The BYU football head coach — especially since he was nearly hired away by Penn State last winter — has been vocal about additional assets his program needs to be successful in today’s college landscape.

Marc Hill, a long-time Kentucky Athletics administrator, fills some of that need after being hired by BYU. His appointment was announced on Tuesday.

“We are excited to add Marc to our executive team,” BYU Director of Athletics Brian Santiago said. “He brings a wealth of experience from the highest level of collegiate athletics that will elevate our entire athletic department. He is a great fit and will help us as we continue to chase greatness the BYU way. We look forward to welcoming the Hills to our BYU athletic family. ”

In 27 years at Kentucky, Hill served as executive associate athletics director for nine years before being named deputy director of athletics in 2019, essentially right-hand man for the school’s athletic director. He also served as the sports administrator for Kentucky football.

“My wife and I are very excited for this next chapter in our lives,” Hill said. “While we will miss Lexington and our friends at UK, I am extremely excited to get to Provo and continue wearing blue and white while pursuing championships and shaping the lives of young people. BYU is an amazing institution and a championship athletic department — one that I can’t wait to be a small part of.”

Hill spent 12 years as Kentucky’s director of strength and conditioning and also served two seasons as the sport administrator for the nationally ranked baseball program. During that time, Kentucky enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in the more than 100-year history of the program in 2012.

Following the 2012 baseball season, Hill transitioned to sport administrator for the Kentucky football program. He played a vital role in the hiring of head coach Mark Stoops and the program’s return to postseason bowl play from 2016 through 2023.

“Marc Hill is a significant addition to the BYU Athletics senior leadership team,” said Keith Vorkink, BYU advancement vice president. “His experience, leadership and alignment with BYU’s values make him an excellent fit for BYU. We are grateful to our Athletic Director, Brian, for bringing him on board and believe the addition of Marc further strengthens our athletics department as we enter a new and highly anticipated athletics season.”

As the primary administrator for Kentucky’s football and men’s basketball programs, Hill managed day-to-day operations, coordinated budgetary responsibilities, assisted coaching and support staffs and served as a liaison between the programs and the rest of the athletics department.

Since 2010, Hill also has overseen various aspects of Kentucky Athletics’ internal operations, including business and accounting, human resources, event and facility operations, capital projects, sports turf, sports equipment operations and strength and conditioning.

His responsibilities included oversight and funding efforts for numerous major facility projects, including the $19 million Kentucky soccer and softball stadium projects, $2 million Kentucky Golf House construction project, $130 million football stadium renovation, $50 million football training center, $49 million baseball stadium and $20 million indoor track and field training complex. Most recently, Hill provided global oversight of the $85 million renovation of Memorial Coliseum.

Hill came to Kentucky from the University of Arizona, where he worked from 1995-99 as the strength coach for the men’s basketball and baseball teams and assistant strength coach for the football team. He also served as a graduate assistant during the 1994-95 school year.

During Hill’s five years in Arizona, the Wildcats appeared in three bowl games. As strength coach for the men’s basketball team, Hill worked with the 1997 national championship team that defeated Kentucky in the title game.

A native of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Hill was an all-state football linebacker and baseball outfielder at Mount Pleasant High School. He remained in Mount Pleasant to attend Iowa Wesleyan College, where he was recruited to play linebacker. Hill was a four-year starter from 1990-93, served as team captain as a senior and helped Iowa Wesleyan advance to the NAIA national playoffs in 1991.

After graduating, Hill began his career at Arizona, where he earned a master’s degree in exercise science and sport administration in 1997. He earned credentials as a certified strength and conditioning specialist from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association.

Marc and his wife, Jenny, have three children, Dalton, Cogan and Brookelyn, and six grandchildren. Dalton was a student-athlete on the Utah Valley University baseball team, Brookelyn played softball at BYU and Cogan was a freshman golfer at Southern Virginia University. Brookelyn is married to former BYU football player Clark Barrington.

Jenny, a former athlete at the University of Arizona, was named the 1996 college softball player of the year and was a member of the 2010 USA Women’s National Baseball Team. She currently serves on the USA Baseball Board of Directors and has been part of ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA Softball Tournament since 2012. She also serves as general manager of The Chicago Bandits, a professional softball team in the AUSL.