Adam Hiatt moves up to head coach
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| Coach Adam Hiatt |
“Professionally, I am grateful and excited to be taking over as the head coach at Westminster College,” Hiatt said. “On a personal level, I am losing a great mentor in Coach Connor. I feel fortunate that he has prepared me for this moment and I am confident that we can continue to have success as one of the premier small college basketball programs in the country. Today is an emotionally conflicting day for me.”
Hiatt becomes just the second head coach since the team was reinstated in 1999 and the fourth since 1956. He spent the past three seasons as the lead assistant to Connor after spending one year as an assistant coach at the University of Idaho.
“We are very pleased that Coach Hiatt has agreed to become our new head coach and will to lead our successful men’s basketball program,” said Westminster College Director of Athletics, Shay Wyatt.
Hiatt, a graduate of Westminster College who played for Connor, is a native of Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Hiatt also played two seasons at Ricks College (BYU-Idaho) where he led his teams in scoring and was an all-conference (Region XVIII) performer both years. During his time with the Griffins, Hiatt guided the team to a pair of Frontier Conference championships, earned Frontier Conference First Team honors both years, and was a two-time NAIA All-American. In his senior season Hiatt was the conference scoring champion and led the team to the program’s first win at the NAIA National Tournament. Hiatt is Westminster’s career leader in scoring at 1,384 points and his 809 points scored in the 2003-04 season is the most in school history.
“It made it easier for me to accept my new position knowing that the program would be turned over to Adam,” Connor said about his former player and assistant. “He has been a huge part of our success and I am grateful that Westminster chose to promote him. I know he will do a terrific job and I am happy for him, his family and the players.”
“This is a bittersweet day for me,” Connor continued. “I am leaving a wonderful institution, an excellent group of guys and a program I built from scratch 12 years ago. I worked with a lot of terrific people and made a lot of good friends during my time at Westminster College. It is a special place and I will miss it, but at the same time I am excited about this opportunity at my alma mater, the University of Utah.”
Connor reinstated the men’s basketball program at Westminster in 1999 and guided the team to a 264-114 record during his 12 seasons as head coach. Westminster posted 10 seasons with at least 20 wins, including each of the past nine seasons. They won seven regular season Frontier Conference Championships and two conference tournament titles. Connor was a five-time Frontier Conference Coach of the Year and his teams qualified for nine NAIA National Tournament appearances. He also served as the Director of Athletics for the college from 2000-2005.
Under Connor’s leadership, Westminster had 17 NAIA All-Americans, one NAIA National Player of the Year and five players named Frontier Conference Player of the Year, and 36 all-conference performers. Connor’s teams were also successful in the classroom. The Griffins had 44 players named NAIA Scholar Athletes and 108 players were named Academic All-Frontier Conference.
“I would like to thank Coach Connor for his years of service and contributions to Westminster College and the men’s basketball program,” Wyatt stated. “Tommy did a masterful job in establishing a nationally recognized NAIA men’s basketball program at Westminster. We wish him and his family the very best with his new opportunity at the University of Utah.”
About Westminster:
Westminster is a nationally recognized, comprehensive liberal arts college. With a broad array of graduate and undergraduate programs, Westminster is distinguished by its unique environment for learning. Westminster prepares students for success through active and engaged learning, real world experiences and its vibrant campus community. Westminster’s unique location, adjacent to the Rocky Mountains and to the dynamic city of Salt Lake, further enriches the college experience. For more information visit www.westminstercollege.edu or follow @WestminsterSLC on Twitter.