GREENSBORO, N.C. -- North Carolina A&T State University
announced today that there would be a change of leadership for
the Aggie football program.
Bill Hayes will no longer serve as the N.C. A&T head football
coach and the institution will move forward with a national
search for his replacement. N.C. A&T’s associate athletics
director, Wheeler Brown will serve as interim head football
coach and head the football search committee. Brown is a former
Aggie football player, who joined the N.C. A&T athletics
staff in November.
Hayes came to N.C. A&T in 1988 after spending 11 years as
the head football coach at Winston-Salem State University. In
his 15 years as the Aggie head coach, Hayes accumulated a 106-64
record, establishing himself as the Aggies all-time winningest
football coach. He guided N.C. A&T to three Mid-Eastern
Athletic Conference Championships (1991, 1992, and 1999) and
two NCAA I-AA play-off appearances.
In his first season with N.C. A&T, the team went 2-9, its
worst finish during Hayes’ tenure. By 1991, Hayes guided
the Aggies to a share of the MEAC title with a 9-2 record, including
an appearance in the inaugural Heritage Bowl. That season Hayes’
was named the MEAC Coach of the Year and the Sheridan Broadcasting
Network Coach of the Year.
Hayes’ most successful season came in 1999, when he led
the Aggies to a school-best 11-2 record. Hayes was again named
MEAC Coach of the Year after the Aggies finished a perfect 8-0
in the conference. He also led N.C. A&T to the NCAA Division
I-AA playoffs and a first round victory over #1 seeded Tennessee
State. Hayes received many more accolades that season, including
his second SBN Coach of the Year honor.
N.C. A&T finished the 2002 season with a 4-8 overall and
2-6 conference record while dropping six of its last seven games.
