He served as head basketball coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 1947 to 1967, during which time, his teams won eight Southwest Conference (SWC) titles and reached six NCAA Tournaments.

In 1956, Hayes' Mustangs, led by Jim Krebs, made the only Final Four appearance in program history.

[1] Regarding the rule that coaches must remain seated during a game, Hayes was quoted as saying: "If you've got 10,000 people seated in an arena and everybody's standing up and hollering and you expect the coaches and players to be quiet and relaxed, you're going to have to give them a sedative.

Then the coach probably will be fired at the end of the season and the players cut off their scholarships.

"[2] Hayes and his wife, Kathleen, were killed in a one-car accident near Terrell, Texas on February 26, 1973.