Maryland's Hill Featured in HBO Football Documentary
12/13/2008 7:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 13, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland alum and Hall of Fame member Darryl Hill, a 1964 graduate of the University, will be featured in an HBO documentary focusing on the integration of college football in the south. Hill was the first African-American athlete to play football in the Atlantic Coast Conference and at a Division I school south of the Mason-Dixon line.
The hour-long documentary will debut at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday on HBO. It will also focus on teams in the Southwest and Southeastern conferences, as well as how the civil rights movement affected college football in those communities. Other athletes interviewed for the story include Thom Gossom, Jerry LeVias, Willie Lanier and Bubba Smith.
Hill was inducted into the University's Athletics Hall of Fame earlier this fall. He is currently the director of major gifts with Maryland Athletics.
"Maryland as a university took one of the most important historical steps in being the first school in the south to step forward and break down racial barriers for college athletes," said Hill. "I think Maryland was the key factor in leveling the playing field for all college athletes at a time when it was a difficult and challenging thing for a university playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The university ran in the face of adversity and stood strong that it was time to end college sports segregation."
His efforts in his time at Maryland are highly-regarded by many leaders to this day.
Hill said, "My proudest moment was a personal letter from President Elect, Barack Obama, commending my efforts as a 'significant achievement in the long struggle for equality and civil rights'.....'I am sure your pioneering athletic and professional efforts will serve as an inspiration to all who care about human dignity and character.'"
The documentary will air throughout the end of December on HBO and HBO 2. It will be available on-demand until Jan. 12.
