Claude Hutcherson

A successful businessman from Plainview, Texas, who made a lasting and unique impression in women’s basketball annals
The owner of his own flying service (Hutcherson Air Service), who began sponsoring the women’s basketball team at Wayland Baptist College in 1950
Not only furnished four Beechcraft Bonanza airplanes to transport the team and coaches to out-of-town games but piloted one of the aircraft as well
Wayland’s women’s basketball team appropriately acquired the moniker “the Hutcherson Flying Queens” as a result
First provided air transportation for the Wayland team to games in Mexico in 1948
During his 25-plus year association with the Queens, Wayland compiled a 712-106 worksheet, a mark which included a collegiate record of 131 consecutive victories, as well as 10 AAU national championships and 10 runner-up finishes
Physical education center on the Wayland campus, which serves as the home for both men’s and women’s basketball teams as well as athletic department offices, is named in his honor
Family legacy endures as his son, Mike, continues to provide transportation for the Wayland Baptist women’s basketball team for road games