MSUB Jay Shaw Bust Unveiling Set for Friday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Monday, October 12, 2015 Jay Shaw bust unveiling scheduled for Friday afternoon at MSUB

Legendary MSUB gymnastics coach and professor Jay Shaw will have a bust unveiled in the Yellowjacket Corridor of Champions on Friday to honor his outstanding contributions and dedication to the university over 46 years of service.

MSUB SPORTS – A bronze bust honoring the contributions and service of legendary Montana State University Billings professor and former gymnastics coach Jay Shaw will be dedicated on Friday during a ceremony at MSUB’s Corridor of Champions at 2 p.m. in the physical education building.

Shaw’s bust will be the fifth dedicated within the corridor, as he will join fellow MSUB Hall of Famers Mike Harkins, Nels Christiansen, Oscar Bjorgum and Robert Lee. “Coach Jay Shaw stands as one of the most successful coaches in EMC/MSUB history, and we are proud to honor him in this unique way,” said MSUB director of athletics Krista Montague. “Special events such as these are often our favorite because while building for the future, it is important to take time to honor our past. Thank you to Billings artist T.J. Starr for creating the fifth bronze bust to be included in our Corridor of Champions, which will be enjoyed for generations to come.”

MSUB gymnastics alumni Dr. Gregory Anderson (EMC, Class of 1987) and Dr. Dave Harness (EMC, Class of 1974) will share brief presentations with memories of their time at MSUB, before Shaw accepts the honor and the bust is unveiled.

Cake and light refreshments will be served, and the ceremony is open to the public.

“Jay is one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of the institution,” Dr. Anderson commented. “He touched the lives of countless people – myself included – by coaching them to be the very best they could be, both in the gym and in their daily lives.”

“I was fortunate enough to be included in a select group of young men who were under the tutelage of Coach Shaw,” Dr. Harness said. “Straight from the mountains of northwest Montana, raw and extremely rough around the edges, it was Coach Shaw who forced me to see life from a different perspective. I am who I am today largely because of that incredibly positive, caring, ethical and moral experience at such an impressionable age. He will always be a personal hero.”

During his tenure at MSUB, Shaw served the department of health and human performance as a teacher of health and physical education, first aid and CPR, outdoor education, and adventure education. He was the department’s chairperson from 2006-09, was an advisor to student health enhancement and outdoor adventure leadership majors, and served on a number of committees.

Shaw is credited with the development of the outdoor adventure leadership major, as well as the design, development, and construction of MSUB’s low ropes challenge course.

In addition to his contributions as a professor, Shaw also served as the head gymnastics coach where he mentored 34 all-Americans and helped his teams qualify for national championships on 16 different occasions. MSUB hosted the NAIA National Gymnastics Championships in 1978 and 1980, years in which Shaw was named NAIA Gymnastics Coach of the Year. Shaw was the NCAA Division II Gymnastics Coach of the Year award runner-up in 1986, and was inducted into MSUB’s Hall of Fame and Distinction in 1994.

Shaw’s awards and honors as a professor include the Outstanding Teaching Award (1984), the Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching (1994), and the Faculty Meritorious Award (2002, 2005).

Beyond his contributions to MSUB, Shaw served as the chair of the Billings American Red Cross Board of Directors in 1992, after receiving the Montana High School Association Service Citation Award in 1986, and the American Red Cross Outstanding Achievement and Service Award in 1990.

Shaw earned his bachelor’s degree in health, physical education, and recreation in 1967 from Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., before completing his master’s degree in the same field of study one year later. He was originally hired at Eastern Montana College as an instructor of health, physical education, and recreation and as the head gymnastics coach. In 1972 he was appointed assistant professor of health and physical education, and in 1981 he was promoted to associate professor of health and human performance.

“Thank you to the many people who made this special occasion possible, most notably Dr. Gregory Anderson and Dr. Dave Harness,” Montague said. “Their commitment to their former coach and friend demonstrates what an important role mentors such as Coach Shaw play in the lives of our students, both past and present. It is evident that Coach Shaw created a sense of family with his student-athletes and teams, and he should be commemorated for the many successes he enjoyed through his hard work and dedication to Yellowjacket Athletics.”

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