Hines: ASU not leaving the SWAC

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Any rumors of a possible move by Alabama State were dismissed as such by athletic director Melvin Hines during a press conference on Monday.

Several online message boards cited rumors of potential moves by both Alabama State and Alabama A&M to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

The MEAC, which is headquartered at Norfolk, Virginia, currently has 11 football-playing members.

Savannah State is scheduled to leave the conference following the 2018 season.

Hines was asked about the rumors during his address which reviewed the 2016-2017 athletic season at ASU.

“They’re just rumors,” Hines said. “We’reC very proud to be a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. We’re excited about what we’re doing and we’ve gone to new heights in the SWAC.”

Current Alabama State head football coach Brian Jenkins won four MEAC titles and was a three-time MEAC Coach of the Year at Bethune-Cookman, where he coached from 2010-2014.

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TSU Women’s Basketball Adds Lenise Stallings to Coaching Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tennesssee State University head women's basketball coach Jessica Kern announced the hiring of Lenise Stallings as an assistant coach on Wednesday.

Stallings will work with the guards while also serving as the academic liaison and camp coordinator.

"Coach Stallings is a fantastic addition to our family," commented Kern. "Her stellar experience as a player, ties to Mississippi talent, and keen eye for offense will be key components to our future growth. With her extensive academic background and hunger to grow in this business - we are extremely lucky to have this rising star. A decorated student- athlete at Mississippi Valley State University and a known pure shooter, Coach Stallings will be instrumental in guard development. I look forward to seeing her hunger for the game manifest into a championship spirit for our program."

Stallings comes to TSU after serving on Kern’s staff at Mississippi Valley State University. She helped secure the program’s largest recruiting class and a spot in the top 25 most improved Division I women’s basketball programs.

Prior to her position as assistant coach for MVSU, she served as a graduate assistant with the program from 2014-2016.

As an undergrad, Stallings competed four years with the MVSU women’s basketball team. She played in 124 career games during her collegiate career and helped MVSU to a 2013 appearance in the SWAC Basketball Tournament Championship game. In 2012, she aided her team in earning a SWAC regular season title and a bid to the WNIT.

During her junior and senior campaigns, she led the conference in three-point field goal percentage, shooting just over 40 percent.

A native of Hattiesburg, Miss, Stallings earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology in 2013 and a master’s degree in Bioinformatics in 2016. She has one daughter, Kyia.

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WSSU stays committed to baseball program

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- The CIAA’s decision to drop baseball is something coach Kevin Ritsche of Winston-Salem State has been bracing for.

When Elizabeth City State dropped its program before the 2014 season, the conference had slipped below the NCAA minimum of six schools sponsoring baseball to qualify for an automatic berth into region play. Even though the CIAA had five baseball programs, the NCAA gave the conference a break over the next three seasons, with the conference champion still getting rewarded with an automatic berth into regional play.

The conference decided to drop the sport because there was no sign of another CIAA school adding baseball to compete with teams already at WSSU, Chowan, Saint Augustine’s, Virginia State and Lincoln (Pa.).

WSSU athletics director Tonia Walker said the school is committed to the sport.

“We will maintain baseball as an independent sport with hopes that the CIAA will increase membership with other schools who play baseball or if current schools add it,” Walker said.

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Horn voted GCAC Athletic Director of Year for 2016-17

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Jason Horn has been voted by his peers the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Athletic Director of the Year for 2016-17.
     
Horn joined XULA March 31, 2014, as director of athletics & recreation. Department highlights since his arrival:

     •  NAIA national runner-up finishes for men's tennis in 2016 and 2017 — the first two in XULA history.
     •  Fifteen GCAC and/or NAIA unaffiliated group championships.
     •  Appearances by each of XULA's nine teams at NAIA National Championship events — 23 total.
     •  Ninety persons representing the department — athletes, managers and staff — received XULA degrees.
     •  Four student-athletes were selected as CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
     •  Men's basketball won the Buffalo Funds Five-Star Champions of Character Team Award in 2015-16.
     •  Community service which includes XULA student-athletes assisting with catastrophic flooding in Baton Rouge, La., this past August and after a tornado in New Orleans East in February.
     •  Average home attendance gains by the Convocation Center's three primary tenants — men's basketball, women's basketall and volleyball.
     •  Horn-negotiated multi-year deals with Ochsner Health System's sports medicine division, apparel provider adidas and website provider SIDEARM Sports.
     
"I cannot imagine one more deserving of this honor that Jason Horn," XULA President Dr. Reynold Verret said. "Through the quality and prudence of his judgment, Mr. Horn keeps first in mind the progress of Xavierites as both scholars and athletes. Xavier is fortunate with Jason Horn as AD."
     
"Congratulations to Mr. Horn on this great honor," XULA Vice President for Student Services Joseph Byrd said. "I knew when we selected him as our AD, we had selected one of the best. Now all of the GCAC knows what we have known for three years. His selection not only brings honor to him but to all athletes and the university community as a whole. We are proud of him."
     
"Mr. Horn is extremely deserving of this award," GCAC Commissioner Steve Martin said. "His intellect, hard work and business acumen are assets to the conference, and he has been a vital part of the GCAC's growth during his tenure at Xavier."
     
XULA is one of 47 colleges listed as a "Best Buy School" in the 2017 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
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Bishop McNamara grad signs National LOI with Alcorn State

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Illinois -- Since his little league days, Brandon Thomas has always wanted to play baseball at the Division I level. Next season, he'll finally have his chance.

Thomas, a 2015 graduate of Bishop McNamara, has spent his last two baseball seasons pitching for Prairie State College, an NJCAA program in Chicago Heights.  This fall, he'll take his talents to Mississippi after signing a National Letter of Intent to continue his baseball career at Alcorn State University — a Division I program.

"To be completely honest, it was a shock to me," Thomas said. "It's already something I've been working hard towards. I can't really explain the feeling right now. I'm just going to keep trying and keep pushing every day and see what goes on after that."

While a step up in baseball's never-ending talent pool means a better chance of being noticed by Major League Baseball scouts, Thomas says he doesn't have control over what happens next.

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Fobbs: 'Ideal' for SWAC to not play championship game

GRAMBLING, Louisiana — Grambling State head football coach Broderick Fobbs believes the Southwestern Athletic Conference's decision to discontinue the championship game was the right move for the league and his team.

SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp announced Tuesday morning that the league decided to discontinue the title game following the 2017 season, ending the showcase’s 18-year run.

"I think it's something that's probably good for our team and our league," Fobbs said Thursday. "Financially, it's a little difficult at times to add another game, especially when a lot of times we're responsible for getting to that particular game. I think it's a situation where I think it puts us at a disadvantage.

"Being that we play in the Bayou Classic a week after the final week of the season. Then we also have to play in the conference championship game the following week. The team in the East doesn't necessarily have to worry about that. Their season is pretty much two weeks over by the time the conference championship game is played."

The Tigers' annual rivalry showdown with Southern University in New Orleans gives them one more game at the end of the season, giving Fobbs' team one less week to prepare for a team it would meet in the SWAC title contest.

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Stillman Tigers Fills Open Positions, Announces New Conference Affiliation

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama |-- Stillman College president, Dr. Cynthia Warrick, is pleased to announce that Ken Alston will assume the role of Athletic Director for the Tigers beginning July 1st.

Alston has spent the past 10 years in various athletic administration roles. He most recently served as an assistant men's coach at Grambling State University. Prior to that, he was the Assistant Athletic Director for the Washington D.C. Public Schools system. Alston's extensive and diverse background led him to be the ideal candidate to lead the Stillman athletic program into their new era.

"I am very excited to be a part of Stillman College," Alston stated. "Stillman has a rich tradition in education and athletics, and I am here to add to that tradition. I would like to thank our president, Dr. Warrick, for this awesome opportunity. While there is still much work to be done, great things are on the way!"

Dr. Warrick filled another key role in the athletic department, promoting John Teasley to head men's head basketball coach. Teasley has served as an assistant coach for the past three seasons. Prior to coming to Stillman, Teasley was as an assistant coach at Spring Hill College for two years. He has eight years of experience as a head coach at the high school level, including three ACAA state championships and a .893 winning percentage.

Below is a statement from Coach Teasley:
"I would like to start by saying thank you to our new president, Cynthia Warrick, for this incredible opportunity. I feel blessed and honored to be the new head men's basketball coach at Stillman College. I am looking forward to continuing the success that we have built with our men's basketball program over the last three years. This is a dream come true for me and my family and I am very excited to the days ahead.​"

Stillman also received word that the Southern States Athletic Conference Board of Presidents unanimously approved the addition of Stillman College effective July 1, 2018, with competition to begin in all sports during the 2018-19 academic year.

Commissioner Mike Hall stated that they "are very excited to welcome Stillman College into the SSAC for the 18-19 academic year. Dr. Warrick has a great vision for the campus and its growth, and she sees how the athletics department can be a tremendous asset in moving Stillman College forward in the greater Tuscaloosa area. Stillman has a long-standing tradition of winning championships and a very strong alumni base that will fit in well with the SSAC."

Dr. Warrick echoed Commissioner Hall's excitement stating that the college was "honored and thrilled to join the Southern States Athletic Conference. Sincere thanks to the Board of Presidents; we're looking forward to the competition, collegiality, and growth for our athletic programs with the SSAC."

Stillman will continue their membership with the Association of Independent Institutions, and will be eligible for postseason play in the NAIA beginning this upcoming academic year (2017-2018).

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