Bethune-Cookman hands Spartans their sixth straight loss

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Norfolk State’s sideline was bunched together, hopping in unison as its offense drove and the tension mounted.

The Spartans, down by a touchdown in the waning seconds, were 12 yards away from tying the game.

And then, in a bumbling instant, they weren’t. Because this was Norfolk State. In 2016.

Larry Brihm Jr. passed for 138 yards and a touchdown, and Bethune-Cookman fended off a comeback Saturday in a 21-14 MEAC win over the scuffling Spartans at Dick Price Stadium.

The loss was the sixth straight for NSU (1-6, 0-4 MEAC), its longest losing streak since dropping seven in a row in 2012.

With four games left, the loss destroyed the team’s goal of finishing with a winning season for the first time in five years.

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Final: FAMU defeats Hampton 31-14

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- First the first time since 2014, the Rattlers have won back to back games.

FAMU’s defense forced three turnovers and redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Stanley was turnover-free again and the Rattlers defeated Hampton 31-14 on Saturday in front of 26,044 homecoming fans.

Homecoming attendance was the largest since 2010.

Stanley threw for two touchdowns, and FAMU’s running backs accounted for two more scores in the win. The Rattlers outscored the Pirates 24-7 in the second half to win the game.

The win marks the first time FAMU has won back to back games since 2014. Since FAMU won last season’s homecoming, it’s also the first time FAMU has won back to back homecoming games since 2009 and 2010.

With this win, FAMU improves to 3-2 in Conference play and 3-5 overall. The Rattlers have won three of their last four games after an 0-4 start.

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Coach Fobbs Inks Deal with GSU

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- Grambling State University head football coach Broderick Fobbs is staying at GSU.

Fobbs, Interim Athletic Director Obadiah Simmons and GSU President Rick Gallot signed an agreement in the president’s office on Thursday (Oct. 20). The coach’s current contract was scheduled to expire in December 2016, and the new agreement extends his services through December 31, 2018. Gallot, who started as president on Aug. 1, said retaining Fobbs was one of his highest priorities.

“As a lifelong Grambling State football fan and as an alum, I know what we have in Coach Fobbs and I was determined to keep him as our coach,” said Gallot.

Coach said he loves his job and he is determined to do all he can to make the football program, athletics and his alma mater successful. “We’ve got something special going on here,” said Fobbs, “and we’re in the early stages of building of another legacy upon the great traditions developed by Coach Eddie Robinson, Prez (RWE) Jones and others. We’ve got a big job to do, and I’m grateful that President Gallot recognizes what our coaches and staff bring to the table.”

The agreement guarantees Fobbs $195,000, the salary he has earned since 2013. Fobbs said he did not want to accept a salary increase since the university is facing significant financial challenges and his coaches cannot receive salary increases at this time. Instead, the agreement is heavy on incentives, guaranteeing Fobbs additional compensation of up to $87,500 for specific goals, including winning the SWAC western division championship, being recognized as SWAC coach of the year, winning the Bayou Classic, winning the SWAC championship, winning the Celebration Bowl matchup between the SWAC and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) football championship teams and if the G-Men are declared the Black College national champions. In addition, Fobbs has an additional incentive to do something he makes a priority already — meeting or exceeding the NCAA benchmarks for Academic Progress Rate (APR). Student-athletes must attend classes, maintain specific grades and GPAs to remain eligible to participate.

In addition, the coach is provided with a salary bonus pool of $95,000 to be divided among his coaches based on specific incentives. For other coaches to be eligible to be considered for some of that money the team must win the SWAC western division, the SWAC championship and the Celebrity Bowl, widely seen as the national HBCU championship between the SWAC and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship teams played in Atlanta on Dec. 17, 2016. It also includes incentives for the football team being recognized as the Black College National Champion, a regular season record above .500 and for meeting or exceeding the NCAA APR benchmarks.

Gallot and Fobbs agreed that the fall negotiations started soon after the president started and continued cordially as the football season got underway and continued. Fobbs said there was no doubt that he wanted things to work out, and that he was far more concerned about the impact on his coaches and staff than any specific amount for himself. “I have an amazing team of coaches and a wonderful staff and we wouldn’t be doing as well as we’re doing without their commitment and dedication to our student-athletes and this program,” said Fobbs. “We’re all in this together, and if I win, they win.”

The agreement with the football coach guarantees that Fobbs will stay at his alma mater through the 2018 season at the Southwestern Athletic Conference school, ensuring that the significantly rejuvenated football program continues its winning tradition on the gridiron, in the classroom and in the community.

Hired in December 2013, Fobbs was charged with strengthening the program under a three-year contract. Since he started, Fobbs has been named the SWAC coach of the year twice, in 2014 and 2015, and he has a 19-8 record overall and a 12-4 record since 2015. His G-Men started the season as a team to watch but were not picked to win the SWAC western division or the conference championship. After a strong 3-0 SWAC start and a 3-1 overall record this season, the team is widely seen as the favorite to win the division and the SWAC championship.

“Coach Fobbs has done an incredible job both on the field and off, and we have to acknowledge, appreciate and support that,” said Gallot.

“There’s no question that Fobbs and our winning football program have been a big part of attracting more attention and more applicants. With 70 percent more applications this year compared to last year this time, that’s phenomenal, and it shows that a winning program has a real impact on recruiting.”

“I’m thrilled that we’ve signed Coach Fobbs for another couple of years. He’s a stellar leader and has done an amazing job with our football program in such a short period of time,” added Simmons. “By all accounts, Coach Fobbs is ahead of schedule relative to program goals.”

Fobbs started his coaching career at a Texas high school before working as a graduate assistant at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with then head coach Jerry Baldwin, now pastor of New Living Word Ministries in Ruston and a member of the university’s athletics director search committee. He coached at Northwestern State from 2002-07 and went to Lake Charles to coach at McNeese State University. He spent a stint at Southern Miss as wide receivers coach before returning to McNeese to coach tight ends for the Cowboys.

GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS

NCAA: Former Alabama State softball coach failed to promote atmosphere for compliance

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- A former Alabama State University head softball coach did not promote an atmosphere for compliance when she allowed student-athletes to participate in countable athletically related activity in excess of what NCAA rules allow, according to a Division I Committee on Infractions panel. The school also failed to monitor the processes that led to student-athletes purchasing items that were not course-related books or supplies.

The panel accepted the university's self-imposed $5,000 fine and countable athletic activity reductions. It also prescribed a one-year show-cause order for the former coach. During that time, if an NCAA member school hires her, it must set weekly meetings with her to monitor countable athletic activity.

This case was resolved through the summary disposition process, a cooperative effort during which 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 the facts and overall level of the case in order to use this process instead of a formal hearing.

The former coach was aware that student-athletes would arrive early to practice to run and stretch, and occasionally, the former coach would keep the student-athletes for post-practice meetings with the team. Both activities resulted in the team exceeding countable athletic activity. The softball program also did not apply countable activities limitations placed on the softball program by the Division I Committee on Academic Performance. The former coach did not demonstrate that she promoted an atmosphere for compliance within her program when she was personally involved in the violations.

Additionally, the university did not monitor its student-athletes' bookstore purchases when it did not fully implement a previously established compliance system and did not provide rules education to university staff members and bookstore personnel. The extra-benefit violations were a result of the athletics director shifting sole oversight of the purchases to the academic services unit instead of oversight by both the academic services unit and compliance staff. The director of academic services felt his unit was too busy to monitor the purchases and instructed his staff not to monitor them. As a result, no one monitored the purchases and the bookstore personnel did not have the rules education necessary to ensure all purchases followed the rules.

Penalties prescribed by the panel include the following:

Public reprimand and censure for the university.

Two years of probation from Oct. 20, 2016, through Oct. 19, 2018.

A one-year show-cause order for the former head softball coach from Oct. 20, 2016, through Oct. 19, 2017. During that time, any NCAA member school that hires her must set weekly meetings with the school's compliance director to submit countable activity logs and discuss those activities. She also must attend an NCAA Regional Rules Seminar.

A reduction in the number of softball countable athletic activity hours from 20 to 16 (self-imposed by the university).

The softball program took two days off during the spring 2015 championship segment and the 2015-16 academic year (self-imposed by the university).

A $5,000 fine (self-imposed by the university).

Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from NCAA membership and members of the public. The members of the panel who reviewed this case are John Black, attorney in private practice; Melissa Conboy, deputy director of athletics at the University of Notre Dame; Thomas Hill, senior vice president for student affairs at Iowa State University; Joel Maturi, former University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, athletics director; Joseph Novak, former head football coach at Northern Illinois University; and Larry Parkinson, chief hearing officer for the panel and director of enforcement for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

COURTESY NCAA.ORG

NCAA: Alcorn State failed to monitor its certification process, placed on probation, fined

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana  -- Alcorn State University failed to monitor its progress-toward-degree certification process when it improperly certified 28 student-athletes in 11 sports over the course of four academic years, according to a decision issued by a Division I Committee on Infractions panel.

The panel prescribed two years of probation, a $5,000 fine retained by the university for compliance education and a vacation of records for games in which ineligible student-athletes competed.

This case was resolved through the summary disposition process, a cooperative effort during which the involved parties collectively submit the case to the Committee on Infractions in written form. The NCAA enforcement staff and the university must agree to the facts and overall level of the case in order to use this process instead of a formal hearing.

Download the Alcorn State University Public Infractions Decision

The university and members of the NCAA staff discovered the incorrect certifications during an NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program audit. The staff members involved in the process did not understand the steps in the certification, which led to the registrar entering requirements incorrectly and the compliance director erroneously certifying eligibility based on the total hours earned, not those hours that were applicable to student-athletes’ degrees. The panel found the university did not provide adequate rules education to its academic advisors, which resulted in the school failing to monitor its certification process.

Penalties prescribed by the panel include the following:

Public reprimand and censure for the university.

A two-year probation period from Oct. 19, 2016, through Oct. 18, 2018.
A vacation of records for games in which ineligible student-athletes competed. After the release of the public report, the university will identify the competitions affected.

A $5,000 fine that will be retained by the university to be used for compliance education of the registrar, academic advisors and compliance staff.

Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from NCAA membership and members of the public. The members of the panel who reviewed this case are Britton Banowsky, executive director of the College Football Playoff Foundation; Bobby Cremins, former head men’s basketball coach at Georgia Tech; Alberto Gonzales, dean of the law school at Belmont University and former attorney general of the United States; Thomas Hill, senior policy advisor to the president of Iowa State University; Gary L. Miller, chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; Joseph Novak, former head football coach at Northern Illinois University; and David Roberts, chief hearing officer for this case and vice president for athletics compliance at the University of Southern California.

COURTESY NCAA.ORG

HBCU Football Judgment Day Schedule Week 8

Football Saturday, October 22, 2016

OVC
Tennessee State at Vanderbilt, 7:30 PM, TV: ESPNU

MEAC
North Carolina A&T at Howard, 1 PM
North Carolina Central at Morgan State, 1 PM
Delaware State at South Carolina State, 1:30 PM
Bethune-Cookman at Norfolk State, 2 PM, TV: ESPN3
Hampton at Florida A&M, 3 PM

SWAC
Grambling State at Mississippi Valley State, 3 PM
Jackson State at Texas Southern, 3 PM
Prairie View A&M at Rice, 3:30 PM
Arkansas Pine Bluff at Southern, 5 PM

CIAA
Bowie State at Virginia Union, 1 PM
Chowan at Elizabeth City State, 1 PM
Fayetteville State at Saint Augustine's, 1 PM
Johnson C. Smith at Shaw, 1 PM
Livingstone at Winston-Salem State, 1:30 PM
Lincoln (Pa) at Virginia State, 2 PM

SIAC
Central State (OH) at Fort Valley State, 2 PM
Clark Atlanta at Albany State, 2 PM
Kentucky State at Fort Valley State, 2 PM
Morehouse at Benedict 2 PM
Miles at Lane, 3 PM

OTHER HBCUs
West Virginia State at Glenville State, 1:30 PM
Cheyney at West Chester, 2 PM
Langston at Southwest Assemblies, 2 PM
Wayland Baptist at Texas College, 2 PM
Lincoln (Mo) at Indianapolis, 6 PM

ALL GAME TIMES ARE POSTED IN EASTERN TIME ZONE

Southern's Tre'lun Banks is set to 'come home' to point guard this season

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Tre’lun Banks has finally come home.

For the past two years, the Southern men's basketball standout has been at an awkward in-between.

Not a true shooting guard, Banks was thrust into the spot to fill a need the Jaguars had while Christopher Hyder handled point guard. It wasn’t optimal, but it's where Southern needed him most, so he soldiered on.

But with Hyder’s graduation last spring, Banks can move back to his “home” position.

“It’s like when you go off to college, and you enjoy college,” said Roman Banks, Southern's coach and Tre'lun's father. “But there’s nothing like when you come back home and your mom has that hot meal for you, you’re sleeping in your own bed, you see your family and everybody and you say, ‘Yeah, I’m back at home.’ That’s kind of what I see.”

While point guard is a much more suitable position for Banks, the move isn’t overly dramatic. Southern’s offense essentially requires the shooting guard to act as a second point guard at times, so Banks, now a senior, isn’t learning a whole new position.

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