Hayes named new AD at FAMU
Florida A&M President James H. Ammons announced Tuesday morning the appointment of noted former football coach and current North Carolina Central Athletic Director William "Bill" Hayes as the Rattlers' new 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," 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 his alma mater, North Carolina Central University in his hometown of Durham, being appointed to that post on July 1, 2003. Ammons was chancellor at NCCU from June 1, 2001 before taking over as president at his alma mater, Florida A&M, in July of this year.
Hayes will replace Nelson Townsend who resigned last week. The firing of FAMU head football coach Rubin Carter was announced at the same time. Ammons said at the time of Carter's firing that he would have a new football coach in place by Dec. 17. Speculation about a new grid coach at FAMU has centered on first-year Grambling State head coach Rod Broadway, who had a successful four-year stint as the head coach at NCCU from 2003-06. Hayes's hiring will add fuel to the speculation. Ammons was president at NCCU when both Hayes and Broadway were hired.
Broadway will lead Grambling in the SWAC Championship game on Dec. 15 in Birmingham, Al.
Hayes has led NCCU to unprecedented success during his tenure. During the 2006-07 campaign, he directed NCCU to its most successful season in school history with four conference titles and five NCAA Championship team qualifiers. 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 in school history with four conference titles and four NCAA Championship team qualifiers.
NCCU also had the most productive fund-raising campaign of any athletics department among all Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He was also instru-mental in resurrecting a dormant NCCU Athletic Hall of Fame, which held its first induction since 1997, on Oct. 15, 2004.
Prior to assuming the reigns of the athletic program at his alma mater, Hayes had spent 27 seasons as a collegiate head football at Winston-Salem State and North Carolina A&T State. Hayes accumulated a 195-104-2 overall record, esta-blishing himself as the winningest coach at both WSSU and NC 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 A&T, 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.
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