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New Athletic Director, Football Coach Named at Florida A&M

By Ray Jenifer
Black College Wire

President James Ammons named William Hayes new athletic director in a press conference Tuesday, Dec. 4, after the recent firing of former head football Rubin Carter and the resignation of former A.D. Nelson Townsend.

FAMU Athletics William Hayes

Hayes is the former director of Intercollegiate Athletics at North Carolina Central University and has an extensive football coaching background with a record of 195-105-2 after coaching stints at Winston-Salem and North Carolina A&T.

Ammons also has appointed Joe Taylor as the new football coach. Taylor has 25 years of experience as a collegiate head football coach, and has spent the past 16 seasons at the helm of the Hampton (Va.) University football program.

Taylor's contract will be for five years at a salary of $225,000, plus a $12,000 housing allowance.

Taylor was Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for three straight seasons (2004, 2005, 2006) prior to last year.

Ammons, who left the top post at NCCU last summer to take the FAMU presidency, hired Hayes in May 2003 as athletic director at NCCU, so he is familiar with Hayes' capabilities to turn the program around.

"There were several candidates that we looked at and were brought to our attention," Ammons said. "In the end we decided Bill was the best and his experience put him head and shoulders above the rest."

Hayes signed a three-year contract paying $175,000 annually and will start Jan. 2, 2008 as Townsend's contract runs through Feb. 12, 2008.

Former Rattlers assistant coach Allen Bogan will continue as interim A.D. until Hayes takes office.

The Board of Trustees stood next to Ammons as he answered questions about the selection of the new A.D. and the status on the search of a new football coach.

Josh King, The Famuan President James Ammons at press conference

"People want to be here and the trustees are diehard Famuans who care about FAMU," said Trustee Daryl Parks said.

"Some things have to happen before we can name him," Ammons said. "Success of the football program is key to the overall health of out athletic program and it is easier to raise funds from alumni as we hope to bring back the Rattler mystique."

After naming Hayes as Townsend's successor, FAMU is ready to give the athletic department a makeover as focus will turn to marketing and attendance of athletic events.

Ammons announced that Carter and Townsend were out on Nov. 20, promising to move FAMU's athletic programs in a "new direction."

"I think we need to rebuild the whole athletic program, when you look at a university there are certain parts of the university that play certain roles and I think the athletic program, the band and student activities are the soul of the university and its important that we begin to rebuild that," said Board of Trustees Chairman William Jennings.

"Attendance at some of the football games is down," Jennings added, "and it's hard to use the football team as a recruiting tool when a team is losing, so having a winning team aids in recruiting."

Ray Jenifer, a student at Florida A&M University, writes for the Famuan, where a version of this article first appeared.

Posted Dec. 5, 2007. Updated Jan. 3, 2008.