Finally some good news from the Winston-Salem Journal...Winston-Salem State might reach back to its glory days in football to find its next athletics director.
Bill Hayes, who led the WSSU football program to its greatest heights in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is being targeted by Chancellor Donald Reaves for the AD's position, several sources said.
Reaves was hoping to introduce the new athletics director today at "Meet the Rams," a fall-sports pep rally at Bowman Gray Stadium scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. However, those plans fell through when Tim Grant took himself out of contention earlier this week.
Hayes, currently the AD at Florida A&M, said Thursday night that he hasn't been contacted by WSSU officials.
"I haven't heard anything from them officially throughout this whole process," said Hayes, who is 64 and still owns a home in Winston-Salem. "I don't know what they have planned, but I haven't talked to them at all in an official capacity."
Hayes said he has been working hard at Florida A&M, getting ready for another football season.
If Reaves is courting Hayes to be WSSU's next AD, he most likely would need permission from James Ammons, Florida A&M's chancellor, to speak with Hayes. Reaves could not be reached for comment yesterday.
"That's usually how it works -- they would have to get some sort of permission to talk with me in any kind of official way," Hayes said.
Hayes, who makes about $175,000 a year, signed a three-year contract Jan. 2, 2008, and would begin the third year of that contract in January 2010.
A native of Durham, Hayes played football at N.C. Central and graduated in 1965. He started coaching at the high-school level, then took over a moribund program at WSSU in 1975.
Success followed quickly. By 1977, the Rams were 11-1 and CIAA champions. Hayes put together an 89-41-2 record in his 12-year run as the Rams' coach, and led his teams to seven CIAA championship games and three CIAA titles.
He later coached at N.C. A&T, then moved into administration as the athletics director at N.C. Central.
Hayes has always had a soft spot for the school that gave him his first job as a college head coach.
"I've got a good relationship with the Winston-Salem State family," he said. "I started there, and I've always had an affinity with that program, and I think people know that."
Hayes admits that he follows the Rams on the Internet and checks to see how they are doing in all sports. He has made it to past homecoming games in football when possible.
"It's a great place, and I don't have anything but positives to say about the whole situation," Hayes said.
When asked if he was interested in the job, Hayes said: "I'm working now. I have a job."
Hayes, who is in the N.C. Central, Winston-Salem State and CIAA halls of fame, is a name that alumni would recognize.
When reminded that WSSU had no weight room when he came in as coach and that players lifted bricks and old tires for strength training, Hayes laughed and said: "I've always said ‘winners keep trying and losers find excuses' and we never made excuses."
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Go Bill Go!
ReplyDeleteWSSU, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE, bring Bill Hayes back home. If you do that for me, I'll give you a hundred dollars and a mess of collard greens.
ReplyDelete"I haven't heard anything from them officially throughout this whole process," said Hayes,
ReplyDeleteSo Bill have you talked with WSSU unofficially?
RN thanks for posting this info. I miss Breaking News. Let hope Billy Hayes accepts and we bring home Herb Rheinhart from Valdosta State
ReplyDeleteGo Bill, we'll help you pack your things! You can start tomorrow!
ReplyDelete9:41 PM, I also like Herb Rhienhard. I think he would do a great job at FAMU.
ReplyDeleteI think we could get Damon Evans to be the AD and we'd want him fired two weeks after.
ReplyDeleteOnly if Damon was as exceptionally ignorant and ill-prepared as Bill Hayes.
ReplyDeleteDamon Evans is a token AD for UGA. Former Coach Vince Dooley still runs athletics at UGA. Damon is a front man whose only purpose is to pipeline those dumb black athletes to UGA.
ReplyDelete2:58. That' s a pretty strong claim you're making. Do you have any evidence? You're tearing down a man's reputation and not offering any proof. This might be a time to either put up or......
ReplyDelete@5:03pm...I'm sure you literally mean Go Bill Go !
ReplyDelete...lmaoooooo
I was in there when Damon Evans was brought in. He cleaned house of some longtime Vince Dooley staff folk and wasn't exactly nice about it. The old "security escort you out" thing. Evans has that thing running like a MACHINE now coming into the modern era.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm sure there are guys like that out there who could get started at FAMU and probably move to a BCS school after a few years. Probably the only way you get those types of ADs. The other option is an old coach or the AD of another lackluster HBCU program.
please, it's not that difficukt to get a good AD! I think we can do it, without the unwanted leftovers from anyone else. I don't want to be anything like most of those schools. FAMU is a sleeping GIANT and if we really pull together, the super AD will emerge along with plenty of other positive additions and changes. We are uniquely positioned and resourced, but not exactly uniquely prepared. Let's get it Rattlers.
ReplyDeleteFloyd Kerr @ Morgan State is the kind of guy we should have gone after. He'd done a great job at Southern prior to being unceremoniously dismissed.
ReplyDeleteNow he's doing an extraordinary job leading Morgan.
http://www.morganstatebears.com/staff.aspx?staff=9
IF Hayes goes they just going to hook another one of theirs boys up with a high paying job. I be highly surprised if they go out and get somebody fresh yet qualified to fill that position. I don't want to be pessimistic but this administration history on hiring for jobs like those speaks for itself.
ReplyDeleteCan we PLEASE STOP fishing in the same pool of HBCU staff. We need someone that's done it way bigger than normal HBCU's have. Stop thinking about just football and think the bigger picture of all FAMU sports. We need someone to help build up all of our programs that is forward thinking, innovative and creative.
ReplyDeleteAnd personally, i'd prefer someone particularly younger that can relate to not only the business side of collegiate athletics, but also can relate to today's student athletes a little better. I think alot of Bill Hayes ineptitude stems from being stuck in his ways of how things were back in the 60's and 70's. He's a dinosaur that doesn't know how to relate to modern day collegiate athletics.
It's doesn't matter who you bring in the administration at FAMU,just like all HBCU's will not keep its
ReplyDeletehands out of athletics, and let them run it.I'm not a Bill Hayes fan but you need money to run todays athletic programs.What are we going to do about that? Some of
you won't even buy season tickets but you want to say who our next AD should be.