Bill Hayes first made his football coaching mark at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Now that mark will become permanent.

The stadium will continue to be called Bowman Gray but the playing surface will be Bill Hayes Field.

Coach Hayes, now 78 and living in his hometown of Durham, N.C., coached the Winston-Salem State University Rams from 1976 to 1987, posting an 89-40-2 record with CIAA titles in 1977 and 1978.

Among his first stars was quarterback Kermit Blount from Richmond’s Armstrong High School. Coach Hayes later coached at North Carolina A&T State University from 1988 to 2002, winning the National Black College Championships in 1990 and 1999.

He later served as athletic director at North Carolina Central University, his alma mater; Florida A&M University; and Winston-Salem State from 2010 until his retirement in 2014.

Bowman Gray Stadium, a multipurpose facility, has served as Winston-Salem State’s home field for decades. It also was the home turf for Wake Forest University at one time and has a long history in NASCAR.