User:FloNight/Wilbur Hackett

Wilbur Hackett (born) is a former American football linebacker who played for the University of Kentucky Wildcats Football program from 1967 to 1970. Hackett became the South Eastern Conference’s (SEC) first African American team captain in any sport in 1969. He later spent two decades as a referee in the SEC as an officials’ evaluator and a replay official. Hackett and the three other African American football players who integrated the SEC college footfall were honored with a statue outside Commonwealth Stadium.

Early life
Hackett attended Louisville Manual High School and was recruited to attend University of Kentucky as a student athlete by Nate Northington and Greg Page, the first African American athletes to play on the Wildcat Football team.

Later life
Hackett returned to the University of Kentucky as a student in 2019 in order to earn his undergraduate degree. He graduated in 2020 with a liberal arts degree.