ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Central Washington University Athletics has announced its 2026 Hall of Fame Class to be inducted this Saturday, May 2 inside Nicholson Arena. To purchase tickets, click
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Among those being inducted is former CWU All-American football player Zak Hill.
Zak Hill stands among the greatest quarterbacks in the history of CWU Football, finishing his career near the top of nearly every major passing category. Hill ranks third all-time in passing yards with 8,882, passing touchdowns with 76, total offense with 8,485 yards, and total touchdowns with 79. He also completed 729 passes during his Wildcat career—third-most in program history—and posted a career completion percentage of 60.2, the fourth highest in school history. His 2002 season remains one of the most prolific ever by a CWU quarterback, as Hill threw for 2,694 yards and 22 touchdowns while setting the single-season completion percentage record at 67.9 percent. That same year, he helped lead the Wildcats to an 11–1 record and their first NCAA Division II playoff appearance. Hill's on-field success earned him Third Team All-American honors from Don Hansen's Football Gazette in 2002, as well as All-West Region recognition from Daktronics, D2Football.com, and Don Hansen's publication. He was a two-time All-GNAC selection during the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
Hill's coaching career began as a student assistant at Eastern Washington University, launching a path that would take him through both high school and Division I football. He first served as the Offensive Coordinator at Hillsboro High School before being promoted to Head Coach, leading the program to a 6–5 season in 2008. Hill returned to Eastern Washington as the Passing Game Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach, helping guide one of the top FCS offenses in the country over six seasons. He then moved to Boise State as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach, contributing to multiple 10-win seasons, before accepting the same role at Arizona State, where he helped elevate the Sun Devils' offense with nationally recognized quarterback development through Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels. Hill later became Head Coach at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, leading the Sabercats to the 2023 Arizona 6A State Championship. He spent the 2024 season as an Offensive Assistant with the Seattle Seahawks before returning to Boise State as Pass Game Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach, helping the Broncos capture the 2025 Mountain West Championship.
Below is a Q&A with Zak about his time, thoughts, and memories with the CWU and Ellensburg communities:
Q: What does being inducted into the Central Washington University Athletic Hall of Fame mean to you?
Zak: It's a definite honor to be inducted. There are so many good athletes going through Central Washington and obviously I had a great time playing football there and then just being a student-athlete there are just so many great memories. It is a great honor to be inducted into the hall of fame there, or soon to be. One of the other cool things is just having my dad also in the hall of fame with football and baseball and having that opportunity to be able to share that with my parents and it will be really cool.
Q: Talk to me a little bit further about what it means to be inducted with your dad and how unique and special it is for you?
Zak: That was one of the reasons why, among so many different reasons why I ended up going to Central Washington. To have that connection growing up, whether it was going up to Central for baseball camps or football stuff with my dad, knowing that he was in baseball and in football and growing up in that area, just the connection there was significant. I had really good memories growing up, even before I committed to Central Washington and played there. Having him lead the charge, he coached me in high school, obviously a huge impact in my life, in football, and in a lot of different areas and knowing that he was in the hall of fame with all of his accomplishments. It's pretty cool to see. Then, having the opportunity for us both to be in the hall of fame there, it doesn't happen very often. So, it's very much appreciated and a humbling opportunity for me.
Q: When you look back on your time at Central, what moments or games stand out as defining for your career?
Zak: I had the opportunity to be there for six years with a redshirt and a medical redshirt so lots of opportunities, experiences, and a lot of good times. From a football sense one of the seasons that sticks out is that 2002 season, it was a blast, it was a fun one. I had the opportunity to start early in my career and played for multiple years, but that 2002 season stuck out in my mind. Going into that first game, I think it was Fort Lewis that we played at home. We kind of struggled at first but then ended up scoring 70 points on them and blowing them out. Really what sticks out was that second game we had to go on the road against number one North Dakota, they had their brand-new dome, and they were ranked highly with a very good defense. We ended up putting 40 plus points on them and Brian Potucek had a great game and it all just kind of clicked. That was one of those memories where you get done with that game and obviously it felt very good to knock them off and propel us into a great season. So many great memories but that was one that definitely sticks out.
Q: As you eluded to, your 2002 season was historic. What clicked for you and the team to make it such a special year?
Zak: I think we had a veteran crew. We had a lot of guys that just wanted to be around each other, whether it was football or off the field. We had really good team cohesion. We were pretty competitive and wanted to win, but we also had a lot of guys that had experience and went through some of the hard times. We just gelled and just clicked. Honestly, we had a lot of great athletes around both on the offense and the defense. We had a great offensive line, we had really good wide receivers, Jake Roberts and Moses Lewis and Brian Potucek, some guys there that can really run. We had some really good running backs, but it was just a big collective effort. Obviously, our defense was really good too. A huge thanks to all of our coaches, they set us up for success and created a great environment and culture there. I think that's one of the cool things about Central Washington is it's usually the Washington guys or at least the northwest type of bodies that go there and connect from different high schools, share a lot of common stories. It's a place where you have to put in the work, it's not given to you, you're not going to be a spoon-fed football player at Central Washington. You have to work through the tough times, might it be a lack of facilities, although I know the facilities have grown a ton. I actually got the chance to go back there a couple of years ago and it was amazing to see some of the new facilities. It was just a cool environment, and we figured it out and got a chance to win some football games.
Q: You helped lead the Wildcats to their first-ever NCAA Division II Playoff appearance. What did that milestone mean for you, the program, and your teammates?
Zak: It's a huge accomplishment to be able to go undefeated that season in 2002, obviously didn't finish it up the way we wanted, but there were a bunch of highly competitive guys, and we had a great year. I even had to sit out a couple of games I think, Dale Chase started a few of those and did a great job helping to win those games. So, it was a collective effort with a great group of guys and a great staff. There were a lot of great memories from that year. I think it obviously great for the program, great for the alumni and just Central Washington fans and supporters to see the success and have an opportunity to make a run in the playoffs.
Q: During your time at Central, who were some of the coaches or teammates that had the biggest impact on you, and how did they shape you into who you are as a player, the person, and the coach you are today?
Zak: Coach Zamberlin was the head coach at the time, and he was one of those guys where it was his way, everybody knew that. It was Coach Z's program, and he had a high standard for us, he loved football, and he loved the guys. Every day we came to practice or meetings, and you knew it was time to work so he pushed us to play at a high level and be great people on the field as well. We had a lot of great coaches. Coach John Picha, one of those memorable guys, has been there forever and I know he was just inducted into the hall of fame last year which was really cool to see. Beau Baldwin had a huge impact on my life and career there. I had a chance to coach with him at Eastern Washington and continue that in football and got into my coaching career with Coach B. Coach B also, from a quarterback standpoint, learning the position. My dad was a quarterback too, so I learned a lot of that stuff from him as well. A lot of influences from a quarterback standpoint. Coach B was just one of those guys that you could just relate with, had a good football sense, super good with the x's and o's, and understanding the strategy of it all. John Graham was our defensive coordinator there and he had an impact on me; I got the chance to work with him at Eastern Washington too. Coach Strandley and Coach Fetter, I mean you just go down the line, like I said, just a great group of guys who loved each other and loved football. They were all about football. You knew that as a player.
Q: You entered the coaching ranks and have coached at multiple different levels. How have the lessons you learned as a player at Central influenced the way you develop quarterbacks today, both on the field, and as leaders?
Zak: Playing college football number one is a blast, it doesn't matter what level. Just being able to play and experience that was obviously really great in my life. I was able to take those experiences into my coaching career, but being in the pocket, having multiple years of playing college football, that is very relatable at the quarterback position and me being a quarterback coach in the college level for over 20 years, you can relate to those guys. You can relate to how they feel, what they're thinking, what they saw, it's just easier to have those conversations when you've been in the pocket and had those guys rushing you and taking the hits, just the ins and outs of the football game. The coaches, the staff, and the players there, ultimately, it's about the connections and it's about the confidence, being able to play the position with a ton of confidence and hopefully I'm instilling that in our guys the different places that I've been. Connection, letting them know that you trust them, and earning their trust that's a big part of it, just to be successful. Then, just learning some of the preparation and the habits, how do these guys learn? There's a lot of different things that may hit their brain in different ways. Central Washington was an awesome experience for me. I had a ton of joy with it and that was a big reason I wanted to get into college coaching, just to be around the players, the comradery, and the gameday atmosphere, so many fun things with college football.
Q: Any stories that you're willing to share from your time as a player or as a coach that you're willing to share with Wildcat nation?
Zak: Well, I don't know if I truly have any stories right now at this point. Maybe at the induction ceremony. I'll try and keep it tight here and maybe at the induction ceremony we'll let loose some of the stories.
