Mary Alice Hill was born May 6, 1940, the oldest of four girls to parents Clyde and Laurina Hill, and was raised on a rural Brookfield farm. She was a 1958 Brookfield High School graduate and earned a B.S. Ed. Degree in Physical Education/Recreation from Northeast Missouri State University, Kirksville, MO (Truman State University). She received her Masters of Arts degree at Texas Women's University, Denton, TX, and has 42 hours toward PhD Education degree in Athletic Administration.

Mary Alice was a national and international athlete in track and field. Her performance with the javelin at NMSU wasn't bested by another woman until 2003. She participated in tryouts for the U.S. Olympic Team in 1967. She spent 25 years in Athletic and Administrative work. She also coached high school and on the university level for 10 years and had teams place in the Top Ten at the National Championships for six of those years. She helped coach the Texas Women's University track team to a national first place finish three consecutive years and has coached several Olympian's. She has served as Executive Director for the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports, Director of Special Events and Programs Division at Camp Pendleton, was the first woman director to hold the position of Recreation Division, Camp Pendleton. She has served as Director of Men & Women's Athletics at San Diego State University, and was Colorado State University Director of Women's Athletics. She was the first woman to hold an athletic director position in a Division 1A Institution. She was Chair of the WAC Conference, again, being the first and only woman to chair all men's Division 1A Conference.

Mary Alice has coordinated numerous publications on gender equity, breaking barriers for girls and women in sports, has developed a policy and procedures manual for recreation division and youth activities manual, and developed programs addressing sexual harassment in sports. She has worked in public relations on the community, state, and national levels in support of women's athletics equality. She is the only person ever nominated from the floor of an NCAA Delegate Assembly and elected by the membership to a position on the NCAA Council. She has appeared on "Good Morning America" and thrown out the first pitch to open a San Diego Padres baseball game. She was named Outstanding Professor of the Year at Colorado State University, is in the Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame, was selected San Diego University Educator of the Year, named Woman of the Year by the San Diego Presidents Council, named to The International's Who's Who of Intellectuals, The World's Who's Who of Women, and is listed in the International Book of Honor. She served on the Advisory Board of the Scripps McDonald Center in San Diego and was the 2010 recipient of the Living Legacy Award at the University of San Diego.