Hall of Fame
Perhaps one of the finest defensive centers in the history of Fort Lewis College basketball, Rich Hillyer was a well-rounded basketball player who was a starter on the first two Raider basketball teams to win Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles.
As a sophomore in 1986-87, Mr. Hillyer and his teammates posted a 21-6 record and won the school's first basketball crown. As a senior in 1988-89, he led the Raiders to a second RMAC championship.
A four-year letter winner from 1985 to 1989, Mr. Hillyer earned first team All-RMAC and first team All-NAIA District VII honors in each of his final two seasons. He was also a first team All-Colorado selection by the Denver Post in 1989.
Mr. Hillyer owned school records for most blocked shots in a career (208) and a single game (8 against Mesa State on Feb. 12, 1988). He also ranks among Fort Lewis College's career leaders in numerous categories, including scoring (1,331) and rebounding (766).
After graduating from Fort Lewis College in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in business administration, he served as an assistant boys' basketball coach at Bayfield High School from 1991 to 1995.
Mr. Hillyer worked at Southwest Ag, Inc., in Bayfield and started a new division of Southwest Ag with his brother, Garry. That division -Western Integrated Landscape and Design Services-offered a variety of landscaping services and general land service packages.
