The rumors started as whispers just a week ago, and it appears the Bill Hayes-back-to-Winston-Salem State rumors are finding some legitimate ground to walk on.
Hayes, in his second year as the athletics director at Florida A&M, has sent in an application and is interested in the WSSU vacancy, according to one source in Winston-Salem and one in Tallahassee, Fla. Hayes was traveling to Winston-Salem yesterday for tonight’s football game between A&M and WSSU and did not respond to a message left on his cell phone.
Should this go down, FAMU athletics would be in quite a pickle when it comes to athletic administration. In less than a month, they will have had a track coach resign a week after hiring him, and the defection of their athletic director just weeks into a football season where the Rattlers are expected to contend for a MEAC football championship.
Not that Hayes would have anything to do with the outcome on the field, but I’m sure he was instrumental in bringing head coach Joe Taylor to Tallahassee, and could very well be an important piece on just how long Taylor remains in Tallahassee.
Conversely, Winston-Salem State would find in Hayes a familiar voice to resonate with Ram supporters. They were adamant about Chancellor Donald Reaves considering alumnus Tim Grant for the job, who withdrew his name from consideration just days before an announcement was to be made. The Rams are positioned to be the focal point of MEAC expansion, now that questions about North Carolina Central’s admission into the conference have been answered.
Interesting developments indeed that could shift significant media coverage and institutional sponsorship opportunities in the MEAC. Stay tuned.
