January 10, 201610 yr First coach for NKU. Been ill for a while. Also coached at CCH and St Henry. Coached CCH to 5 straight region titles.
January 10, 201610 yr Boy hate to hear that. Many fond memories of following his CCH teams downstate. A giant in NKY basketball.
January 10, 201610 yr A great man and a great wife and children, I am honored to know the Hils family. I was thinking about Mote last week, I parked my car in front of his house last week for the Lloyd/Conner game.
January 12, 201610 yr Remembering 'Mote' Hils, NKU's first basketball coach Northern Kentucky University is mourning the loss of its first men's basketball coach, Martin "Mote" Hils, who passed away Thursday at the age of 81, said friends and family. A crowd of 2,804 who gathered Saturday at BB&T Arena for NKU's Horizon League home debut against Wright State stood during a pre-game moment of silence to honor Hils. He retired from NKU in 2003 after 32 years of service, nine as a coach, 12 as an academic advisor and the last 11 as testing coordinator. "He was the first coach. He was No. 1," said Ken Shields, the program's all-time victory leader with a career record of 306-170 in 16 seasons. "He was a good man." The architect of the original Northern Kentucky State College men’s basketball program in 1971, Hils compiled a 119-118 career record in nine seasons. He presided over some of the most important wins in Norse history, including the first, a 109-65 home victory against Calvary College on Nov. 12, 1971. Hils' 1977-78 NKU squad knocked off Xavier University 59-58 at Xavier for the program’s first-ever victory against a Division I opponent en route to its first NCAA Division II national tournament. That NKU team became the first 20-game winner with a 20-8 record, including a final national ranking of sixth. Hils led NKU to its first winning season, 17-9 in 1975-76, with two of the program's greatest scorers, Dan Doellman and Jeff Stowers, who later became Simon Kenton's girls' basketball coach. Hils retired from coaching in 1980, and was succeeded by Mike Beitzel. Shields took over in 1988. Among the many honors bestowed on Hils is enshrinement in the Northern Kentucky Athletic Directors Association Hall of Fame in 1987, and enshrinement in the David Lee Holt NKU Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2007, Hils was celebrated with a Court of Honor designation by the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches. Before coming to NKU, Hils was a high school coach. Hils coached Covington Catholic to five consecutive Ninth Region championships from 1967-71, then was asked by NKU to be the school's first basketball coach.
January 12, 201610 yr Mote's first team at NKU...at that point, "Northern Kentucky State College". They played their first game in Newport High School's gym, and beat Calvary College 109-65.
January 12, 201610 yr Mote Hils took over as the Cov Cath varsity basketball in 1964, taking the place of coach Bob Naber - who had been Cov Cath's first paid basketball coach, as well as the first professional athlete to have graduated from Cov Cath. Mote taught at Cov Cath and coached the varsity basketball team from 1964-1971, during which time period the Colonels varsity basketball team went 195-52 (.789 overall), and won 5 straight 9th regional tournaments ('67-'71). Coach Hils led the team to the state finals in 1967, where they from Hopkins County. Coach Hils is a member of the Covington Catholic Athletic Hall Of Fame. Mote Hils, 1965 Covington Catholic Yearbook Photo
January 12, 201610 yr Author Mote Hils took over as the Cov Cath varsity basketball in 1964' date=' taking the place of coach Bob Naber - who had been Cov Cath's first paid basketball coach, as well as the first professional athlete to have graduated from Cov Cath. Mote taught at Cov Cath and coached the varsity basketball team from 1964-1971, during which time period the Colonels varsity basketball team went 195-52 (.789 overall), and won 5 straight 9th regional tournaments ('67-'71). Coach Hils led the team to the state finals in 1967, where they from Hopkins County. Coach Hils is a member of the Covington Catholic Athletic Hall Of Fame. Mote Hils, 1965 Covington Catholic Yearbook Photo My aunt was married to Bob Naber.
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