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UNDER THE BANNER
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
HAYES TO RETURN TO WSSU:
Bill Hayes, whose career in college sports spans 36 years, has been named the new athletic director for Winston-Salem State University. He will begin work at WSSU on January 1, 2010.
Hayes is currently athletic director at
Florida A&M University and was head football
coach at WSSU for 12 seasons, during which the team won three
CIAA championships.
"We are absolutely delighted that Bill has agreed to come home to Winston-Salem State," said Chancellor Donald J. Reaves. "We conducted an extensive search to find the right person with the right credentials who would be able to immediately make a difference in our athletic program. Bill Hayes certainly fits that description. I am truly delighted that he has accepted our offer, and I want to thank the search committee and its chair, Dr. Dennis Felder."
"As a former athlete and coach, I have an abiding passion for athletics and the betterment of our young people through sports," Hayes said. "Also, having worked at WSSU under the legendary Clarence "Big House" Gaines years ago, I have a true appreciation for the great tradition of Rams' sports."
Hayes joined Florida A&M in January 2008 after serving as athletic director at North Carolina Central University for nearly five years. He also served as head football coach at N.C. A&T State University for 15 years after leaving WSSU in 1987. In addition to posting the most wins of any football coach at both WSSU and N.C. A&T, he led major fundraising efforts during his tenure as athletic director at both Florida A&M and N.C. Central.
Hayes also served as an assistant football coach at Wake Forest University for three seasons, becoming the first African American assistant coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
A member of the Sports Halls of Fame for both WSSU and N.C. Central, he was also inducted in the CIAA Hall of Fame. Hayes has been active in the Boy Scouts of America and received its highest regional award for a volunteer in 2001. He was selected as MEAC Football Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1999 and was CIAA Athletic Director of the Year in 2006 and 2007.
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