DEREKH FROUDE/Arizona Daily Wildcat A swimmer observes practice at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center Monday. Hillenbrand, a UA donor, died March 11.

Bill Hillenbrand paid to remodel Aquatic Center

Bill Hillenbrand, once called the "most substantial living individual cash donor" to UA sports, died March 11. He was 64.

Besides his status as a strong financial supporter of UA athletics who enabled the university sports programs to recruit top athletes and thrive in high-quality facilities, those who knew Hillenbrand remembered him as a very private, humble man.

Hillenbrand paid for the remodeling of the William G. and Dolores D. Hillenbrand Aquatic Center, as it is now known, but he had to be persuaded to let it bear his and his wife's names when it was complete.

"I didn't give the money to have my name put on the wall, that's not what I do it for," he told The Arizona Daily Star in 1994. "I do it because I can see the tangible reward it offers to the UA and the student-athletes who will be affected."

Hillenbrand tried to seem as common as possible, said Frank Busch, UA head swim coach.

"You wouldn't even know he was a multi-millionaire," Busch said. "He had a real feel, and a real love for, the amateur athlete, the one that was the unsung hero," he said. "He was really a pioneer for philanthropy in the athletics department."

The UA swimming program has produced 10 Olympians since Hillenbrand began his contributions, Busch said.

"I really attribute that to his generosity," he said.

Hillenbrand also funded the UA softball stadium, which turns 10 years old this year. The stadium carries the name of his late sister-in-law, Rita Hillenbrand.

In funding the stadium's construction, Hillenbrand made the UA women's softball team the first in the country to have a facility of such stature. Last year, the program was the national leader in game attendance, said Mike Candrea, head coach of the women's softball team.

"He was very down-to-earth, just one of the best people I've ever met," Candrea said. "He became not only a great supporter of our program, but also a great friend."

In fact, one of UA's softball players-turned-assistant coach married Hillenbrand's son, after Hillenbrand and Candrea introduced them to each other, Candrea said.

Since 1991, the women's softball team has won six national championships.

In addition to the buildings that display his surname, Hillenbrand donated money to remodel McKale Center's basement to facilitate student-athlete and administrative offices. The basement was thereafter named the John W. Hillenbrand Meeting Center, in honor of his father.

Hillenbrand also funded new baseball dugouts at Frank Sancet Field, and new locker room facilities for the women's basketball and volleyball teams in McKale Center.

In the 1994 interview, Hillenbrand said of the aquatic center, "I did tell Doby that after we're gone, our name will be there, and we'll always be remembered. That's a nice thought."

Hillenbrand is survived by his wife, Dolores ("Doby"); daughters Catherine and Pamela; son Michael; granddaughter Lauren; sister Margaret; and brothers John and Ray.