Football, Basketball, Track (1947-49)

Tom McVay was born December 7, 1920 in Wildsville, Louisiana. He graduated from Stuttgart High School in 1939 and accepted a football-basketball scholarship to the University of Arkansas. His college career was interrupted by military service in World War II. In 1947 he enrolled in Southeastern and started a busy collegiate athletic career which included varsity football, basketball, and track. He also played professional baseball for teams in Sherman-Denison and Ardmore.

In 1949 McVay started a 30 year coaching career in Oklahoma high schools. He coached in Antlers, Maysville, Wetumka, Beaver, Durant, and Dickson. While he coached several sports, his greatest success was in football, where he won five state championships and posted a 213-89-9 record.

McVay coached in the 1960 Shrine Oil Bowl game and the 1962 Oklahoma North-South All-State game. He served as president of the Oklahoma Coaches Association and also served as president of the National High School Coaches Association. He was Oklahoma Coach of the Year and was named District 5 (for 5 southwestern states) Coach of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association.

In recognition of his success in coaching, Tom McVay was inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Hall of Fame in 1976.

The McVay family is recognized as one of the best known in Southeastern history. Three sons and three daughters of Tom and Helen McVay are Southeastern graduates and most participated in intercollegiate athletics at Southeastern.

Tom McVay has brought honor to Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The university inducted Thomas Edward McVay into the Southeastern Athletic Hall of Fame on January 27, 1996.