Hounds' football coach stepping down

PORTALES – Eastern New Mexico University football coach Tye Hiatt said on Thursday that he has resigned his position at ENMU to accept a job as the offensive coordinator at Southern Utah, a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA) program located in Cedar City, Utah.

Hiatt, the Greyhounds coach for the past two seasons, will be working under DeLane Fitzgerald. The two had coached together in previous stops at Division III Frostburg State (Md.) and Southern Virginia.

"I want to thank the ENMU administration for the opportunity to be a part of this program the past two years," Hiatt said in a Wednesday release on the school's website announcing the resignation. "These players and (assistant) coaches have changed my life for the better and I know they will be successful in their future endeavors."

Contacted by phone on Thursday, Hiatt said the move allows him and wife Paige to be closer to their families, who are primarily located in Oregon. He said his family will leave for Utah in early January.

The Hiatts have three children, Blake, 8; Neil, 6, and Zac, 3. Neil Hiatt has been undergoing chemotherapy for bone and skin cancer for some time.

Tye Hiatt also lost a brother, Calvin, to an accident in November 2021 when a trailer hauling a bull for sale in eastern Oregon came loose and forced the truck he was driving to overturn.

In his two seasons at ENMU, the Greyhounds posted a 7-15 record, including 3-13 in Lone Star Conference play. Their most impressive victory was a 24-21 decision at rival West Texas A&M in the Wagon Wheel game on Nov. 5 in which they got the winning touchdown on a 37-yard pass from junior quarterback Kason Martin to sophomore wide receiver Tyree Cherry with 14 seconds left in the game.

"I wish we could've won more games," Hiatt said. "But I will forever love Eastern. I've met at lot of really good people in the Clovis and Portales communities, and they really took us in during a hard time."

In the release, ENMU said associate head coach and defensive coordinator Jamison "Jamie" Bisch, who joined Hiatt's staff in February, will serve as the school's interim head coach until a final decision is made on Hiatt's replacement.

"Coach Hiatt has done a terrific job coaching our football team and building (toward) what can be a fantastic future for the Greyhounds," ENMU athletic director Paul Weir said in the release. "He took an incredibly challenging situation here and made everything around him so much better during his tenure.

"He and his wife Paige are wonderful members of our community, and we wish their entire family nothing but the best in their next chapter together."

Hiatt coached 16 players who received some level of All-LSC accolades over his two seasons, including receiver of the year Justin Manyweather and defensive lineman of the year Mazin Richards in 2021 and newcomer of the year Asa Wondeh this fall.

The release said the athletic department will have no further public comment until the search process has concluded.

"We will move swiftly to find our new head football coach and ask our athletes, fans and (the) entire Greyhound community to stay patient until that search is complete," Weir said.