May 6, 2010

Tech's David Mays selected for induction into OVC Hall of Fame

Former Golden Eagle baseball coach David Mays has been selected for induction into the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame. Mays will be recognized on Friday, June 4, at the annual OVC Awards Dinner in Nashville.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Former Tennessee Tech baseball coach David Mays is one of two people selected for induction this year into the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame. The 2010 OVC Hall of Fame class, which includes Mays and former Austin Peay athletic trainer Chuck Kimmell, will be recognized at the annual OVC Honors Luncheon on Friday, June 4, at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville.

The Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame was organized in 1977 with the intent of honoring the coaches, administrators, faculty and staff who have been associated with the OVC for at least five years and provided extensive and outstanding service to the Conference. With the induction of this year’s class the membership will reach 67, including 15 from Tennessee Tech.

“Coach Mays led the TTU baseball program in a first class manner through a quarter of a century, coming through some difficult and demanding times, and his team enjoyed many highlights,” said Mark Wilson, TTU Director of Athletics.

“The team’s amazing work ethic was a reflection of his passion for success, on the field, in the classroom and in life,” Wilson added. “We are thrilled that he is being inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame. He is truly deserving of the honor.”

In addition to all the victories, honors and awards that came from success on the field, there was one other ingredient that set David’s teams apart -- his student-athletes earned their degrees. In his 25 seasons as head coach, he saw nearly every single player accept his diploma and take his experiences as a student-athlete into a successful and rewarding life after baseball.

The support for the baseball program that Mays cultivated during his career as head coach included numerous major renovations, construction and improvement to the baseball facilities at Tech. Those included a new team clubhouse, stadium lights, new outfield fences, a new field irrigation system, and the installation of a press box.

After a successful high school coaching career Mays took over the Tech baseball program in 1974, guiding the Golden Eagles through the 1998 season. In those 25 seasons Mays compiled 554 victories, which ranks as the fourth most in OVC history. He owns more coaching wins in head-to-head competition than any other coach in Golden Eagle history.

Mays coached three All-Americans, six all-region selections, three OVC Players of the Year, one OVC Pitcher of the Year and 59 student-athletes who earned All-OVC distinction. His players also performed well in the classroom, as Mays coached three Academic All-Americans and three OVC Scholar-Athletes. Five of his players went on to earn induction into the Tennessee Tech Hall of Fame.

Mays himself was inducted into the TTU Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

Mays was named OVC Coach of the Year in 1986, 1988, 1993, 1996 and 1997 and led the Golden Eagles to a 39-23 record and OVC regular season and tournament championship in 1997, along with a victory over Ohio State in the NCAA Regional. In 1997 he was inducted into the East Tennessee baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Mays was a four-year letterman at Carson-Newman College where he was a starter on the 1965 NAIA national championship team and captained the squad a year later.

Mays is the 15^th inductee from Tennessee Tech. Previous TTU coaches and administrators in the OVC Hall of Fame include Dr. Thurston Banks, Raymond “Bull” Brown, Dr. Everett Derryberry, Hooper Eblen, David Larimore, Marynell Meadors, Johnny Oldham, P.V. “Putty” Overall, Malcolm “Mutt” Quillen, Dr. Arliss Roaden, Wilburn Tucker, Angelo Volpe, Don Wade and Bill Worrell.

Kimmel joined the Austin Peay staff as an athletic trainer in 1981 and retired in December 2006 after spending 25 years at the school, including the final 16 in the position of as assistant athletics director. He was inducted into the APSU Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.