He attended Lubbock Christian College and played for the men's basketball team while earning an Associates of Arts degree in 1964.

[1] Hays was the softball program's second head coach after his son, Shanon Hays, resigned to take the same position with the Texas Tech Red Raiders softball team.

[2] He was succeeded by his son Daren Hays, after a single season as the Lady Chaps' head coach in 2010.

Hays became the head baseball coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders in 1987.

On April 2, 2008, Hays became just the fourth coach in NCAA baseball history to win 1,500 games, 805 with the Red Raiders, with a 10–5 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in his 22nd year as Texas Tech's head coach.

[3][4] On June 2, 2008, Hays retired from coaching after 38 years, 22 of which were spent at Texas Tech.

[5][6] His final record stands at 1,509 wins and 860 losses, fourth all-time in NCAA history.

Ceremonies were held at Dan Law Field before the Texas Tech Red Raiders game against the Lubbock Christian Chaparrals.