Banks trying to spur Southern rebound

Baton Rouge, LA - When the calendar turns to June and the temperature climbs close to 100 degrees, it’s usually high time for college basketball coaches to hit a beach. Or a golf course. Maybe both.

Roman Banks, for his part, hasn’t seen either. Behind a heavy door in the lower hallway of the F.G. Clark Activity Center, the new Southern men’s basketball coach is knee-deep in meetings.

In the past week alone, he’s had impromptu chats with players, meeting after meeting with his newly assembled staff and encounters with an untold number of other people associated with the Southern University athletic department. In other words, the new boss is a little busy. Then again, he has to be. His program has a lot of catching up to do.

“You have to get everybody acclimated to a new way of life,” Banks said. “You’re concerned about the game of basketball. But right now, we have to be concerned about getting everybody’s eligibility back so we can play the game of basketball.”

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TSU star works out for NBA Sacramento Kings

Sacramento, CA - Tuesday morning wasn't the first time Kevin Galloway wore a jersey with Sacramento on it. Before Galloway helped Texas Southern win the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season championship last year, he starred at Sacramento High School, earning The Bee's Player of the Year honor in 2005.

Galloway was at the Kings' practice facility as part of the team's final workout before Thursday's NBA draft. Galloway's college career began at USC in 2006, then continued at the College of Southern Idaho and Kentucky. He appeared to have found a home in Kentucky until the coach who recruited him, Billy Gillispie, was fired and replaced by John Calipari after the 2008-09 season.



Galloway ended up having a good senior season at Texas Southern, where he was the SWAC Newcomer of the Year after averaging 10.9 points, a conference-leading 6.3 assists (eighth in the NCAA) and 1.8 steals. His 6.9 rebounding average was second in the SWAC.

The 6-foot-7 guard enjoyed finishing his career at Texas Southern.

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CIAA rules ECSU's Bonner eligible next season

Elizabeth City, NC - The Michael Bonner saga has a happy ending after all.

Bonner, the former Perquimans standout basketball player who sat out last season in an eligibility controversy at Elizabeth City State after transferring from Winston-Salem State, has been granted a waiver from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and ruled eligible for the upcoming season.

“Man, it’s been a fight,” said Bonner, who will have two years of eligibility remaining. “I lost a year (of eligibility) out of the three years I would have had, but I was just grateful get it over.”

Bonner, the 2007 Daily Advance Player of the Year, was caught up in a mess created when Winston-Salem abandoned its Division I plans and rejoined the CIAA in 2010.

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NCCU near NCAA Division I full membership, school trustees told

DURHAM, NC -- North Carolina Central University's eight-year trek to Division I status in athletics has almost reached the finish line. The university found out earlier this spring that the NCAA -- the governing body for intercollegiate athletics -- had certified the school's athletic programs "without conditions." The NCAA could have accredited the programs with certain conditions.

At the beginning of this month, NCCU submitted its final strategic plan and annual athletics report to a subcommittee of the NCAA's advisory council. The subcommittee reviewed the strategic plan last week and the full committee will make a decision on whether to forward to the Leadership Council by the end of the month.

The council -- the last necessary vote -- should give final approval to the move by August.

"We should know very shortly," athletics director Ingrid Wicker-McCree told the university's Board of Trustees Tuesday. "Everything has gone well so far and we just have this last step to go through."



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Melendez makes ASU believe: New Hornets baseball coach inspires higher expectations

It's a resume that is among the best in small college baseball.

Mervyl Melendez has transformed Bethune-Cookman into a baseball powerhouse, not only making the Wildcats the envy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities programs everywhere but even those small college programs that dare to dream the impossible dream.

And when Melendez stepped to the podium on Tuesday to entertain questions as the new baseball coach at Alabama State, there were plenty of optimistic observers who believe the Hornets' baseball program has stepped into a new era as well. Daring to dream can be contagious.

"It was never about money with him," said ASU athletic director Stacy Danley. "He's all about vision and the direction of the university and the baseball program. He was sold on Alabama State University. This is a clear message to everyone that we are taking our program to the next level. He understood that, could see it and knew we were not just talking."

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Throwback: HBCU Greatest Football Champions of the Last Era

Players and Coaches from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have played a significant role in the history of college football.

Black College football and NFL quarterback pioneers Pro Bowl MVP James "Shack" Harris and Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams have personally made this journey and remain committed to preserving the HBCU legacy. It is this promise that inspired them to establish the Black College Football Hall of Fame. The City of Atlanta, with its central proximity to more than half of the nation™s HBCUs, was selected as the perfect home for the Hall of Fame.

Shack and Doug next turned to the task of establishing a prestigious selection committee, with a special understanding and knowledge of the many great HBCU players and coaches. Numerous prominent journalists and football executives enthusiastically joined the Committee, which determines the Hall of Fame selection criteria, reviews nominations and chooses inductees.

N. Carolina A&T Names Veney New Track and Field Director

Coach Anthony "Tony" Veney

GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina A&T Director of Athletics Earl Hilton announced the appointment of Tony Veney as the new director of track and field programs, effective July 1. Veney will be responsible for guiding the success of N.C. A&T's six track and field programs, which include men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor track and field and men's and women's outdoor track and field.

"I'm really excited about the prospects and potential we have at North Carolina A&T," said Veney. "I have been doing my homework and research, and the program has an amazing history. I believe with the wealth of talent in the Southeast region, or first and foremost within the state itself, we have a chance to do something special. I feel fortunate to be taking over the reins of a well-established program. It is both a challenge and a blessing."

Veney spent six seasons (2003-09) at UCLA as an assistant coach for sprints and hurdles. Veney established himself as one of the premiere hurdles and sprints coaches in the nation. Fifteen Bruins earned either indoor or outdoor All-American status under Veney. He also coached six Pac-10 Champions and four NCAA West Regional Champions. Veney also served as the recruiting coordinator at UCLA.

Before joining the Aggie Family, Veney's latest coaching position was as the head men's cross country and head men's and women's track and field coach at Ventura Community College. His other collegiate experience includes stints at Portland State (2001-03), the University of Oregon (1998-01) and Cal State Los Angeles (1996-98).

Veney began his coaching career in 1976. He served as Occidental College's head women's track and field and cross country coach until 1979. In 1983, he returned to the college ranks as the assistant track and field and cross country coach at Cal State Northridge. In 11 seasons, Veney coached three NCAA National Champions, 33 NCAA All-Americans and 15 conference champions.

A USATF Level I, II and III Clinician and certified USATF Master of Coaching, Veney has produced two sprint and hurdles training videos, has written two sprint and hurdles training manuals and published a sprint/hurdle book called "Conditioning for Track & Field."

There is also an international component to Veney's background. Veney was the head women's coach for Team USA at the Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia in 2001. Eleven years earlier, he was the Olympic Festival Sprint Coach. Veney was also the sprints coach at two Pan American Games, the 1991 Junior Pan Am Games in Kingston, Jamaica, and the 1995 Senior Pan Am games in Mar Del Plata, Argentina.

Veney graduated from UCLA in 1976 with a B.A., degree in history. As an athlete for the Bruins, he was a part of two Pac-8 and NCAA Championship teams. He received his Master's Degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific University in 2010.

By North Carolina A&T State University Sports Information
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