Clayton State University Athletics

Dr. Tim Hynes was a mainstay at Clayton State University for over a decade and was one of the biggest supporters of our Department of Athletics.  Dr. Hynes was the president of the University during one of the most historic times in our athletics history including seeing the women’s basketball team, coached by the legendary and Hall of Famer Dennis Cox, win the school’s first and only National Championship in 2011.  During his tenure, Dr. Hynes also oversaw an athletics department that combined to win 11 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Championships and 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. 
 
Dr. Tim Hynes also oversaw the dedication of the Athletics’ Center Sports Performance room, named after Clayton State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2015 inductee Dr. Joseph S. Wilkes, and the dedication of the Sports Medicine Room, named in partnership with OrthoAtlanta. Additionally, Dr. Hynes guided efforts in many different facility updates. 
 
For the University as a whole, Dr. Hynes was instrumental in establishing a rigorous fundraising strategy. In 2016, the University started the Give4Dreams, Day of Giving, initiative.  This initiative was instrumental in the Department of Athletics to raise money for different needs including scholarships, equipment, uniforms, and facility upgrades.  As a campus, the University has raised over 1.5 million dollars and just in the last couple of years, the Department of Athletics has led the campus in fundraising efforts.   
 
Dr. Hynes also led an effort to increase the campus’s graduation rate.  During his tenure, Dr. Hynes saw the graduation rate increase more than 9%, due in part to increased academic and career advising and academic support for students. In 2019, the New York Times listed Clayton State among 10 institutions nationally with the greatest level of graduation rates for students above what would have been expected by the income and other characteristics of the admitting class.  
 
During his 12 years, the campus has been ranked Clayton State has been recognized by the U.S. News & World Report as 36^th in the South for Regional Universities advancing social mobility for students, and 8^th nationally by the Urban Institute Center on Education Data and Policy for graduation performance above predictions based on student demographics. Seven of the last eight years, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has identified Clayton State as a top workplace in Metropolitan Atlanta.