The Baldwin Wallace University Athletic Department has decided Jim Hilvert is the perfect fit for the football head-coaching job. Hilvert joins elite company as only the fourth head football coach at BW since 1957. He comes from a successful background at both Thomas Moore College and La Salle High School.

Jim’s first order of business with the Baldwin Wallace football team was getting to know the kids. He felt he needed to establish the relationship and build trust with the players before they could really get anything done together.

“The kids are starving for greatness, I think they want to be great. When you surround yourself with great people, which I have done every place I have been, it helps. I think I have a really good coaching staff that’s coming into place,” exclaimed Hilvert.

He knows the kind of hard work it is going to take to get the team to the level he wants. He could not be more excited about this new challenge.
“Jim is an intense competitor who is focused on winning and is committed to developing student athletes for success on and off the field,” said BW athletics director Kris Diaz ’78. “Jim’s excitement, energy and drive are contagious and we look forward to welcoming him to BW.”

Division III athletes are focused on doing well in the classroom just as much as they are on the football field. Hilvert is a guy who is going to instill a successful mindset in his student athletes, allowing them to excel on and off the field.

As far as his track record goes, Hilvert spent eight seasons at Division III Thomas Moore with an overall record of 67-19 and six President Athletic Conference titles with undefeated season in ’09 and ‘10. Having been this successful at the collegiate level already, Hilvert is an exciting hire for BW football.

Following his tenure at Thomas Moore, Hilvert led the La Salle High School Lancers to back-to-back Division II state titles. However, the opportunity to coach at Baldwin Wallace proved too lucrative to pass up.

Keith Pantling, Athletic Director at La Salle, described Hilvert as passionate and willing to give everything he has to the program.

“I’m not sure what’s on campus as far as personnel goes but I know you can’t just win with X’s and O’s at the college level. Coach Hilvert is a relentless worker and I know he’ll work tirelessly to continue to elevate the talent level moving forward to put BW in position to win championships,” explained Pantling.

It is clear that Hilvert has been great everywhere he has been and is prepared to bring that greatness to Baldwin Wallace. He has a dream to win a national championship and plans to do just that with the Baldwin Wallace football team.