Georgia Southern University celebrated the opening of the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center Wednesday with a public ribbon-cutting and university President Kyle Marrero christening the complex with its forever nickname – “The Hill.”
The 95,000-square-foot facility built near the intersection of Lanier Drive and Veterans Memorial Parkway – the Highway 301 bypass – will serve as a hub for athletic, student and community events in Statesboro.
“’The Hill’ will host our graduate commencement ceremonies, convocations, special events and, of course, Georgia's Southern men's and women's basketball,” Marrero said. “But it is more than just a building. It's a place of opportunity. Inside The Hill, our students will learn, our athletes will compete and our community will come together. Every inch of this facility is designed with our future in mind.”
Among the dignitaries joining Marrero in Wednesday’s opening were Georgia Speaker of the House Jon Burns, Regent Everett Kennedy, State Sen. Blake Tillery and Lance Hill, son of Jack and Ruth, who represented the Hill family at the ribbon cutting.
Construction began on the $64.4 million, two-story complex in early 2023 and was just completed with a few touch-ups remaining. The Center is the home of the men's and women's basketball programs and includes spaces for coaches’ offices, locker rooms, strength and conditioning and several other areas.
The arena inside the two-story complex has a basketball seating capacity of more than 5,500, a 50% increase over Hanner Fieldhouse’s 3,100 seats. Built in a horseshoe-like bowl, all the seats offer an excellent view of the court.
In fact, after Wednesday’s opening, the Georgia Southern women’s basketball team will play the first game inside the Hill Center when they face Jacksonville University at 6 p.m. Thursday. The men get their first chance at 7 p.m. Saturday against North Florida.
The Center also provides approximately 8,000 square feet of new space for a Waters College of Health Professions sports psychology lab, a satellite research lab, faculty offices, a conference room and classrooms.
The Center is named in honor of the late Senator Jack Hill and his wife of 46 years, Ruth Ann Hill. Both are Georgia Southern graduates. Hill was the longest-tenured Georgia senator when he died in April 2020.
“Today, we also celebrate the extraordinary legacy of the late Senator Jack Hill and his wife, Ruth Ann, for whom this signature building on the South Campus is named,” Marrero said. “Both proud graduates of Georgia Southern, Ruth Ann was a Triple Eagle. You cannot look around the campus of Georgia Southern without seeing Jack's influence on this institution. It is only fitting that the marquee building of Georgia Southern, serving as the first university landmark many will encounter as they approach town and campus, bears the name of Jack and Ruth Ann Hill.”
Hill was instrumental in helping the university expand its programs and build several new state-of-the-art facilities, including the Engineering and Research Building, which opened for classes in January 2021.
Ruth Ann Hill focused her life on public education and retired as principal of Reidsville Elementary School. She was a triple Eagle, earning degrees from Georgia Southern in 1973, 1990 and 1991.