Jim Hilyer, UAB's First Football Coach, Dies at 86

BIRMINGHAM, AL — UAB's first football coach, Jim Hilyer, died Wednesday at the age of 86. Hilyer served as UAB's coach for four years.

Hilyer began his coaching career at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach in 1957, where he coached football and track and also played for the Orlando Thunderbirds of the Continental Football League during this period from 1958 to 1960.

He then joined the staff at Mississippi State University as an assistant in 1963 and stayed through 1967. He was an assistant coach at Auburn from 1968 through 1973 before joining the Washington Redskins staff in 1974. He returned to Auburn from 1977 to 1981, and then he joined the staff of the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League in 1982.

Hilyer became the strength and conditioning coach at for the UAB athletic department in 1985, and was also an assistant professor in the School of Medicine and an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Health Education and Physical Education.

In 1989, he became the coach of the UAB club football team and had a record of 3–10 during his two years at the club level. Hilyer was named the first head coach at UAB for the inaugural 1991 season in 1991. In four seasons as head coach at UAB, he coached the Blazers to a record of 27–12–2.

He was the special teams coach for the Birmingham Steeldogs of the arena football league during the team's inaugural season in 2000.

Hilyer was named to the UAB Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

"We are forever grateful for Dr. Jim Hilyer's legacy and his lasting impact that he had on UAB football," UAB said in a statement Thursday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends."