Mike Hillyard

Biography

After dominating the Great Lakes Valley Conference and being a major player on the NCAA Division II national stage for the better part of two decades, University of Southern Indiana Men's and Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Head Coach Mike Hillyard has led the Screaming Eagles into a new era during the last three seasons as USI made the jump to NCAA Division I and the Ohio Valley Conference in 2022. Under Hillyard's direction, the Eagles thrived at both conference and national level, where his teams won a combined 30 conference team championships on the cross country course and nine individual national titles in track & field. The 29-time GLVC Coach of the Year has led USI Men's Cross Country to 16 GLVC titles, including a GLVC-record 15 consecutive league titles from 2005-19, and 16 appearances at the NCAA II National Championships. USI Women's Cross Country won 14 GLVC titles under Hillyard's direction, including seven straight from 2011-17 and most recently in 2021. A native of Norris City, Illinois, and a 1994 USI graduate, Hillyard resides in Evansville with his wife, Jessica, daughter, Madison, and two step-daughters, Alix Macdonald and Brady Minton. Hillyard was a member of the USI cross country team and ran the steeplechase in track in 1992, earning All-America honors with a fifth-place performance at nationals.