John T. Hayt Bio

John T. Hayt has left an indelible mark on the University of North Florida. In 1997, he and his wife, Gerri, financially supported UNF’s Golf Learning Center, which was named the Hayt Golf Learning Center. His support for the UNF Golf Team also prompted the University to re-name UNF’s home golf tournament to the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational, which is among the premier NCAA tournaments in the nation.

Hayt is the retired chairman and CEO of EquiCredit Corp, a Jacksonville-based publicly-held company that was a pioneer of the home equity lending industry. He retired in 1997 after the company was acquired by Barnett Banks for Florida.

In 2005, the couple established a $100,000 endowed scholarship for UNF student athletes. In addition to their own scholarship endowment, they have established a scholarship program in honor of UNF’s first golf coach, John Brooks. Because of his support for UNF Athletics, Hayt was inducted into the UNF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. Hayt also serves on the board of Community Hospice of Northeast Florida and the Jacksonville Zoo and Garden, where he was a two-term chairman of the board.