N.C. A&T's coach refused to resign
12-3-02
By JEFF CARLTON, Staff Writer
News & Record
GREENSBORO -- When N.C. A&T athletics director Charlie Davis asked to meet with football coach Bill Hayes in October, Hayes said he thought it was to talk about fund-raising.
Hayes made a list of potential contributors and brought it to the meeting. The school's new AD thanked him for his help. Then, according to Hayes, Davis asked: "Who's going to help you?"
The veteran Aggies coach said he was told his position was tenuous following a 30-13 homecoming loss to Morgan State. He was on the verge of losing his job.
"That was the worst part," Hayes said. "I mean, that was a nightmare."
After receiving what he considered reassurances he would be back in 2003, Hayes learned last week that returning no longer was an option. He had 195 victories as a college head coach, but if he wanted to reach 200 he would have to do it somewhere else. School officials had decided to buy out the final year of his contract.
Hayes said he heard a rumor on campus Nov. 26 that he was planning to retire. Late that afternoon, Davis left him a message saying he wanted to meet with him the next morning.
Coming off a 4-8 season but also the owner of a 106-64 record in 15 seasons at A&T, Hayes said he thought Davis would ask him to announce immediately that he would retire after the 2003 season. The coach didn't want to do that because he thought he would be considered a "lame duck" by high school recruits.
"I walked in, and Charlie's looking at me," Hayes said Monday from his home in Winston-Salem. "He got that look in his eyes. When you've been around people, you know that look."
Hayes, 59, was told A&T planned to go in another direction.
Hayes said he doesn't think it was Davis who pulled the trigger, as the former Bowie State AD hardly had been on campus long enough to evaluate Hayes' program. More likely, Hayes said, it was Chancellor James Renick's call.
Davis did not return phone calls Monday, and Renick declined to comment.
Hayes said he was asked to announce at a 1 p.m. news conference today that he would resign and accept a position in A&T's office of development and university relations until his contract expired Dec. 31, 2003. He said he declined the invitation to resign, telling Davis: "I don't teach that, and I'm not about quitting. It's not part of who I am. You're going to have to fire me."
Asked if the two parties had worked out a buyout agreement, Randolph James, Hayes' attorney, said: "There's no agreement. The only agreement that Coach Hayes thought existed was breached by this unilateral announcement -- announcing that they're terminating him and going in another direction."
The agreement to which James was referring came out of a discussion Hayes had with Davis and Roselle Wilson, the university's director of student affairs, on Nov. 7 when, according to Hayes, the coach was told he wouldn't be asked to resign until after the '03 season.
Hayes said he received plenty of criticism from what he calls the "two-dollar fans" -- A&T followers who come to games but hardly contribute to the program's coffers -- during a tough 2002 season.
When he arrived at A&T from Winston-Salem State in 1988, Hayes said the Aggies didn't have a practice field or decent uniforms. He was an active fund-raiser for what he considered an underfunded program, largely through his involvement with the Boy Scouts. So it hit Hayes hard when Renick told him last week that his football program wasn't carrying its weight financially.
"I never in a million years thought this would happen to a person that's a legend," said an Aggies assistant coach, who asked not to be identified. "If a legend's not good enough to coach here, who is?"
While Hayes' staff and players were left to contemplate their fate after they received word Monday of the coach's firing, Hayes was home pondering his future. There is speculation he will fill the vacancy left by the firing of Rudy Abrams at N.C. Central, his alma mater. Hayes said he has not been contacted about any coaching positions, but he probably would discuss the N.C. Central job if school officials called.
If Hayes decides to return to coaching, Norfolk State may be another possibility. Orby Moss, who hired Hayes at A&T, is athletics director at Norfolk State, where former A&T coach Mo Forte resigned as head coach last week.
"The first thing I'm going to do is rest," Hayes said, "because I've been through hell and back."
12-3-02
By JEFF CARLTON, Staff Writer
News & Record
GREENSBORO -- When N.C. A&T athletics director Charlie Davis asked to meet with football coach Bill Hayes in October, Hayes said he thought it was to talk about fund-raising.
Hayes made a list of potential contributors and brought it to the meeting. The school's new AD thanked him for his help. Then, according to Hayes, Davis asked: "Who's going to help you?"
The veteran Aggies coach said he was told his position was tenuous following a 30-13 homecoming loss to Morgan State. He was on the verge of losing his job.
"That was the worst part," Hayes said. "I mean, that was a nightmare."
After receiving what he considered reassurances he would be back in 2003, Hayes learned last week that returning no longer was an option. He had 195 victories as a college head coach, but if he wanted to reach 200 he would have to do it somewhere else. School officials had decided to buy out the final year of his contract.
Hayes said he heard a rumor on campus Nov. 26 that he was planning to retire. Late that afternoon, Davis left him a message saying he wanted to meet with him the next morning.
Coming off a 4-8 season but also the owner of a 106-64 record in 15 seasons at A&T, Hayes said he thought Davis would ask him to announce immediately that he would retire after the 2003 season. The coach didn't want to do that because he thought he would be considered a "lame duck" by high school recruits.
"I walked in, and Charlie's looking at me," Hayes said Monday from his home in Winston-Salem. "He got that look in his eyes. When you've been around people, you know that look."
Hayes, 59, was told A&T planned to go in another direction.
Hayes said he doesn't think it was Davis who pulled the trigger, as the former Bowie State AD hardly had been on campus long enough to evaluate Hayes' program. More likely, Hayes said, it was Chancellor James Renick's call.
Davis did not return phone calls Monday, and Renick declined to comment.
Hayes said he was asked to announce at a 1 p.m. news conference today that he would resign and accept a position in A&T's office of development and university relations until his contract expired Dec. 31, 2003. He said he declined the invitation to resign, telling Davis: "I don't teach that, and I'm not about quitting. It's not part of who I am. You're going to have to fire me."
Asked if the two parties had worked out a buyout agreement, Randolph James, Hayes' attorney, said: "There's no agreement. The only agreement that Coach Hayes thought existed was breached by this unilateral announcement -- announcing that they're terminating him and going in another direction."
The agreement to which James was referring came out of a discussion Hayes had with Davis and Roselle Wilson, the university's director of student affairs, on Nov. 7 when, according to Hayes, the coach was told he wouldn't be asked to resign until after the '03 season.
Hayes said he received plenty of criticism from what he calls the "two-dollar fans" -- A&T followers who come to games but hardly contribute to the program's coffers -- during a tough 2002 season.
When he arrived at A&T from Winston-Salem State in 1988, Hayes said the Aggies didn't have a practice field or decent uniforms. He was an active fund-raiser for what he considered an underfunded program, largely through his involvement with the Boy Scouts. So it hit Hayes hard when Renick told him last week that his football program wasn't carrying its weight financially.
"I never in a million years thought this would happen to a person that's a legend," said an Aggies assistant coach, who asked not to be identified. "If a legend's not good enough to coach here, who is?"
While Hayes' staff and players were left to contemplate their fate after they received word Monday of the coach's firing, Hayes was home pondering his future. There is speculation he will fill the vacancy left by the firing of Rudy Abrams at N.C. Central, his alma mater. Hayes said he has not been contacted about any coaching positions, but he probably would discuss the N.C. Central job if school officials called.
If Hayes decides to return to coaching, Norfolk State may be another possibility. Orby Moss, who hired Hayes at A&T, is athletics director at Norfolk State, where former A&T coach Mo Forte resigned as head coach last week.
"The first thing I'm going to do is rest," Hayes said, "because I've been through hell and back."
