Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Ram Ramblings: Boulware settling into his role as head coach

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Kienus Boulware is settling in nicely as head football coach of Winston-Salem State.

Boulware, who was promoted from defensive coordinator earlier this month, is transitioning into Connell Maynor’s old office at the Bowman Gray Stadium field house. He is slowly moving down the hall from his former office to one that is a little bigger.

Boulware is also making head-coaching decisions that must be made.

Those decisions range from when spring practice will be held to how many players to sign for this fall. He also is busy filling out his staff which includes hiring an offensive coordinator.

Boulware also had time to talk about the challenging schedule that was released earlier this week.

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College athletes take step toward forming union

CHICAGO, Illinois -- Calling the NCAA a dictatorship, Northwestern's quarterback and the United Steelworkers announced plans Tuesday to form the first labor union for college athletes - the latest salvo in the bruising fight over whether amateur players should be paid.

Quarterback Kain Colter detailed the College Athletes Players Association at a news conference in Chicago, flanked by leaders of Steelworkers union that has agreed to pay legal bills for the effort. The NCAA and the Big Ten Conference both criticized the move and insisted that college athletes cannot be considered employees.

Colter said the NCAA dictates terms to its hundreds of member schools and tens of thousands of college athletes, leaving players with little or no say about financial compensation questions or how to improve their own safety. That college football generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue only bolstered the argument for a union, he said.

''How can they call this amateur athletics when our jerseys are sold in stores and the money we generate turns coaches and commissioners into multimillionaires?'' Colter asked.

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Tonight: MVSU's Jerry Rice to be featured in NFL documentary



ITTA BENA, Mississippi -- Mississippi Valley State icon and NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice will be featured in a documentary on the NFL Network on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CST. To watch the trailer, click here.

The documentary examines the career of the iconic receiver who set numerous receiving records at MVSU before becoming one of the most accomplished NFL players in history.

Interviews were conducted with former MVSU quarterback Willie Totten and coach Archie Cooley for the documentary.

For those with DirecTV, the NFL Network is on channel 212.


COURTESY MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

SWAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week - January 28



BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The Southwestern Athletic Conference has selected Texas Southern University center Aaric Murray as its SWAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for January 28.

Saturday in a 94-56 win against Mississippi Valley State, the Philadelphia, Penn. native notched his fifth double-double of the season scoring 26 points and 19 rebounds to complement six blocked shots.

He turned around and tallied 34 points and recorded eight rebounds with three blocks against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday to lead the Tigers to a 72-71 win on ESPNU.

The 6-9 center has scored 20 or more points on 14 occasion on the season and scored in double figures 17 out of the team’s 19 games.

This marks the fourth time Murray has earned the weekly honor.  In December, he scored a career high 48 points against Temple.

COURTESY SWAC.ORG

XU Nuggets, after beating a top-10 team, move up to 23rd

NEW ORLEANS -- A 66-50 home victory against top-10 Talladega helped Xavier University of Louisiana climb from 25th to 23rd in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 on Tuesday.

The Gold Nuggets (16-6, 6-0 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) are in the top 25 for the second consecutive week and the third time in six polls this season. They've won four straight and 12 of their last 13 games, and they've won 15 straight at home dating to January 2013.

Talladega dropped from 10th to 11th.

Xavier has three victories against teams in this week's top 25 -- the others are No. 24 Mobile and No. 25 LSU-Shreveport.

The top nine teams are the same as last week, and Vanguard continued its season-long reign at No. 1.

New rankings will be announced next Tuesday (Feb. 4).

The top 25:

1. Vanguard
2. Freed-Hardeman
3. Westminster (Utah)
4. MidAmerica Nazarene
5. Oklahoma Baptist
6. Georgetown (Ky.)
7. Oklahoma City
8. Campbellsville
9. The Master's
10. Our Lady of the Lake
11. Talladega
12. Wiley
13. Lewis-Clark State
14. Westmont
15. Columbia (Mo.)
16. Bethel (Tenn.)
17. (tie) Hope International
17. (tie) Montana State-Northern
19. John Brown
20. Baker
21. Cumberlands
22. Martin Methodist
23. Xavier
24. Mobile
25. LSU-Shreveport

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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Gold Rush climb again in NAIA poll, this time to 13th

NEW ORLEANS -- Coach Dannton Jackson repeatedly has described the 2013-14 season of his Xavier University of Louisiana men's basketball team as a journey. The Gold Rush on Tuesday continued their upward journey in the NAIA Division I Coaches' Top 25, moving three places to 13th.

It's the first time since the 2003-04 season that the Gold Rush (16-5, 5-1 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) have climbed in four consecutive polls. Xavier has won 11 of its last 13 games, including 5-of-6 on the road. The Rush have excelled with six newcomers, four returning lettermen, two redshirt freshmen and no returning starters from the previous season.

Xavier is in the top 25 for the 30th consecutive time -- the longest active streak in the division -- and the 43rd time in the last 44 polls.

The GCAC has three top-25 teams for the fifth consecutive week. Talladega is seventh, and Philander Smith is 20th.

Cal State San Marcos and Freed-Hardeman share the top position. New rankings will be announced next Tuesday (Feb. 4).

Freezing precipitation forced Xavier to postpone its Tuesday home game against Belhaven. Xavier will visit Tougaloo at 5 p.m. Saturday in the first of four straight Gold Rush road games. Xavier will visit Philander Smith on Monday.

The top 25:

1. (tie) Cal State San Marcos
1. (tie) Freed-Hardeman
3. Pikeville
4. Southwestern Assemblies of God
5. William Carey
6. Columbia (Mo.)
7. Talladega
8. Concordia (Calif.)
9. Benedictine (Kan.)
10. Evangel
11. Emmanuel (Ga.)
12. Vanguard
13. Xavier
14. Rio Grande
15. Culver-Stockton
16. Mid-America Christian
17. LSU-Shreveport
18. Georgetown (Ky.)
19. Montana Western
20. Philander Smith
21. Wiley
22. St. Gregory's
23. Hope International
24. Martin Methodist
25. (tie) Great Falls
25. (tie) Arizona Christian

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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NCAA Division II Committee on Infractions: Clark Atlanta University failed to monitor its athletics department

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana  -- Clark Atlanta University failed to monitor its athletics department, according to findings by the Division II Committee on Infractions. The majority of the violations in this case occurred in the men’s basketball program. An assistant coach and a former men’s basketball volunteer coach acted unethically and provided impermissible benefits to student-athletes in cash, airline tickets and meals, according to the case findings. The former head men’s basketball coach failed to monitor both the assistant coach and former volunteer coach. Additionally, three student-athletes were allowed to compete while ineligible.

The penalties, including those imposed by the university, include three years of probation and a vacation of wins in which ineligible student-athletes competed. The former head coach and former volunteer coach each received a one-year show-cause order, and the assistant coach received a two-year show-cause order. If any of the three coaches seeks employment at an NCAA member school during the show-cause period, the school must agree to follow any
conditions on the coach’s athletically related duties as detailed in the public report.

Download the report: Clark Atlanta University Public Infractions Report 1/24/14.

This case was resolved through the summary disposition process, a cooperative effort where the involved parties collectively submit the case to the Committee on Infractions in written form. The NCAA enforcement staff, university and involved individuals must agree to use the summary disposition process instead of having a formal hearing.

The former volunteer coach provided impermissible benefits to student-athletes on several occasions between August 2011 and March 2012. He used personal funds to provide the men’s basketball team impermissible meals worth approximately $200. In addition, he arranged for a student-athlete to obtain a round trip airline ticket for a discount of approximately $750 to $1,250. He also arranged for four student-athletes to receive cash benefits totaling approximately $4,600 to $4,800, with each receiving $1,000 or more.

The assistant coach obtained a student-athlete’s personal identification number from the school’s registrar, which enabled the student-athlete to register for courses in a manner outside the established registration procedure, thus enabling the student-athlete to remain eligible for practice and competition.

Both the assistant coach and former volunteer coach violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when they knowingly provided impermissible benefits to student-athletes and provided false or misleading information about their involvement.

This case also included violations in the women’s tennis program. During the 2010-11 academic year, a women’s tennis student-athlete competed while ineligible, after transferring from another school and before completing a year of residence at the university. Further, she competed during the 2011-12 academic year, after completing four seasons of competition and exhausting her eligibility.

Penalties include:
  • Public reprimand and censure.
  • Three years of probation from January 24, 2014, through January 23, 2017. (The university proposed a one-year probationary period for the basketball and tennis programs).
  • A $5,000 fine.
  • A vacation of all men’s basketball wins in which student-athletes competed while ineligible (imposed by the school).
  • A revocation of the 2011 SIAC Conference Championship for women’s tennis (imposed by the school).
  • A one-year show-cause order for the former head coach. The public report contains the further details.
  • A two-year show-cause order for the assistant coach. The public report contains the further details.
  • A one-year show-cause order for the former volunteer coach. The public report contains the further details.
  • A limit of nine total athletics scholarships for the men’s basketball program for the 2014-15 academic year, a reduction of one.
  • A limit of four total athletics scholarships for the women's tennis program for the 2014-15 academic year, a reduction of two.
  • An external audit of the school’s athletics program must be conducted. 
Members of the Division II Committee on Infractions are drawn from NCAA membership and members of the public. The members of the committee who reviewed this case are Douglas D. Blais, faculty athletic representative, Southern New Hampshire University; Jean Paul Bradshaw II, attorney; Bridget Lyons, senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator, Barry University; Julie A. Rochester, chair of the DII Committee on Infractions and faculty athletic representative and associate professor, Northern Michigan University; Carey J. Snyder, associate director of athletics, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania; and Jane Teixeira, assistant compliance commissioner and senior woman administrator, Pacific West Conference.