Hitt was hired as UNO’s first employee on Dec 15, 1957, and was the school’s chief campus administrative officer from that day through July 1, 1980 – first as dean, later as vice-president of LSU in charge of LSUNO, then as chancellor beginning in 1963.

A member of the Louisiana State University system for 43 years, Hitt was the guiding force in the school’s development of its intercollegiate athletic program. UNO fielded its first intercollegiate teams in 1969 – when the school was known as LSU-New Orleans – and won consecutive NCAA Division II golf championships and earned Division II runner-up finishes in baseball and men’s basketball before joining Division I in 1975-76.

Hitt also was instrumental in the planning stages of 10,000-seat Lakefront Arena, which opened in 1983 as the home of UNO basketball and all UNO athletic offices. On November 22, 2003, the # 1 banner was raised to the rafters of the Lakefront Arena honoring UNO’s #1 fan, Homer Hitt, during the UNO vs. Texas State Homecoming game.