Stephen Hillis joined the Lobo family in January 2025 and serves as an assistant director of athletic performance. He came to UNM after a successful football career at the University of South Dakota and a season as a sports performance coach at Missouri Western State.
At MWSU, Hillis coached women’s basketball, softball, and tennis, and assisted with football.
At UNM, Hillis assists the program with all aspects of strength and conditioning, with an emphasis on injury rehabilitation, nutrition, strength technique, and explosiveness.
Hillis played football at South Dakota from 2019 to 2023, during which his strength and conditioning coach was Caleb Heim, the current UNM strength coach.
He originally signed with the Air Force, but he tore his ACL and did not play, and eventually transferred to South Dakota.
A native of Hartington, Nebraska, Hillis played in 51 games and recorded 234 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 15.0 TFLs. Additionally, he was named All-Missouri Valley twice, including first team in 2022. He was also a team captain.
He has degrees in kinesiology and business administration.