't for him," Maddox said. "I will always appreciate what he did for me and my life."

When Hilyer passed in 2022, many came together to honor him. To honor his contributions to UAB football, the team wore a "JH" helmet sticker for every game during the 2022 season. This is also when his former players and wife collected donations to make a gift to UAB Athletics in his name.

A LEGACY BEYOND THE HALL OF FAME

When UAB honored Hilyer as a part of the UAB Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020, Maddox took the podium to present his induction speech. He told the story of his coach’s halftime speech during his senior year game versus Morehead State University.

"We were up by a considerable amount, but he encouraged us to ask ourselves if we were giving our best effort that 20 years from now, we'd be proud of it,” Maddox said. “It made me realize that our time on this earth is fleeting, and we have to seize every opportunity. That is a reflection of Jim Hilyer."

Beyond his success on the field, Coach Hilyer’s true legacy lives on in the way he treated people.

"A lot of people seem to be driven by money or power or status," Artz said. "None of that motivated him at all. He just always wanted to help other people. In whatever arena he was working in, it was devoted to helping other people."

Estate gifts, such as bequests, are a powerful way to create a lasting impact in honor of those who meant a great deal to you. Contact us to learn more about how you can memorialize someone special while also supporting the vital work being done at UAB every day.

If you would like to support Coach Hilyer's legacy, you can do so by contacting the Office of Planned Giving at (205) 996-7533 or plannedgiving@uab.edu today.