The arrival of William A. "Gus" Gaines at Fayetteville State marked the beginning of its greatest era in athletics. There had been winning programs, but the Gaines' winnings are without a doubt, the best in Broncos' history.

Gaines began his career as a athlete in Mamaroneck, New York where he lettered in five sports (football, basketball, baseball, track, and wrestling). His best sport was football where he starred as a fullback, tackle, and kicker. A product of the LeRoy Mills Football Kicking School, Gaines was one of the top drop-kickers and punters in New York.  He was named Most Vaulable High School Athlete in 1940.

The Fall of 1940 found Gaines among the Eagles at North Carolina (Central) College. he made an immediate impact, winning All-CIAA honors as a tackle. He followed this with berths on the All-CIAA squad in 1941 and 1942. He was named All-American in 1941 and 1942 as a tackle and fullback. The 1941 season saw the Eagles play Morris Brown for the National Championship. One of the highlights of his career also occurred during the 1941 game against arch-rival North Carolina A&T. Gaines drop-kicked three field oals and an extra-point conversion to help the Eagles to a 16-12 victory over the Aggies. That same year, he helped the Eagles, under Coach John McLendon, to the CIAA Championship.

Like many of his peers, his education was interrupted in 1943 when he was called into the military. During his tour of duty he played football on the division teams and won All-Army honors as a fullback.

Upon graduating in 1945, Gaines was named head coach and athletic director, and head of the health and physical education department at Fayetteville State Teachers College by Dr. J.W. Seabrook. He had to revive all of the major sports programs that had been dropped due to the war effort. The nucleus of the women's basketball team was in place. They proved to be champions and posted a 13-1 record.  They were named women's champion among Eastern colleges, with their only loss coming at the hands of Shaw University.

Gaines established himself in coaching circles, defeating several of the powerful CIAA and SIAC teams. The men posted a 22-8 record, including wins over Delaware State, Johnson C. Smith, and Bethune-Cookman, all in one week. 

With the reorganization of the Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (EIAC) in 1947, he guided the Broncos to the EIAC Tournament championship five straight years. The 1948 Broncos were 29-7 for the year. They followed this with a 34-9 record in 1949 and won the EIAC a second time. After the 1949 season, Gaines turned the coaching duties for the Broncettes (women's basketball) over to Coach Lauraetta Taylor. She went on to become the greatest women’s coach in Fayetteville State history.

The 1950 Broncos were 36-11, and won their third EIAC title.  The 1950-51 season was extra special for the Broncos. They won both the football and basketball championships. They also set a college basketball record by winning 44 games. (This record has stood for 45 years.) There was another historical event that occurred that season. Under the auspices of the National Athletic Steering Committee, Black Colleges had been granted a bid to the NAIA National Championship Tournament for the first time. The terms for participation required Black Colleges to choose a champion from among the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The Black College Tournament was held in Nashville, Tennessee. As EIAC Champion, Fayetteville State was invited to be one of the first Black schools to participate in the challenge for the NAIA Championship.

The 1951-52 year was a repeat performance for the Broncos, as they won both men’s titles for a second straight year. The Broncos were undefeated in league play. To this point, Gaines had guided them to victory 88.4 percent of the time. Using a fast-break offense, Gaines turned the Broncos into a scoring machine that was nearly impossible to stop.

1953 was a transitional year for the Broncos, as they made the move into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). They proved to be competitive in basketball, but struggled severely in football. The Fall of 1954 saw Gaines suffer his first losing season, going 3-5-1 against stiff CIAA competition. Still, the Broncos played most teams close. They defeated the powerful Pirates of Hampton 12-8 and gained the respect of the members of the conference. The basketball team faired much better, posting a 29-7 record. While they did not challenge for the CIAA Tournament crown for several years, their arrival was far from quiet.

After several competitive years, the Broncos finished fourth in the conference in 1957 and placed third in the CIAA Tournament.

In addition to his coaching and teaching duties at Fayetteville State, Gaines also got involved in community activities. He led the fight in the early fifties for a gymnasium for E.E. Smith High School. In his eloquent way, he explained the value of physical education and recreation in the development of the bodies and character of young people. He told city officials how he used the gym at Fayetteville State to help keep youngsters off the streets. He also gave them constructive things to do, such as cleaning the lockers or helping to set up for games. He spoke of the sense of pride that developed from the jobs. Gaines organized a basketball team from the youngsters who hung around the gym and called them the “Junior Broncos”. He supplied them with used uniforms that were cut down to fit the smaller players. Using the fact that only one of the players on the EIAC Championship team was from North Carolina as an example, Gaines informed public officials that this was due to the lack of facilities.

"GUS" GAINES' CAREER RECORD

Year	Football	Men's Basketball	Women's Basketball
1945-46	7-2	22-8	13-1
1946-47	7-2	17-5	14-0
1947-48		29-7 *
1948-49		34-9	8-4
1949-50		36-11 *	13-3
1950-51	7-2 *	44-8 *
1951-52	7-2 *	23-5 *	9-1
1952-53	8-2
1953-54	3-5-1	29-7
1954-55	3-6
1955-56	0-9
1956-57	4-3
1968-69		7-14
Career Totals	56-47-6	310-109	57-9

* = EIAC Championships