Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium
The Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium is the home and training facility of the Blue Raiders track and field program. The Olympic-size track was laid 10 years ago and has hosted the 2000 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships and the 2009 Sun Belt Outdoor Championships, and is the annual host of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association high school track championships. In 2006-07, the facility underwent a $3.5 million addition with the construction of locker rooms, a press box and a 1,500-seat grandstand. The stadium is scheduled to host the 2011 Sun Belt Outdoor Championships. The running surface features eight lanes measuring 42 inches each, which allows ample space for each competitor to run without feeling closed in by other runners. Like the running surface, the infield portion of the complex is user-friendly. It features the unique aspect of two long jump runways, allowing both men’s and women’s teams to compete or practice at the time. A pole vault runway, javelin runway, high jump area and hammer/discus cage are also located in the infield area. Middle Tennessee State University held a formal dedication ceremony
May 8, 2009, to name the Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium. Nearly 400 people were in attendance including over 100 former track athletes in honoring their former coach. The Tennessee Board of Regents approved the renaming of the stadium in late March.
The ceremony took place in the Greenland Drive parking lot directly in front of the newly named stadium. Featured speakers included Middle Tennessee president Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, director of athletics Chris Massaro, former track student-athlete Tommy Haynes and Coach Hayes. The ceremony coincided with the first day of the Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championships, an event Middle Tennessee hosted to for the first time since joining the league in 2000-01. The Blue Raiders last hosted an outdoor league championship event in 2000, their last season competing in the Ohio Valley Conference. Junior William Songock concluded the evening last May in dramatic fashion, taking first place in the 10,000 meters following the ceremony setting a stadium record.