Brown A.D. Hayes settles into new job

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Rhode Island native Jack Hayes has settled in as the new athletic director of Brown University.

"It's great to be back in Rhode Island, to see people I haven't seen in a long time, and I think when you make a move like this to come back to a place that you're familiar with, it makes the transition easier," Hayes said when Eyewitness Sports caught up with him in his office.

Hayes has previously been associate athletic director at the University of Connecticut and athletic director at Hofstra.

He grew up in Providence, graduated from Providence Country Day School, and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Providence College in 1989.

The biggest move by Hayes at Brown so far has been the hiring of Mike Martin as new head men's basketball coach.

Martin was a starter on the winningest basketball team in Brown history from 2000-2004 and became the fourth youngest head coach in Division I basketball.

"During the process, [Martin] came across as someone who understood everything that was positive about Brown, and he knew everything that he thought was a challenge that he needed to find a way to fix," said Hayes.

Hayes said that we wants the men's basketball program and all the rest of the sports and activities at Brown to strive to best.

"Everything that we do should be with the expectation that we're going to be successful," said Hayes. "Everything that we do sends a message, so the message we should send is, regardless of what sorts of activities we are involved in, that this is a program you want to be a part of."