Trailblazer & Transformational Leader: Bill Hayes’ Career in Higher Education Impacted Countless Student-Athletes
2/10/2022 8:00:00 AM | Football
Hayes, who coached the Deacs running backs from 1973-75, was the first Black assistant football coach in Wake Forest and Atlantic Coast Conference history.
Black History Month: Wake Forest Athletics will have many stories and content throughout Black History Month on GoDeacs.com and through all team social media accounts. Information and profiles shared are archived here.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Bill Hayes began his college coaching career as a Wake Forest running back coach under Chuck Mills in the mid-70s. He then carved out a legacy of service first as a head coach at Winston-Salem State and North Carolina A&T then as an athletic director at North Carolina Central, Florida A&M and WSSU.
Hayes, who coached the Deacs running backs from 1973-75, was the first Black assistant football coach in Wake Forest and Atlantic Coast Conference history.
Just weeks before getting the field at Bowman Gray Stadium named in his honor last fall, Hayes stopped by to visit the football Demon Deacons as they were in the early stages of their 2021 fall camp.
"I was impressed," Hayes said. "They looked like a seasoned football team. They looked polished and well organized, and moved around really well for an early-camp practice."
Although it's been nearly 40 years since he was on the sidelines with the Demon Deacons, Hayes has not been a stranger.
"I was over here when they opened up the new facilities a couple of years ago, and come back often for basketball games," he said. "I have been away, but have not been away. I have been around the Winston-Salem area, even when I was an athletic director at other places, I would always take an opportunity to come back."
His original purpose on campus was to gain support for the Winston-Salem Sportsman's late-August meet and greet. He met with basketball coach Steve Forbes, who pledged to attend, then stopped by football practice.
"It was wonderful," Hayes said about his visit to Wake Forest. "Lo and behold, I get introduced to the team. But it was quite an honor and a joy to be back out here with these guys to reminisce about the old days."
I encourage all readers to watch this video of head coach Dave Clawson introducing Hayes to the team.
Hayes shared a bit about his hall of fame career, but had a pretty straightforward message for the Deacs prior to starting their 2021 season.
"I told them a little bit about my journey," he said. "But mostly I advised them to not cheat the game of football. It seems like every time you cut a corner in football, it comes back to haunt you. You drop a pass, miss an interception, fumble the ball or jump offsides.
"Every time you cheat the game, it will come back to haunt you in some way that will hurt the team. That's what I have always lived by."
During his time at Wake Forest in the 1970s, the team took a trip to Japan where they played a game and conducted clinics. Mills was eventually dubbed "Father of College Football in Japan."
"I take so much from Wake Forest," Hayes said. "Wake Forest gave me the opportunity to learn how to coach from some of the best. I cut my coaching teeth as a high school coach and thought I knew a lot until I got around Jim LaRue and all those guys, who were football legends on the staff.
"I learned so much from the meetings, and re-established what I knew about coaching from the other members of the staff here at Wake Forest."
Of course, the evolution of Wake Forest Athletics, especially in recent years, has included program-changing investments in facilities, thanks to the generosity of donors like Bob McCreary, Ben Sutton, Mit Shah, Alan Fox and so many others.
"I can't believe how this athletic department and football facilities have changed," Hayes said with a big smile. "It's great. We had a little something like it, but not much. This is unbelievable what I'm looking at now. These guys are cut and in great shape. The number of coaches it takes to manage the whole process is just unbelievable."
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Bill Hayes began his college coaching career as a Wake Forest running back coach under Chuck Mills in the mid-70s. He then carved out a legacy of service first as a head coach at Winston-Salem State and North Carolina A&T then as an athletic director at North Carolina Central, Florida A&M and WSSU.
Hayes, who coached the Deacs running backs from 1973-75, was the first Black assistant football coach in Wake Forest and Atlantic Coast Conference history.
Just weeks before getting the field at Bowman Gray Stadium named in his honor last fall, Hayes stopped by to visit the football Demon Deacons as they were in the early stages of their 2021 fall camp.
"I was impressed," Hayes said. "They looked like a seasoned football team. They looked polished and well organized, and moved around really well for an early-camp practice."
Although it's been nearly 40 years since he was on the sidelines with the Demon Deacons, Hayes has not been a stranger.
"I was over here when they opened up the new facilities a couple of years ago, and come back often for basketball games," he said. "I have been away, but have not been away. I have been around the Winston-Salem area, even when I was an athletic director at other places, I would always take an opportunity to come back."
His original purpose on campus was to gain support for the Winston-Salem Sportsman's late-August meet and greet. He met with basketball coach Steve Forbes, who pledged to attend, then stopped by football practice.
"It was wonderful," Hayes said about his visit to Wake Forest. "Lo and behold, I get introduced to the team. But it was quite an honor and a joy to be back out here with these guys to reminisce about the old days."
I encourage all readers to watch this video of head coach Dave Clawson introducing Hayes to the team.
Hayes shared a bit about his hall of fame career, but had a pretty straightforward message for the Deacs prior to starting their 2021 season.
"I told them a little bit about my journey," he said. "But mostly I advised them to not cheat the game of football. It seems like every time you cut a corner in football, it comes back to haunt you. You drop a pass, miss an interception, fumble the ball or jump offsides.
"Every time you cheat the game, it will come back to haunt you in some way that will hurt the team. That's what I have always lived by."
During his time at Wake Forest in the 1970s, the team took a trip to Japan where they played a game and conducted clinics. Mills was eventually dubbed "Father of College Football in Japan."
"I take so much from Wake Forest," Hayes said. "Wake Forest gave me the opportunity to learn how to coach from some of the best. I cut my coaching teeth as a high school coach and thought I knew a lot until I got around Jim LaRue and all those guys, who were football legends on the staff.
"I learned so much from the meetings, and re-established what I knew about coaching from the other members of the staff here at Wake Forest."
Of course, the evolution of Wake Forest Athletics, especially in recent years, has included program-changing investments in facilities, thanks to the generosity of donors like Bob McCreary, Ben Sutton, Mit Shah, Alan Fox and so many others.
"I can't believe how this athletic department and football facilities have changed," Hayes said with a big smile. "It's great. We had a little something like it, but not much. This is unbelievable what I'm looking at now. These guys are cut and in great shape. The number of coaches it takes to manage the whole process is just unbelievable."
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