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Movin' Mavs Jim Hayes named to Hall of Fame
Movin' Mavs Jim Hayes named to Hall of Fame | Jim Hayes named to Hall of Fame |
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| Written by Justin Rains, The Shorthorn managing editor | ||||
| Thursday, 12 March 2009 10:36 PM | ||||
 The National Wheelchair Basketball Association named founder and former Movin’ Mavs head coach Jim Hayes to its Hall of Fame Thursday. Hayes, who led the Movin’ Mavs to seven national championships, died unexpectedly in May 2008. (The Shorthorn: File Art) Now, a place must be made to call him a Hall of Famer. The National Wheelchair Basketball Association announced Tuesday that Hayes would be inducted into the 2009 Hall of Fame class, as the contributor. In a press release announcing the class, the association credited Hayes with “propelling wheelchair basketball into the mainstream of intercollegiate athletics,” and increasing the competition level in the collegiate ranks of the sport. Hayes’ younger sister Laura Raney said she was notified of the nomination by current Movin’ Mavs head coach Doug Garner about a month ago, and received word of his induction two weeks later. “I guess to a large extent it’s a great honor for him and for our family to think that he’s going into the Hall of Fame,” she said. “My other side is sad that Jim can’t be here to enjoy this. I know it would’ve thrilled him, even though he didn’t want to be in the limelight.” Raney said her mother is “just beside herself” with happiness over the news. When asked how she thought her brother would’ve reacted to the news, she spoke of a certain grin he would get when he was trying to keep his emotions in check. “He always had this smirky grin when he was really proud, but didn’t want anyone to think he was,” she said. “He had that way about him. He wanted everything to be for everyone else.” Mikey Paye, who played for Hayes as a Movin’ Mav from 2001–06, said he knew exactly how Hayes would’ve reacted to this news. “I’d go in there and say, ‘Coach, I don’t believe it. It’s so awesome.’ He’d just say ‘Aw, it’s just another day,’ and probably pour another cup of coffee,” Paye said. While Hayes was never big on personal achievements, Paye said players loved when they could talk up their coach and “see him smile.” He also said this induction will be special because Hayes goes in as a coach. “Some of the other guys have been inducted for spreading the game across the country,” he said. “But when I think of Coach [Hayes] getting into the Hall of Fame, I think of seven national championships and Texas Hall.” Former Movin’ Mav Paul Schulte said while he wished Hayes could be in attendance for his induction, his absence won’t make the moment bittersweet. “I certainly would’ve loved Coach [Hayes] to have gotten in when he was alive, but I know that he’ll be there and in the hearts of his players and the hearts of the people who’s lives he helped shape,” Schulte said. “In our hearts, he’s already a member of each of our Halls of Fame. This will just be kind of solidifying his spot in the role and contributions that he made to our sport.” Garner first nominated Hayes for induction three years ago, and said every year Hayes was left off the list. Garner and other supporters — including Schulte — would send more letters supporting his nomination to the Hall of Fame committee. Garner said he, current and former Movin’ Mavs players all shared a similar reaction when presented with the news. “They were all like, ‘Well, it’s about time,’ ” he said. “Especially the guys that were there in the ’90s and the ’80s when the program struggled. They know what he went through to get this program built and to where it is today.” Hayes was paralyzed at 18 when, while at Benbrook Lake with friends and family, he attempted a swan dive into shallow water. He graduated from the university in 1974 and was vital in making the campus more accessible to students with disabilities. In 1984, Hayes won a gold medal in the Paralympics road-racing event and two years later, he made the 205-mile trip from Austin to Arlington in his wheelchair to raise money for the Helping Restore Ability foundation. The trip took Hayes 25 hours and raised $15,000 for the organization. In 1989, Hayes founded the Movin’ Mavs program, and was the team’s only coach until his death at the age of 58 in May 2008 from an intestinal blood clot. In an interview with The Shorthorn, published in March 2008 before his death, Hayes talked about the two times in an athlete’s life he felt were most special — neither involved personal accolades. “One is the look in Mom and Dad’s eyes when you offer a kid the scholarship to come play ball at UTA,” he said. “In our population, with all the medical bills and therapy and everything else that goes with injuries, there’s not a lot of money going around to sending kids to college.” The second one has to be watching them go across the stage at graduation. You know they’ve got a degree and their life is going to be much brighter than before they came here.” He called the championships, All-American awards and Team USA selections “pats on the back for your hard work.” Views: 2786 | E-mail
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