From These Roots

Athletics have long been a part of the North Greenville campus, but before 1950, all athletic activities had to take place outside or at another local school. The men’s basketball team had to use local high school gyms for practices and home games and physical education classes had to work around the weather.

The first major push for a gymnasium came in 1946 when the North Greenville Board of Trustees asked the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s General Board for funds to build a physical education building. The General Board declined the request so the chairman of the board from North Greenville took the floor at the next convention meeting and appealed the decision. A local pastor suggested that $20,000 be taken from the SCBC emergency fund and given to the school for the gym construction. There was pushback from those who thought a new gym was not an emergency so Dr. Donnan stood and said, “If we had had a building and it had burned last night, you would consider that an emergency. But since we have never had a physical education building, you say we have no emergency.” The majority agreed with Dr. Donnan and North Greenville received the funds. However, by that time, there was a pressing need for more faculty homes and the funds had to be rerouted for that purpose.

It was in 1949 that a fundraising campaign was launched for the purpose of building a gymnasium. Through the efforts of alumni and friends of the school, enough funds were raised and construction on the gym began in the summer of 1950. The final price tag for the gym was $35,752.53 and the building was dedicated during the 1951 commencement program. The new gym included a basketball court, offices, dressing rooms, and permanent bleachers which provided seating for about 300.

Throughout the early years, gym maintenance was often done by the students and coaches themselves. In 1953, for example, Coach Campbell had his men’s basketball team refinish the basketball court floors by hand using steel wool. Also in 1953, the school, partially using funds from the canteen, replaced the blackboard in the gym with a new electric score clock. In 1954, “N.G.J.C. GYMNASIUM” was painted across the main entrance of the gym and Grady Reece, the school carpenter, built another set of bleachers on the other side of the basketball court to provide extra seating. Previously, many fans had to stand at the games because there wasn’t enough room.

The next improvements to the gym came in 1959 when a PA system was installed. For the first time, someone could make announcements throughout the games using a loudspeaker. In addition to the PA system, a new whirlpool was added to one of the dressing rooms. Coach Dean, along with students Hamlin Gaines and Bill McManus (known as Dr. McManus to many alumni today), took a secondhand bathtub, added three hot and cold water spigots, and installed a motor to stir the water. According to Coach Dean, “Such a whirlpool massages the muscles and helps keep the players physically fit.”

By 1962, it was clear the gymnasium needed more room. An annex was built on the side of the gym which added about 30 feet along the length of the building. The concrete and veneer addition was to be used for volleyball, badminton, and half-court basketball games. In 1966, the gym floor was completely redone using white maple for the playing area and oak for the surrounding areas. The old bleachers were replaced by folding bleachers and Fluorescent lighting was also placed in the building. There had been a longtime problem with no dressing rooms for the visiting teams so two dressing rooms were also built in connection with a laundry room at the back of the building.

With the growth of the school and the popularity of the basketball programs, an expansion to the gym was needed. In 1975, the trustees approved a contract for approximately $350,000 to expand and renovate the gym. Clark Construction Company of Greenville won the bid for the construction and work began on the expansion in November 1975. The renovations would be delayed while the basketball seasons were still active. The expansion would include a new entrance into the building with a lobby, ticket offices, and a concession area. The office spaces and locker rooms were renovated and expanded and visitor’s lounges were added. The renovation inside the gym tripled seating capacity to around 1,500 and the front five rows on either side of the court were moveable to allow room for two cross courts for intramural basketball. The construction was supposed to be complete by June 1976, but construction delays pushed back the completion.

On November 13, 1976, the dedication service for the newly expanded and renovated gym was held. Throughout its history, the gym had often been called “Mountie Hall”, but with the dedication came a new, official, name for the gym- Joe F. Hayes, Sr. Gymnasium. Joe F. Hayes, Sr. was a longtime trustee and benefactor for the school. In addition to the dedication ceremony, two alumni vs. current team games were played. The 1976-1977 Mountainettes trounced the women alumni with a score of 111-40. However, the 1976-1977 Mounties had a much harder time against their alumni and barely won with a score of 116-111.

Since 1976, there have been several smaller renovations in Hayes. In the early 2000s, new scoreboards and shot clocks were installed. In 2016, the gym floors were replaced and a unique gray color was used for the court. Also in 2016, the remaining wooden bleachers were replaced and LED lights were added. In 2017 new Nevco scoreboards and shot clocks were installed. The last renovations came in 2021-2022 when the gym ceiling and walls were painted, the gym floor was refinished, the toilets were replaced in all of the restrooms, and a new HVAC unit was installed.

Today, the Hayes Gymnasium is used by Men’s and Women’s Basketball as well as Men’s and Women’s Volleyball. Whether cheering for The Mounties or The Crusaders, thousands of North Greenville fans have sat in Hayes Gym over the decades. Hayes is now the third oldest building on the central part of campus and will hopefully serve many more generations to come.

All images below were taken from the archive with the exception of the recent pictures. The recent pictures were taken from the NGU athletics website or Google images.