ATHENS — Kevin Hynes has landed with a new team.
Hynes — better known as “Chappy” and as Mark Richt’s brother-in-law — is now serving UGA as the chaplain of the Georgia Bulldogs’ men’s basketball team. Head coach Mark Fox confirmed Thursday that Hynes has been active in that role now “for a few weeks.”
“Happy to have him,” Fox said before the Bulldogs’ practice Thursday afternoon at the Stegeman Coliseum Practice Facility. “We’ve always had that available to our players. We’ve always had someone in that role.”
Scott Shepherd had previously served the men’s basketball team in that capacity. Shepherd left recently to fill a post at Auburn.
Hynes became a chaplain for the Georgia football team when Richt arrived in 2001. He stepped down from that position in December after Richt was dismissed as head coach.
Like all chaplains at UGA, Hynes is actually employed by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and serves the teams in a voluntary capacity. It’s the same set-up with basketball.
“I just went to see Coach Fox maybe a month ago, just to check in on him and hug his neck,” Hynes said Thursday. “And he just said, ‘I’d love for you to be our chaplain. I said, ‘Absolutely!’ I love basketball. I played basketball in school. When I was in the Marine Corps, we played every day at lunch. So I’m excited about it.”
Hynes is married to Richt’s sister, Mikki. They have two children, Elijah and Noelle, and live in Watkinsville. Hynes decided to remaining in the area, where he serves as a voluntary deputy and chaplain for the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.