Hayes finally running the show at Alabama A&M

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Just before preseason basketball practice started in 2004, then-Alabama A&M men's basketball coach Vann Pettaway called his staff together - Willie Hayes and Sammy Jackson - and told them they were going to have to run the show.

Pettaway had been disagnosed with cancer and was about to undergo the biggest fight of his life. Hayes, the associate head coach at the time, and Jackson, who recently was named the head coach at Fort Valley State, was asked to keep the program headed in the right direction.

"Coach Pettaway let us know what he was going through and he was going to put the program in our hands and he needed us to run things until he could get back into the swing of things," Hayes said.

Not only did Hayes and Jackson runs things, they ran them so well that A&M went on to win not only the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season championship, but the tournament title as well. As a result, the Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time as a Division I program where they lost to Oakland (Mich.).

Now, six years later...

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Alabama A&M ticket prices on the rise

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Alabama A&M football fans will have to pay a few more dollars to watch the Bulldogs play this season. Athletics officials, charged with raising $700,000, increased prices to rent the 22 skyboxes inside Louis Crews Stadium and ticket prices also went up, according to sales manager Tourischeva Stubbs.

Skyboxes range from $10,250 to $12,700, while season tickets have increased $25 and single-game tickets have increased anywhere from $5 to $7. "The skyboxes sold quickly," athletics director Betty Austin said. "There is a great demand for skyboxes. We hope season tickets will sell just as fast or faster." Selling season/reserved tickets was difficult last season, Stubbs said. Only 361 reserved seats were sold in 2010. There are more than 2,000 available.

"We have to change the culture of our fans," Stubbs said. "We need to get people to really see the value of our product and we need to value our product and one way to do that is with the price. Eventually, with time, our fans will see the value and they'll pay for it."

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Alabama A&M continues search for men's basketball coach

HUNTSVILLE, AL - Alabama A&M could have a new men's basketball coach by the end of next week, a source close to the search committee told The Times Tuesday.

School officials, who were slowed by the recent tornado outbreak, are expected to conduct phone interviews with potential candidates today and Thursday. Based upon the phone interviews, the finalists will be brought on campus next week for additional interviews.

Two potential candidates,  former Butler High coach Jack Doss and Eugene Harris, who most recently served as the head coach at Florida A&M and has also coached at Auburn, Alabama and South Alabama, told The Times Tuesday afternoon they had not been contacted for phone interviews. John Douglas, who led Calhoun Community College to the junior college national championship game in ...

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2008-09 Alabama A&M Basketball Preview: #143

Alabama A&M Bulldogs
Overall Rank: #143
Conference Rank: #1 SWAC
2007-08: 14-15, 11-7, 3rd
2007-08 postseason: none

If Alabama A&M could only beat Arkansas Pine Bluff, their season would have ended much differently. As it was, the Bulldogs finished third in the conference and had a first round conference tournament exit at the hands of the Golden Lions. With a whole slew of talent returning, the Bulldogs will have the best back court in the SWAC and that should be enough for Coach Vann Pettaway’s squad to think about a conference championship.

Who’s Out: However, there is a huge, literally and figuratively, hole to fill in the front court. The 6-11 Mickell Gladness tallied 10.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Having a big guy like that...

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Former A&M Standout Mickell Gladness Signs With NBA Agent

Huntsville, Ala. - Former men's basketball standout Mickell Gladness has recently signed with NBA agent Mark Fleisher of Enter Sport Management Inc. based in Connecticut. They will be sending Gladness to Las Vegas to train with one of the NBA's top workout specialist. While in training, the company will be working on Gladness' behalf for an invite to the Orlando pre-draft camp held for all rookies.

Gladness finished the 2007-08 season third on the team in scoring with a 10.3 average. He also led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in blocked shots with 4.5 per contest - good for a No. 2 NCAA-DI individual ranking.

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Last chance for A&M seniors to grab SWAC title

Bulldogs will meet Mississippi Valley Thursday

They came at a time when the women's basketball program at Alabama A&M wasn't very good. In fact, when Rebekkah Barnes, Felicia Drummond and Christian Malone and company showed up four years ago, the Bulldogs were in the midst of their sixth straight losing season.

Still, they took a chance and it paid off.

"The best decision is not always the most popular decision," said Barnes, who is from Tampa, Fla. "It's where you feel the most comfortable and where you can make your presence felt." Combined, they have certainly made their presence felt.

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