On January 15th, Athletics Director Bill Hamilton announced his retirement from Pensacola State College during a press conference in the Hartsell Arena gym.

Hamilton has served in PSC’s athletic department for over 30 years; 10 of those years were spent as both the head baseball coach and an athletics coordinator.

Hamilton had plans to retire later on down the road, but with COVID-19 running rampant in the country, his timeclock was pushed up drastically.

Hamilton said, “COVID-19 has given me a glimpse into how much I will miss the people I work with. I am a very social person – before the pandemic, I was always eating lunch with someone  – a colleague, former student-athlete, a community contact.”

Throughout the arena were a hodgepodge of different people who have had the pleasure of interacting with Coach Hamilton at some point during his career, both as a member of the administration and a coach of baseball.

PSC President Dr. Ed Meadows, recounted shooting trips with Hamilton where Dr. Meadows would perform all sorts of trick shots and show off his skills. Dr. Meadows said, “The reason I did all these trick shots was to show Bill a little mercy.” 

Hamilton thanked many members of his family, ranging from his wife Cathy to his two grandchildren, Ty and Bailey. Hamilton said, “They think I’m the greatest man to walk the earth.”

In his retirement, Hamilton plans to go through his never-ending honey-do list jars and spend the remainder of his life with his grandchildren.

One constant that came up during Hamilton’s speech seemed to reflect upon his entire career as an athlete and a leader of athletes, “God has been good to me.”