Donald Hill-Eley was hired as Morgan State’s 18th head football coach in 2002. The Virginia Union graduate is a former Baltimore Stallions receivers coach and won three Canadian Football League Championships before guiding the Bears to a record of 30-38 in his seven-plus seasons. Hill-Eley, 39, who has led the Bears to some of their most successful seasons in Division I-AA, has established a program in which Morgan State student-athletes mentor local elementary school kids.
Where do you look for inspiration?
I am a guy that believes in prayer. I believe that God will provide a way and that everything happens for a reason. I like Proverbs 3:5-6 “lean not on your own understanding but trust in God with all our might.” I say it to myself everyday when something goes bad or wrong that I don’t think is the right way.
What’s the most difficult part of being a head coach?
Everybody needs something. Being a leader, you never get a chance to ride. Everyone comes to you to be carried and you have to do the things you have to do and when situations come. You have to put things into perspective.
Your mother passed away two weeks ago. How has that impacted you as a football coach?
My mother [Angela Holloman] wasn’t that old. She pretty much was on dialysis and had some complications. She was going back and forth and it was one of those things where I got the call from the doctors that it was final and got on a plane to Salem, (Va.) and talked to her about how she wanted it. The inspiration of God has helped me get through it. I cling to it and I tell guys all the time that the Bible itself is the best novel ever written. It talks about war. It talks about trials. It talks about ups and downs and a lot of time everything outside of it is man-made.
Morgan State talks a lot about players getting second chances, is that something that you embrace?
Anytime you can get a young person to believe is amazing. Universities are a special place where you can make corrections to educate. That doesn’t mean you just take the good. It means you take the bad and polish them up. When you start doing that and helping them correct mistakes and standing them upright, that takes a lot more than just taking someone who already was good and just cleaning them up a bit. And that’s what I like about it here. We can reach out to student athletes and nurture them, just like they would be in anyone’s family.
Considering what’s happening in the world today, do you think God cares who wins a sporting event?
I don’t think God cares who wins a football game, but I think he cares about the education that is going on between each play. How you treat players in competition, how you treat others when you are victorious, how you respect others when you lose. It gives us a chance to deal with ourselves on an emotional roller coaster each week for 60 minutes.
