Alcorn State seeks to add Marino Casem’s name to football stadium

Lorman, MS - Alcorn State University seeks to add Marino “The Godfather” Casem’s name to Jack Spinks Stadium. After conversations with alumni groups, university staff, and athletic stakeholders, Alcorn’s President M. Christopher Brown II hopes to bring good news on this agenda item request after next week’s Mississippi Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) meeting.

“Coach Casem is the Braves all-time leader in career wins,” explains President Brown. “He complied a 139–70–8 (86–48–7 in the SWAC) record, capturing seven (7) SWAC championships. His legendary legacy of leadership still demonstrates the highest level of professionalism and personal integrity. His achievements and courage serve as an inspiration for all student athletes in their pursuit of excellence on-and-off the field. This recognition is long overdue and the Alcorn family is honored to acknowledge the achievements of Coach Casem. It is important to note that Spinks and Casem were close friends and even coached together.”

If IHL approves the name change, new temporary signage will greet fans at the Braves first home game. The total renovation needs for the stadium are currently being assessed, in particular campus compliance with ADA, the ingress and egress of traffic during sporting events, and the audiovisual notification system given the University proximity to the Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant.

“One of the hardest parts of my job is walking into Alcorn’s stadium and not seeing Coach Marino Casem’s name anywhere,” says Braves Head Football Coach Melvin Spears ’83. “He was not only my coach, but whatever I or any of his players needed him to be. Coach insured we succeeded on the football field, in the classroom, and in life.” Numerous Alcorn alumni and friends agree with Coach Spears.



Coach Willie “Rat” McGowan ’61 added, “Coach Casem put Alcorn State University athletics on the map. This is a tremendous idea and no one deserves to have their name on a building at Alcorn more than Coach Casem. I am proud of our president and Alcorn State University for making this honor a priority.”

Alcorn State University alum and ASU Foundation Board member Nathaniel Hughes ’79 agreed. “This is the house that Coach Casem built and it is time to recognize his achievements.”

As Alcorn moves forward with repositioning the University and its programs, President Brown has reached out and engaged stakeholders. “This is one of the first steps in Alcorn’s new athletic development plan,” says Vice President for Institutional Affairs Marcus Ward. “Renewing relationships with alumni and professional athletes is a priority for our new director of athletic fundraising, Larry Smith. Alcorn will renew relationships and continue to raise funds to support student athletes.”

About Coach Marino Casem

Marino H. Casem is fondly known as “The Godfather of the SWAC” and the man who made the Alcorn Braves football program a household name during his over 20-year reign as head football coach and athletic director between 1964 and 1986. Coach Casem brought national acclaim to Alcorn when he assembled a winning team of coaches and staff members who made the University one of the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s most revered powerhouses. As head football coach from 1964 to 1985, he captured seven SWAC Championships, seven national black college championships, and was named both the National Black College and SWAC Coach-of-the-Year a total of seven times. The University produced an Olympic Gold Medalist, a world record holder in the 100-yard dash, first round draft picks in basketball and football, and built a world-class athletics complex and arena under Coach Casem’s reign.

In 1984, Coach Casem led Alcorn to a perfect 9–0 regular season. The team was ranked No. 1 in the final NCAA Division I-AA poll, the first time a black college had ever finished the regular football season in that position. He ranks 5th overall in victories amongst Division II-A football coaches. Throughout his career in athletics, Coach Casem served on many national committees including: NCAA Special Events, NCAA I-AA Football, NCAA Football Television, NCAA Football Rules and the NCAA Executive Committee. Other committees include the U.S. Olympic Committee Minority Task Force and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Visiting Committee.

Coach Casem has received numerous awards and citations throughout his professional career. A few of his notables include: Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame (1992), Alcorn State University Hall of Honor (1993), Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (1994), All-America Football Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award (1994), Football Writers Association of America Citation of Honor (1994), Alcorn State University Sports Hall of Fame (1996), The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame’s Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award (1998), The Louisiana Association of Athletic Directors’ The Carl Maddox Award (1999), College Football Hall of Fame (2003), and the 28th NACDA/NIT Athletics Directors Award (2009).



About Jack Spinks Stadium

Jack Spinks Stadium is home to the Alcorn Braves football team, winners of nine SWAC championships with seven wins under the leadership of Coach Casem. The multi-purpose stadium seats 22,500 and opened its doors in September of 1992. The stadium is also the site of annual rivalry games between the Braves and its Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) foes including Southern University, Mississippi Valley State.

University, Grambling State University and Texas Southern University. The field inside the stadium is named after Dwight Fisher, the all-time second winningest football coach in Alcorn’s history who coached from 1948-1956.

The stadium was named in honor of Johnnie Robert “Jack the Ripper” Spinks (August 15, 1930- September 29, 1994), a Toomsuba, Mississippi, native who played fullback for Alcorn from 1948-1952. In 1952, Spinks graduated from Alcorn and became the first African-American Mississippian to be drafted and play professional football in the National Football League (NFL). Spinks was selected number 126 in the 11th round by the Pittsburg Steelers and went on to play fullback for five seasons with the Chicago Cardinals, the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants. In 1958, Spinks retired from the NFL and returned to Alcorn to serve nearly thirty years as an Offensive Line Coach and Assistant Head Football Coach under legendary coaches Frank Purnell, E.E. Simmons and Marino Casem until his retirement from the state of Mississippi in 1984.

By Alcorn State University, Office of University Relations
VISIT: ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY
VISIT: ALCORNSPORTS