Dean Hayes arrived at MTSU in 1965 when he took over the Blue Raider track program, and he hasn't left since.
In 51 years as MTSU's track and field coach, he led the squad to 29 Ohio Valley Conference championships, 18 Sun Belt titles and 18 top 25 finishes. Forty-eight of his athletes have earned a total of 85 All-American honors. Four have won a national championship and several have gone on to compete in the Olympics, World University Games and Pan-American Games.
Hayes added 15 Sun Belt Coach of the Year awards to complement his 15 OVC Coach of the Year honors, which includes 10 in a row from 1977 to 1986.