Longtime Georgia Southern golf coach Larry Mays now works with the GS athletic department as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Leadership Giving, a role he moved in to in August of 2021. Using his extensive background and connections in fundraising, Mays works hand-in-hand with Athletic Foundation to secure major gifts for the athletic department while serving as sport oversight for men's soccer.
Prior to his current role, Mays served as the Senior Associate AD for External Affairs from 2016-2021 where he had a heavy hand in corporate relationships and served as the department's liaison with Learfield, adidas and several other campus departments. He also had sport oversight of both golf programs and supervised the athletic marketing and ticketing offices as well.
Mays was responsible for the coordination of all external operations of the department to ensure the optimal plan was in place to capitalize on revenue opportunities and developed both long-range and short-term plans to effectively promote Georgia Southern athletics. He raised money and created strategic initiatives to help fund the men's and women's golf programs and serves as the sport supervisor for both programs, along with men's soccer. He oversaw the operations of the athletics marketing and athletics ticketing groups as well to ensure the external team was on the same page in creating revenue and interest for GS Athletics.
Mays came to Georgia Southern as the men’s golf coach in 2000 and re-established Eagle golf as a perennial power in the collegiate ranks. After a 12-year drought from postseason play, the Eagles made 12 NCAA Championship appearances, advancing to the NCAA Championship finals four times, and Georgia Southern won five conference titles (4 SoCon, 1 Sun Belt) during Mays' tenure leading the program. He recruited and coached three All-Americans, 26 all-conference selections, three conference Golfers of the Year and six league Freshmen of the Year.
He transitioned to the director of golf in 2014. In that role, he started the Eagle women’s golf program, hired coach Emily Kuhfeld, tabbed Carter Collins the men’s coach and supervised both programs.
Mays was an integral part of helping the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation raise $1.3 million for the Bennett-Ramsey Golf Center, a 25-acre practice facility with the 6,000 square foot Howard House that serves as the headquarters for the Eagle men’s and women’s golf programs. Built in 2005, the facility was renovated under Mays’ supervision to accommodate the women’s team in 2015. The practice center has clubhouses for both programs, a dedicated practice putting green, a three-green short-game area, a two-tiered practice tee, a driving range and three practice holes.
Prior to coming to Statesboro, Mays spent three seasons at Georgia State, where he helped raise the program to regional and national contender status. The Panthers earned their first at-large bid to the NCAA Championship in 1999, followed by a consecutive berth in 2000, and the program cracked the national rankings for the first time in school history. Before entering the coaching ranks, Mays worked as a marketing assistant/ticket manager for the Nationwide Championship, a Senior PGA Tour event. He also served as the tournament director for “Lefty’s” Celebrity Golf Classic.
A 1997 graduate of Berry College with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Mays added a master’s degree in sports administration from Georgia State in 2000. He is married to the former Ansley Claire Calhoun of Savannah. The couple resides in Brooklet, Georgia, with their daughters, Reagan and Riley.
