TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida A&M University President James H. Ammons announced Tuesday morning the appointment of William “Bill” Hayes as Director of Athletics.
Ammons’ announcement came following a meeting of the FAMU Board of Trustees earlier Tuesday morning, during which Hayes’ appointment for three years at $175,000 was approved. He will begin work on January 2, 2008.
“Mr. Hayes’ record speaks for itself, as it shows his passion for Athletics,” President Ammons said Tuesday. “I’m sure he is ready for the challenge and the responsibility of continuing to build a strong foundation for the athletic department here at Florida A&M University.”
Hayes has spent the past four years as Director of Athletics at North Carolina Central University in his hometown of Durham, being appointed to that post on July 1, 2003.
In his four years as Director of Athletics, Hayes has made a huge impact at NCCU.
During the 2006-07 campaign, Hayes directed NCCU to its most successful season in school history with four conference titles and five NCAA Championship team qualifiers, as the Eagles placed 24th in the final standings of the U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup, the prestigious award presented annually to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country.
For his efforts, Hayes was recognized as the CIAA’s top athletic administrator when he was presented with the 2007 Jeanette A. Lee Athletic Administration Award.
A year earlier, Hayes was selected as the 2006 CIAA Athletics Director of the Year after guiding the program to its most successful season (at the time) in school history with four conference titles and four NCAA Championship team qualifiers during the 2005-06 slate. NCCU also had the most productive fund-raising campaign of any athletics department among all Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
The foundation of his fundraising success was built when he initiated the “$1,000 Eagles” campaign with the slogan, “1,000 Eagles Giving $1,000 … Springboard to $1 Million.”
Hayes has also made a point of promoting NCCU’s rich athletics tradition.
He was instrumental in resurrecting a dormant NCCU Athletic Hall of Fame, which held its first induction since 1997, on Oct. 15, 2004.
He also has spearheaded projects to install football conference championship flags in O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium, and to hang jerseys of basketball legends inside McLendon-McDougald Gym.
Prior to assuming the reigns of the athletic program at his alma mater, NCCU in July of 2003, Hayes had spent 27 seasons as a collegiate head football at Winston-Salem State University and North Carolina A&T State University.
Hayes accumulated a 195-104-2 overall record, establishing himself as the winningest coach at both Winston-Salem State and North Carolina A&T, while finishing his career with more victories (195) than any other college football head coach in the state of North Carolina.
•During his 12 seasons at WSSU (1976-87), the Rams captured three CIAA championships (1977, 1978, 1987), including back-to-back undefeated regular season marks in 1977 and 1978, and posted an overall record of 89-40-2.
•In 1988, Hayes was hired as the head football coach at North Carolina A&T State University, where he guided the Aggies to three MEAC titles, two NCAA Division I-AA playoff appearances, and an overall record of 106-64-0 in 15 seasons.
While at A&T, Hayes also earned a master’s degree in Health and Physical Education.
Hayes was also very active in the community, as evidenced by his position on the executive board of the Southern Region Boy Scouts of America.
On May 31, 2001, Hayes received the Silver Antelope Award, the highest regional award bestowed upon a Boy Scout volunteer.
He has also served as chairman of the NCAA Public Relations Committee and as president of the CIAA Football Coaches Association.
Hayes has been inducted into three halls of fame, including the North Carolina Central University Alex M. Rivera Athletic Hall of Fame, the Winston-Salem State University Clarence E. “Big House” Gaines Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association John B. McLendon, Jr. Hall of Fame.
BILL HAYES – THE EARLY YEARS: Hayes grew up just a few blocks from NCCU and became a multi-sport student-athlete at Durham’s Hillside High School.
He then enrolled at NCCU and played four seasons of football as a center and linebacker, earning three All-America citations, before graduating in 1965 with a degree in physical education.
After graduating from NCCU, Hayes worked the high school football circuit as an assistant coach, making stops at Northside High School in Gretha, Virginia (1965), Paisley High School (1966) and North Forsyth High School (1967-71) in Winston-Salem, NC, and his alma mater Hillside High School (1972).
He accepted his first college coaching job in 1973 as the offensive backs coach at Wake Forest University.
Three years later, in 1976, Hayes took over as the head football coach at Winston-Salem State University.
HAYES PERSONAL: Hayes is married to the former Carolyn Pratt of Durham, NC, and they have a son, William, Jr., and a daughter, Sherri Walker.
Oh, FAMU is leading the way! This was a GREAT hire (for the football program lol).