By: Jason Pugh, Assistant AD for Media Relations
NATCHITOCHES – Services have been set for legendary Northwestern State coach and administrator Tynes Hildebrand, who passed away Sunday at the age of 93.
Visitation with the family will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church of Natchitoches. Services will follow at 3:30 p.m.
A member of the N-Club Hall of Fame, the Southland Conference Hall of Honor, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwestern State's Long Purple Line, Hildebrand was a two-sport letterman (basketball, track and field) as an undergraduate and a two-time graduate of Northwestern State.
He spent 16 seasons as Northwestern State's men's basketball coach, winning 191 games – the third-highest total in school history – while guiding Northwestern State into its Division I era. He transitioned into administration, serving 13 years as the school's director of athletics.
He instituted a forward-thinking internship program that strengthened the department and was a pivotal part of the Demons landing in the Southland Conference in 1987.
In addition to serving on the then-Division I-AA football selection panel and additional NCAA committees, Hildebrand served as a mentor for current Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey and former NSU athletic director Greg Burke. As the top administrator in NSU's athletic department, Hildebrand was instrumental in guiding Northwestern State into the Southland Conference in 1987.
Following his time at Northwestern State, Hildebrand remained tied to basketball as a respected NCAA Division I official evaluator for 17 years, beginning in 1997. In 2006, he was chosen as one of the NCAA's inaugural four regional officiating supervisors.
Hildebrand is survived by his wife, Julia, his sons, Tynes Jr. and wife Trish, and Bruce and wife, Nancy and grandchildren, John and his wife, Alice, Jackson and his wife, Curri, Joseph and his wife, Emily, Brent and his wife, Allison, and Cara Grace Gray and her husband Andrew, as well as his great grandchildren, Hannah, Hayden, Hudson, Ellie, Hazel, Charlotte, Hattie, Adelyn and Sam.
