The Pro Football Hall of Fame once again will offer its highly popular Heart of a Hall of Famer series, powered by Extreme Networks, on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020 at noon (ET) with Gold Jacket Mike Haynes.

The program provides students the opportunity to learn first-hand what it took beyond athletic ability to achieve success on and off the field.

Haynes, a three-year All-WAC star at Arizona State, was the New England Patriots’ first selection in the 1976 NFL Draft. The 6-2, 192-pound Haynes was the fifth player and the first defensive back taken in that year’s draft. He enjoyed a sensational rookie year with the Patriots with eight interceptions and an AFC-leading 608 yards on 45 punt returns.

Haynes played out his option with the Patriots in 1982 and in November, 1983, his contract was awarded to the Los Angeles Raiders in a settlement that gave the Patriots a No. 1 draft choice in 1984 and a No. 2 pick in 1985. Haynes played the last five games in 1983 and then started and had one interception in the Raiders’ Super Bowl XVIII victory. In seven seasons with the Raiders, Haynes returned only one punt but he added 18 interceptions to give him a career total of 46 which were returned for 688 yards and two touchdowns, including a team-record 97-yard return against Miami in 1984. Haynes was an All-Pro choice in 1977, 1978, 1982, 1984 and 1985 and an All-AFC pick eight times.

Any school can connect to the Heart of a Hall of Famer program via a PC/MAC/IOS/Android device or a traditional video conferencing system. There are limited interactive and video conferencing system spots are available, and the first 7 schools to register will receive those spots. If you register and are not one of the first 7 schools, you can still be part of the program — as a “view only” school. You still will be able to access the chat function to ask Mr. Haynes a question.

A session is available to grades 4-12 free of charge, thanks to our sponsors at Extreme Networks! For more information or to register, please contact our Education Department at Education@ProFootballHOF.com or register at https://www.profootballhof.com/youth-education/remote-heart-of-a-hall-of-famer-registration/

Due to the differences in how schools are operating this year, we ask that you only register for this program if your students will be in the classroom. If your students are not in the classroom during this time, please contact us at the information below.

If you have any questions, to reach out by email at Jacob.Ray@ProFootballHOF.com