Ted Hillary was a standout quarterback in football and All-State basketball player at Catholic Central who became one of the top NCAA Division I basketball officials in the country.
He was an All-Area quarterback in football, but basketball took him to St. Joseph’s College in Indiana where he led his team to a 21-3 record and conference championship in his senior season. He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers, but didn’t pursue a professional career.
He returned to Grand Rapids, taught English in local schools and embarked on a career in stripes as a basketball official for over 40 years. He ended up officiating over 2,500 games, primarily for the Big Ten Conference and Conference-USA but also every other top conference in the country and earned four assignments to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four.
In 2001, he was awarded NCAA officiating’s highest honor, the Naismith Official of the Year.
In 2009 he had knee-replacement surgery on both legs and came back to officiate through the 2013 season when he retired from on-court officiating. He then became an NCAA Regional Administrator of Officials.