Merton Hanks gives Wildcat football players a pep talk in the locker room
Lake Highlands High grad Merton Hanks has been named the Pac-12’s new Senior Associate Commissioner for Football Operations. In his new role, Hanks will oversee scheduling, officiating, championship games and bowl relationships for the conference.
“I am excited to be joining the Conference of Champions and to have the opportunity to contribute to the continued growth of the Pac-12’s football programs,” said Hanks. “The Pac-12 boasts world class universities and an incredible football history, and I look forward to working with the Pac-12 athletic directors, administrators, and Commissioner Scott’s great team to support our student-athletes success on and off the field.”
Hanks served as vice president of operations for the NFL before becoming senior associate commissioner of Conference USA. He was recently nominated to the NFL Football Hall of Fame, and he was inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. He was selected for four Pro Bowl and three All-Pro teams, and he won the 1994 Super Bowl while playing with San Francisco.
“I was fortunate enough to grow up in an area of North Dallas, Northeast Dallas, that had a plethora of – not nationwide, but world class – athletes coming out of the area,” said Hanks in an interview with Pac-12 Network’s Ashley Adamson and Yogi Roth. “It instills in you a drive that you’d better show what you have quickly, and we’ve carried that chip on our shoulder ever since.”
Hanks returned to Wildcat Country in 2015 to present LHHS with 3 golden trophies – one for each alum who played in a Super Bowl. Hanks, Matt Stover and Detron Smith all spoke to players in the locker room, then with students at the pep rally about their experiences at the big game.
“When the team wins, everybody wins,” Hanks told the kids. “Everybody looks a little better than they really are, and everybody gets hardware (pointing at his Super Bowl ring).”
You can catch snippets of Hanks’ interview below and on Twitter here, where Hanks admits he’s not quite as nimble at his trademark Chicken Dance as he was in the ’90s.
Merton Hanks helped his 49ers win Super Bowl XXIX
