OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 2, 2021) – With a nod to his small-college roots, legendary Oklahoma Christian basketball coach Dan Hays accepted his induction on Monday night into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame during a star-studded ceremony at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

Hays became the third person with OC ties to receive what is considered the state's highest sporting honor, joining OC assistant track and field coach (and former Olympian) Jeff Bennett and former OC basketball player Sherri Coale, who went on to great fame as the women's basketball coach at Oklahoma. Both Bennett and Coale were among the many who congratulated Hays before, during and after the ceremony.

"This is a big deal, a really big deal," Hays said. "This isn't a deal for the little guys, the small-college guys like myself. That's why I'm so honored. … What I'm really doing is representing all the great coaches in the state of Oklahoma in the small colleges, (NAIA) District 9, Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference, Sooner Athletic Conference, all of these guys.

"We're the guys that would get on a van at 8 a.m. in Alva, Oklahoma, drive to Oklahoma City, let our kids out at Crossroads Mall … and let them get loose. Then we would drive to Durant, play a game and after the game, stop and get a NAIA steak at McDonald's, drive to Alva on two-lane highways, park the vans, let the players out, take the vans to the bus barn, go back in the gym, do the laundry and then go home. That's the life of the small-college coaches. … This is for the guys that did the laundry, drove the vans, rode the buses, swept the floors, etc., etc., etc."

Hays was part of a high-profile class of inductees that included (among others) Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy, former Oklahoma basketball All-American Stacey Dales, former Wichita State baseball coach Gene Stephenson and Robert Kalsu, the only NFL player to die in combat during the Vietnam War.

Asking, "What's wrong with this picture?" Hays seemed floored that a self-described "small-time, small-college coach" would be keeping such company, but his fellow inductees would have none of it.

In her speech, Dales – whose college coach at OU, Coale, cites Hays as her mentor – told Hays "there is nothing small-school about you" and Gundy echoed those sentiments: "You are not small-time – you're big-time."

Hays was a small-college basketball lifer. He played for a NAIA school, Eastern New Mexico, in college, and after a few years as a high school coach in his native New Mexico, he broke into the college ranks at Southeastern Oklahoma State. His first job as a college head coach was at Northwestern Oklahoma State, where he spent five seasons before embarking on a 33-year run at OC.

Hays' overall college coaching record of 724-470 puts him at No. 1 for the most wins recorded by a men's basketball coach at a four-year Oklahoma college. At the time of his retirement in 2016, he ranked tied for 42nd all-time in wins among coaches at four-year colleges at any level.

The Eagles won six of their 10 Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season championships and their only SAC tournament title during Hays' tenure. He led Oklahoma Christian to nine NAIA Division I tournaments and reached the "Sweet 16" five times, most recently in 2010. He coached two NAIA players of the year, Jay Mauck (1999) and Jarred Merrill (2005). Mauck was among many former OC players who attended Monday to celebrate Hays.

"There's no place greater for small-college basketball than those golden years in Oklahoma – from when I came in 1974, the '80s, the '90s, up into the 2000s," Hays said. "I think back to the fans, the crowds, the rivalries that we had in that era, between Oklahoma Christian, Southern Nazarene, Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma Baptist University. It was great basketball."

Hays was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame at the 1998 national tournament and became a member of the OC Athletic Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Feb. 21, 2002. He also was inducted into the athletic hall of fame at his alma mater, Eastern New Mexico, in 1996. In April 2011, OC honored Hays by naming the court inside the Eagles' Nest "Dan Hays Court."

In 2017, the National Association of Basketball Coaches honored Hays with its prestigious Guardians of the Game award for service, which recognizes coaches who serve as community leaders who help enhance their communities through civic involvement. It is considered to be one of the highest coaching honors given by the NABC.

In 2018, the Oklahoma Coaches Association added to Hays' haul of awards, naming him to its Hall of Fame, and in June, the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association did the same.

"Dan has had a great career – in fact, a Hall of Fame career," said Arkansas-Fort Smith athletic director Curtis Janz, who spent more than 30 years working with Hays as a player, assistant coach and administrator at OC and helped narrate Hays' introduction video.

"But if the only thing we talk about are wins and accomplishments, then it cuts his legacy short. His career is all about relationships. … None of his players talk about victories or games. They all talked about how coach Hays impacted them to be better people."

Also in the introduction video, Bennett noted how "Coach Hays' career cannot be solely defined by wins and losses, but rather by the character of the individual, the integrity of the programs and his commitment to educating student-athletes. Coach Hays coached in the right way."

Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame introduction video: https://vimeo.com/582749674

Dan Hays' acceptance speech: https://youtu.be/b44npzUUppg