MONTCLAIR—Former legendary Montclair State, Rutgers, Caldwell, and Kean coach Fred Hill passed away on March 2. Hill was 84.

Hill was originally named both Head Football and Baseball Coach at Montclair State during the 1976 and 1977 seasons respectively. He spent seven years in the dual role before moving on to become the head baseball coach at Rutgers University in 1983.

On the gridiron, Hill posted a 52-16-4 mark at MSU which was the most in program history at the time. That included a 33-4-1 record in NJAC and four conference crowns. The first two in 1978 and 1979 were led by an under-sized linebacker named Sam Mills, who went on to a long and prosperous career in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. Mills would be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

In 1981, Hill's team claimed its third NJAC championship setting the single-season mark for wins with 10. Montclair qualified for the NCAA Division III Playoffs for the first time in program history reaching the semifinals. His final football campaign would go down as one of the program's best as the then-Indians went 8-0-2, the fourth and last undefeated season in program history.

"He gave me my first job as an assistant coach at Clifford Scott High School," current head football coach Rick Giancola told NJ.com's Jerry Izenberg. "I coached for him there and at Pequannock High and at Montclair State. This is what he said the first time we met. This is who he was. I really don't care what you know. I really don't care what you don't know. What I want from you is your time, your effort, your dedication, your willingness to learn and to respect the game and everyone in it. If you have all that, I will teach you the rest."

Hill's success with the MSU football program carried to the baseball diamond where he put together a 148-91-2 record in seven seasons while leading Montclair State to a pair of NJAC titles and a trip to the NCAA Division III World Series in 1983.  His No. 24 at MSU was retired in February 2010 becoming the third number school history joining Mills' #62 and basketball great Carol Blazejowski's No. 12.  Hill was bestowed the same honor at Rutgers in 2014 where the indoor baseball/softball practice facility bears his name.

"Coach Hill was the finest person an individual could ever know,'' said Norm Schoenig, who coached with Hill at Montclair State and later led the Red Hawks to 724 wins and two NCAA Division III championships in his 26 seasons as head coach.

"He was always kind. He was always considerate," said Schoenig to NJ.com's Keith Sargeant. "He always took the time to listen and try to make you a better player and a better coach.''

During his time with the Scarlet Knights, Hill led Rutgers to 11 NCAA Regional tournaments, 12 regular-season conference championships and eight conference tournament crowns. Hill coached 72 players who went on to play professionally, including current Major League player Todd Frazier. His record at Rutgers was 941-658-7 and included 267 victories in 19 seasons in the Big East Conference, which ranks second in league history.

Hill, who is the winningest coach in Rutgers' 150-year athletic history, was enshrined in both the Montclair State Hall of Fame and the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1990 and 2015, respectively.

Hill recently spent two seasons as an Assistant Coach at Kean University under head coach Neil Ioviero, who played for Hill at Rutgers from 1991-94. Hill also recently spent two seasons as an assistant with Caldwell University.

“I had the privilege of speaking to Coach Hill in December at the retirement dinner for longtime MSU athletic director Holly Gera,” said NJAC Commissioner Terry Small.  “He was always a great ambassador for NJAC baseball and we had a good conversation about both of our families and a number of different happenings in the conference. We lost a true gentleman and one of the great people in the world of intercollegiate athletics.”

Hill is survived by Evelyn, his wife of 62 years, six children Nancy, Fred, Linda, Jim, Tracey, and Karen and 12 grandchildren.