The personable and diverse Jim Hayford is in his ninth season as a Cougar assistant coach, and in that time he has developed a reputation as an excellent recruiter and a valuable assistant coach. Tireless in his recruiting efforts, Hayford is the principle figure in designing the make-up of the 1999 Cougars.
In recent years, he secured signings from Bob Terry, Ronnie Winbush, Raymond Tutt, Eric Wattree, and T.J. Walker, 5 players who have been named NAIA District or GSAC Players of the Year. By the numbers, he has signed 10 all-state prep players, 27 All-CIF picks, 13 high school league MVPs, 6 All-L.A. City honorees, 1 junior national player of the year and 4 all-state junior college performers.
His emerging status in the circles of college basketball has enabled him to procure deals that put the likes of Oregon State and Utah on the Cougar slate over the past 3 years.
"We play Azusa Pacific because of Jim Hayford," said University of Utah head coach Rick Majerus.
His success and professional reputation extend beyond the basketball court. As Azusa Pacific's first-ever director of athletic development, Hayford led a campaign that raised over $850,000 for the athletic department during the past 4 years, overseeing the Cougar Athletic Association (extension of the university's development program) and sports marketing. He is currently involved in the drive to raise monies for Azusa Pacific's new events center. In 1996, the National Association of Athletic Development Directors named Hayford the "Fundraiser of the Year" among all colleges and universities.
Active in the local community, Jim serves as an associate pastor at Faith Community Church in West Covina.
On the court, Hayford has coached in Europe four different summers and has been a featured speaker at the ABC Basketball Camp in Denmark and Scandinavia. Through his European contacts, several former Cougars have continued their basketball careers.
A former Cougar soccer player, Hayford graduated from Azusa Pacific in 1989 with a degree in social science. He has an associate's degree from Diablo Valley College and a master's in education from the Claremont (Calif.) Graduate School.
Hayford began his basketball coaching career in 1987 at Contra Costa (Calif.) Christian High School as the girl's head basketball coach. The following season, he moved to his alma mater, Berean Christian High in Walnut Creek, Calif., where for 2 years he was head varsity soccer coach and junior varsity basketball coach. In the fall of 1990, Hayford joined the Cougar basketball staff, assisting then head coach Terry Layton. He stayed on when Bill Odell was hired in 1991 and coached the junior varsity team to a 13-6 record.
"Jim is one of the finest recruiters in the collegiate ranks and is invaluable to our program," said Cougar coach Bill Odell. "Much of our success is directly related to Jim and his work ethic as our chief recruiter."
Jim and his wife, Robin, live in Azusa, Calif., with their daughter, Jayme (4), and son Joseph (1).
