The measure of a good educator and a good athlete are one in the same; they require discipline, a respect for teammates, solid leadership, and a love for learning. At least, that’s how Canyons Innovation Center Director Reid Newey sees it.
Newey learned all of those skills while attending Utah State University where he played basketball and is being inducted into USU Athletics’ 2026 Hall of Fame. USU Vice President and Director of Athletics Cameron Walker called Newey to tell him in late May.
“That was great,” Newey said. “It’s been a long time since my career there, and that, in some ways, makes it even better. I just have so much respect for the university and the basketball program, so it was great.”
A first-team All-Big West Conference selection, Newey still ranks among the Aggies’ leaders on the court. Newey is the 13th leading scorer in program history with 1,536 career points.
According to USU’s Athletics Department, he ranks 16th in school history with 298 career assists, eighth in career steals (128), fourth in career 3-point field goals (237), 10th in career 3-point percentage (.414) and 19th in career games played (116).
Newey credits his coaches and fellow players for pushing him to be the best he could be, saying they supported each other and pushed each other to succeed.
“All of the relationships both in basketball and outside of it were really exceptional,” Newey said. “It was also playing against great competition and just being around good people.”
His time as a player helped shape him into the educator and coach he would become, saying coaching led him to education. He majored in health and physical education, with a minor in biology, his eyes set on the classroom.
“I loved the classroom as much as I did anything about coaching,” he said. “I always felt education is about exactly what athletics is about, and that is trying to help others achieve their best and trying to get the best out of yourself.”
Newey went on to coach for the Aggies after graduating in 1989, spending the next 35 years in education, including serving as Superintendent for Davis School District.
In 2025, he was named the director for the Canyons Innovation Center, set to open in August 2027, and has been leading the programming and design for transforming the former eBay headquarters in Draper. The CIC will provide high school students with the training, industry certifications, and college credit they need for immediate entry to such high-demand careers as manufacturing, broadcasting, nursing, and medical assisting.
“This is something we could be the best in the world at. And I think we have incredible backing from the superintendency and the Board to really do something exceptional for students,” he says. “It’s an opportunity to work with industry and produce a profession-based model, which is really what the world needs right now in terms of education. You see it in everything that our civic, legislative, and industry leaders are wanting. They need people who are workforce ready, whether they’re going into higher education or not.”
