Bill Hayes, former Wake Forest assistant and N.C. A&T head coach, will open the gate in season opener (2024)

Bill Hayes will get back on a motorcycle for the Wake Forest-N.C. A&T football game next week, but this time, he’ll be a passenger.

Hayes, 81, will open the gate at Allegacy Stadium when the Aggies and Demon Deacons meet on Aug. 29. He got his start in college football coaching as the first Black assistant for Wake Forest in the early 1970’s. After a successful stint at Winston-Salem State as head coach, he went on to become the all-time wins leader at A&T. The season opener for the two schools will be broadcast on ACC Network Plus.

“I used to have a 1997 Harley Davidson Softail Springer that was given to me by one of my former players,” said Hayes, referring to the motorcycle he owned in the late 1990s. He used to ride the bike back and forth between Winston-Salem and Greensboro for several years, and one time, he got real adventurous.

“I rode it down to Myrtle Beach for the big bike rally,” Hayes said with a laugh.

There’s a reason one of Hayes’ nicknames was ‘Wild Bill.’

Hayes said his wife, Carolyn, wasn’t a big fan of him driving around on a motorcycle as he commuted from their house in Winston-Salem to Greensboro when he was coaching the Aggies. However, he kept the bike for about seven years.

“No, she wasn’t very happy with it, but she was happy when I sold it,” he said.

Hayes won 195 games as a head coach at WSSU and A&T before becoming an athletics director at N.C. Central, Florida A&T and WSSU. He’s proud of his coaching record that included six combined conference championships in the CIAA and the MEAC, and he’s also honored to open the gate in a game where he coached at both schools.

“It’s just unbelievable that this is a full-circle moment,” Hayes said. “Who would have thought something like this would happen? I’m just honored to be a part of the pre-game festivities.”

What also excites Hayes is the tailgate that’s planned with many of his former players he coached at Wake Forest and A&T who plan to be there for the game. Hayes said it’s likely a few former WSSU players he coached will also be at the tailgate.

“Some of those guys I haven’t seen in 50 years or so,” Hayes said. “It’s going to be a great night and I’m really appreciative of Wake Forest and (Athletics Director) John Currie for doing this.”

Hayes, who plays golf at least three times a week, is also busy with The Bill & Carolyn Hayes Foundation that raises money for HBCU’s. The foundation also sponsors a golf tournament with an auction every year.

He also works closely with the Winston-Salem Sportsman Club, which has a hall of fame and helps sponsor the Mary Garber Holiday Classic, a girls high school basketball tournament.

Hayes was awarded the 2019 American Football Coaches Association Trailblazer Award, honoring his role as an early leader in the football coaching profession at HBCU’s. Additionally, a statue in his honor is set to be unveiled in conjunction with WSSU and the City of Winston-Salem. The statue eventually will be placed at Bowman Gray Stadium, where the field is already named for him.

During the game on Aug. 29, Hayes said the video board at Wake Forest will show his foundation’s QR code.

“We’re hoping to maybe add a few dollars to our foundation,” he said.

As for riding on the back of a motorcycle with the Demon Deacon mascot driving it for the gate opening, Hayes said he should be fine.

“I’ll be holding on tight to the mascot,” Hayes said. “It will help that I’ve been on a motorcycle before, but that was a long time ago.”