Joining Hayes in the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame Class of 2008 are Charlie Craig, Kim Duyst, Mark Guthrie, Dave Murray, Gary Pepin, Peter Tegen and Alex Wilson. The 2008 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, December 17th, at the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Ariz. - site of the 2008 USTFCCCA Convention.

Hayes, whose career began in 1959, has become a staple in the Murfreesboro community and in the Blue Raider family as he enters his 44th year of service at the University.

"It's a great honor to be inducted into the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame and to be recognized by your peers for your efforts. I have been fortunate enough to be around some great athletes," said Hayes on his induction. "I've had many opportunities in this life and I've benefited from being in the right place at the right time," Hayes added.

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 and 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 and field to minorities and with recruiting the school's first international student-athletes.

Hayes has guided the programs to 29 OVC titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. Forty-four of his athletes have earned 84 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.

Hayes has added 12 Sun Belt Coach of the Year awards to complement his 15 OVC Coach of the Year honors, which included 10 in a row from 1977 to 1986. He was inducted into the Blue Raider Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. Hayes became a member of the Illinois Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, and he was inducted into the Mason-Dixon Athletic Club Hall of Fame in March 2005.

Following the 1981 season, the Division I Track and Field Coaches Association voted Hayes the NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year. Hayes served as president of the TFCA in 1982-83.

However, Hayes' experience is not limited to the collegiate level. He has coached several teams sponsored by either the United States Olympic Committee or USA Track and Field.

His international experience began at the first Olympic Sports Festival in Colorado Springs, Colo. (1978), and included: working as the head coach at the World University Games in Kobe, Japan (1985); Goodwill Games in Seattle, Wash. (1990); World Cup in London, England (1994); World Championships in Athens, Greece (1997); and again at the Goodwill Games in New York City (1998).

He has also served as an assistant at several international events. Aside from the first Olympic Sports Festival, Hayes worked as an assistant at the World University Games in Bucharest, Romania (1981), the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland (1983), and the Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea (1988). In 1996, Hayes served as a referee at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Hayes' most successful collegiate athletes at Middle Tennessee have competed in the NCAA triple jump, an event in which Hayes specializes.

He coached NCAA champions Tommy Haynes (1974) and Barry McClure (1972, '73) as well as NCAA high hurdle champion Dionne Rose (1994) and his most recent national champion, Blue Raider Mardy Scales in the 100-meters (2003). Hayes also guided Roland McGhee to nine All-American honors, and both McClure and Greg Artis won All-American honors seven times.

For more information on the inductees in this year's USTFCCCA Hall of Fame class, see www.ustfccca.org.

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