Main Street Expands With CIAA and SIAC Sports

After 4,189 postings on black college sports, I believe we have learned a few things about the main stream press coverage of our Division I historical black colleges and universities.

First, the coverage is not equal, especially for institutions located in the States of Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Secondly, HBCUs can help themselves by updating their own athletic websites (daily) with future events, breaking news stories and press releases on the sport news on their campus. Finally, for changeovers in coaching personnel, HBCUs should release the story first on their school websites, so that their Administration's perspective gets out on the Internet before the facts get twisted by the local press corps.

For sometime now, I have been attempting to stop blogging and posting at "MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street" due to a need to devote time to other interests. But, I have a burning passion for HBCU sports and bands and can never find enough real-time information on either topic at one site--the very basis of this blog.

It is very difficult to argue with the facts--the data shows that this blog serves a very useful purpose and generates a considerable following around the globe. Here is what today's Google Analytic metrics says about the MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street blog:

• Over 253,623 visits have been made to the site this year, using 82 languages. There has been 429,355 page views and over 20,000 visitors have visited the site over 201+ times. The 253,623 visits came from 164 countries/territories; and approximately 239,904 from the United States, 3199 from Canada, 1217 from the United Kingdom, 946 from Germany, 477 from France and 69 from Iraq, just to name a few.

• Within the U.S., the top States with visitors to this blog are: Florida (39,394), Georgia (19,433), North Carolina (18,976), Texas (18,050), Virginia (14,172), Maryland (13,024), New York (10,817), Alabama (9,304), and California (9,218). Visitors came from all states with a high number from states with no HBCU or HBCU Division I institutions -- like California, New Jersey (4497), Michigan (3536), Pennsylvania (4338) and Illinois (5509). One could conclude that these states have a high concentration of HBCU graduates or fans/followers of black college Division I sports.

• In examining the data from Florida and the 39,394 visits via 562 cities, Tallahassee lead the pack with over 8,903 visits, followed by Orlando (2,652), Hialeah (2155), Miami (2000), Jacksonville (1723) and Lakeland (944). The greater number of visitors to the site in Florida are located in the big cities and urban areas. But more importantly, the fans in small towns and communities, visit the site just as often as fans in urban areas, according to the data.

Effective today, we are going to broaden our content to include the Division II, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). There is no reason not to give the CIAA and the SIAC the same level of exposure that the MEAC and SWAC have enjoyed from this ONE MAN-- three year effort. Our goal is simply to provide greater global exposure and expand interests in our Historical Black Colleges and Universities athletic programs and their exceptional student-athletes.

We have a wonderful story to tell and it should be told from both a black perspective that accentuate the positives of HBCU culture and athletic accomplishments.

Recently, we did a blog on the football accomplishments of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The school was formally know as Maryland State College and played football in the CIAA, prior to ending the football program in 1980. The school's football coach, Vernon "Skip" McCain was legendary, but has been generally forgotten by main street America.

We are talking about a school--UMES-- that produced over 25 NFL players, including Pro Football Hall of Famer and the first African American NFL head coach of the modern era in Art Shell ( Oakland Raiders); College Football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl III star half-back Emerson Boozer of the New York Jets; and Roger Brown, an anchor of the Fearsome Foursome of the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams. Both Brown and Coach Skip McCain have been enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Few articles are written on trailblazing pioneers of HBCU sports like Skip McCain (UMES), Jake Gaither (FAMU), John Merritt (TSU) , Clarence Big House Gaines (WSSU), Willie Jefferies (SCSU), Davey L. Whitney (Alcorn St.) and many other black icons of the modern era.

Few know that five UMES Hawks played in Super Bowl III, tying an NFL record with Florida State University for the most players in a single Super Bowl game from the same college.

How many know of Rudy Hubbard, Marino Casem, William "Billy Joe" or Arnett Mumford accomplishments. How many of you grasshoppers know that the second African American coach to win an NBA championship is none other than Alvin Attles from North Carolina A&T State University.

Attles is in the CIAA Hall of Fame, played 11 seasons in the NBA as a guard and ended his NBA coaching career with 588-548 overall in 14 seasons with 6 playoff appearances. His #16 was retired by the Golden State Warriors.

If you are interested in blogging and/or providing e-press clippings of your HBCU press releases, or local articles, please send me a message as I can use the help. The pay is zero but the greater reward is that your postings will get exposure annually to over 500,000 fans and readers in 164 countries and territories. Talk to me at email: oneproposal@yahoo.com.

Thank you readers for providing your feedback on this project and for your continued loyalty in reading the articles posted at MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street. To my alma mater, Florida A&M University, thank you for giving me the gift of sharing. On gridiron, diamond, track and field, Thy sons thy victory never yield, And while they tread a broader life, Thy love shall stay them in the strife. Hubba, Rattlers!

Welcome fans of the CIAA and SIAC. Let's talk HBCU Division I and II sports!!

CIAA - "Established in 1912"

Northern Division

Bowie State University

Chowan University

Elizabeth City State University

Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)

Saint Paul's College

Virginia State University

Virginia Union University

Southern Division

Fayetteville State University

Johnson C. Smith University

Livingstone College

Saint Augustine's College

Shaw University

Winston Salem State University

SIAC - "Established in 1913"
School: Location: Year Joined SIAC:
Albany State University, Albany, GA 1969
Benedict College, Columbia, SC 1932
Claflin University, Orangeburg, SC 2008
Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA * 1913
Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA 1941
Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY 1997
Lane College, Jackson, TN 1929
LeMoyne-Owen College, Memphis, TN 1932
Miles College, Fairfield, AL 1927
Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA * 1913
Paine College, Augusta, GA 1985
Stillman College, Tuscaloosa, AL 1978
Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL * 1913

*Founding Member Institution of the SIAC

-beepbeep