RICHARDSON, TX (12.06.17) - UT Dallas Director of Athletics Bill Petitt has announced the hiring of veteran softball coach Corrie Hill as the Comets' Interim Head Softball Coach. Hill will begin her duties at UTD on Monday, Dec. 11, taking the reins from Rich Wieligman, who left the program last month to become the Associate Head Coach at the University of Kansas.

MEET CORRIE HILL VIDEO

"When Rich resigned, Corrie was the first name I thought of for this position, said Petitt. "I have known Corrie for 20 years and UT Dallas is fortunate to have someone of her caliber to step in and build off what was a top-10 team a year ago."

Hill comes to UTD after spending more than two decades as a softball coach, including last season as the Associate Head Coach at NCAA Division I Central Florida. Prior to UCF, Hill served as an assistant coach at Texas for 11 seasons, serving as the Longhorns' Head Hitting Coach. While at UT, Hill was part of a program which made two trips to the NCAA Women's College World Series (2006, 2013) and 11 consecutive trips to the NCAA postseason. From 2011-14, the Longhorns produced the four highest batting averages and on-base percentages in program history.

UTD is Hill's third stop as a collegiate head coach spending seven seasons in that capacity at Texas-San Antonio (1998-2005). While at UTSA, she led the Roadrunners to three NCAA D-I home run titles, setting the then NCAA D-I record 1.83 home runs per game during the 2004 campaign. During her tenure, UTSA had 22 all-conference selections, including 10 first-year players, and four all-region performers. Hill guided the Roadrunners to the program's first-ever NCAA D-I National Tournament appearance and closed her seven-year stint at UTSA with a 221-180-1 record.

"Corrie is one of the most well respected coaches in the country," continued Petitt. "She is a fixture not only in the state of Texas softball community but the entire nation. Her offensive style mirrors what Rich built with a combination of speed and power. She is one of the most well-respected hitting coaches in the country. She has been successful as a head coach leading UT San Antonio to an NCAA appearance."

She also spent three seasons as the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana (1993-95), posting a 48-67-1 record and claiming the West Division title of the Trans America Conference, now Atlantic Sun Conference, in 1994. In 10 season as a collegiate head coach, Hill boasts a career record of 269-147-2. Between her previous head coach positions, Hill served as an assistant coach at Baylor (1995-96) and head coach/assistant general manager of the Durham Dragons (1997-98), one of six founding franchises of Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF).
 
"Corrie embraces the Division III philosophy with academics and community service," added Petitt, "and is committed to not only coaching softball but preparing our students to life after sports and UT Dallas."

A native of Fort Worth, Hill started her playing career at Baylor in 1986 before the school dropped the program two years later. She then transferred to Texas-Arlington for her final two seasons, serving as a team captain for the Mavericks. Hill received her bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and Sports Studies, with a minor in Speech Communications, from UTA in 1991. She served as a student assistant coach at UTA from 1989-93.

The Comets are coming off the best season in program history after posting a 36-10 overall record and claiming the squad's first-ever American Southwest Conference history. UTD qualified for the NCAA D-III National Tournament for the first time in the program's 16-year history. The Comets climbed as high as No. 6 in NCAA D-III last spring before finishing the year ranked No. 13.