Stadium to be named for Dean Hayes

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee State University announced today that the Track and Soccer Stadium will be named for legendary track coach Dean Hayes as approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents on Thursday. The Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium will be officially dedicated at a later date this spring. "We are fortunate to have someone as loyal and dedicated to this University as Dean Hayes has been for nearly 45 years," said President Sidney McPhee. "His track record speaks for itself but when you consider his overall body of work it vividly demonstrates the impact he has made on his sport, not only at Middle Tennessee, but nationally and abroad." A career that has spanned nearly 50 years of coaching, Hayes has been inducted into five Halls of Fame during his brilliant career. He was inducted into the Blue Raider Hall of Fame in 1982, the Illinois Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the Mason-Dixon Athletic Club Hall of Fame in 2005, and recently the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Hayes served as the President of the NCAA Division I Track and Field Coaches from 1981-1983. One of Hayes' greatest achievements was his role in integrating Middle Tennessee State University. Hayes signed the first black varsity student-athlete to a scholarship in the fall of 1965 when Jerry Singleton joined the track program. "I have seen so many changes at this University since 1965 that I look back in amazement everyday," said Hayes. "When I arrived we had 5,500 students and today we have 24,000, along with the addition of so many majors. I truly appreciate the opportunity that the University has provided the track program over the years. "The thing that is the most satisfying to me is the number of great athletes that have passed through here which has allowed this to happen. Without them this would never be possible. I also want to recognize my wife and kids because they have made a ton of sacrifices for me over the years and I will always be indebted to them." Hayes, whose career began in 1959, has become a staple in the Murfreesboro community and in the Blue Raider family as he is currently in his 44th year of service at the University. His men's teams dominated the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), and his women's teams duplicated that success since Hayes took over the women's program in 1987. His squads continued their early success when Middle Tennessee moved into the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) winning 15 of 32 indoor and outdoor titles. Hayes, a native of Naperville, Ill., began his illustrious coaching career at St. Mel High School in Chicago in 1959 before moving on to De La Salle High in Minnesota. His first collegiate coaching job came at his alma mater, Lake Forest College, in 1963, where he served as the head cross country coach and assistant track coach. He was at Lake Forest for two years until he was appointed to his present post at Middle Tennessee. His arrival at Middle Tennessee in 1965 marked the emergence of a new class of track & field competition. He focused his recruiting efforts on the jumps and relays and securing top-notch competitors for his programs. Hayes is credited with opening Middle Tennessee track & field to minorities and with recruiting the school's first international student-athletes. He has guided the Middle Tennessee program to 29 OVC titles, 15 SBC championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. Hayes has won 12 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year awards in addition to his 15 OVC Coach of the Year honors, which includes ten in a row from 1977-1986. In 1981, Hayes was named the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year, and was also named the NCAA District Coach of the Year outdoors in 1977 and then again in 1981. Forty-eight of his athletes have earned 82 All-American honors, four have become national champions, and a number of them have gone on to compete internationally in the Olympic Games, World University Games and Pan-American Games. There could have been more awards, but Middle Tennessee did not sport a track program from 1987-90. Some of his more notable athletes were NCAA Champions Tommy Haynes (1974), Barry McClure (1972, '73), Dionne Rose (1994), and most recently Mardy Scales (2003). Hayes also guided Roland McGhee to nine All-American honors, and both McClure and Greg Artis won All-American honors seven times. "Coach Hayes is an ambassador, not only for his sport, but Middle Tennessee as well," added Director of Athletics Chris Massaro. "All of the championships and Hall of Fame honors don't begin to tell the story of the countless number of young people he has influenced and provided opportunities for almost half a century while being a driving force in the integration of this University. This honor is certainly warranted and hopefully the naming of this stadium assures his tremendous legacy will always be a part of Middle Tennessee."

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

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