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Showing posts with label ASU Golden Rams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ASU Golden Rams. Show all posts
The Albany State University Rams announced their 2010 cross country schedule this week.
Coached by Kenneth Taylor, the Rams and Lady Rams will kick off the 2010 season on the road against Troy University on Sept. 4. ASU will then return home on Sept. 11 to host the Albany State University Invitational. They go back on the road to compete in the Wildcat invitational at Fort Valley State University on Sept. 15, then return to Albany to compete in the Cavalier Classic, hosted by Darton College on Sept. 18. From there, the Golden Rams will run in the Clark-Atlanta/Morehouse Cross Country Invite on Sept. 25.
The Rams’ road trip from there continues as they run in the Paine College Invitational on Sept. 29, and compete in the Florida A&M University Invite on Oct. 2. The teams will compete against Jacksonville State University on Oct. 9, and run in the Troy University Invite on Oct. 16. The Pre-SIAC Meet in Jonesboro is next on Oct. 27.
ALBANY, GA — Everyone wants to make a great first impression. After all, it’s one of the few things in life that doesn’t come with a second chance. That’s the feeling Albany State defensive line coach Bokowski Daniels has these days, anyway, as he and the Rams are preparing for their 2010 season opener Saturday at Kentucky State.
“We want to make a good first impression,” said Daniels, who is the first DL coach ever under coach Mike White, who has always coached that area himself. “We want to come out (ready to go) and take care of business.”
Daniels may be the team’s newest coach, but he is no stranger to football or Albany.
Robert Welton, who transferred to Albany State from Appalachain State this offseason, will be the No. 1 RB heading into the Rams' first game next week.
ALBANY, GA — The Gold Rush is officially back. Only this season, it looks a bit different. Transfer Robert Welton has emerged as the probable starting running back for the Albany State football team, but he’ll be part of a four-man tandem — along with Kareem Hess, LiRonnie Davis and Darryl Carey — hoping to make an impact for the Rams this season.
“I think we’ll have a great running game,” said Welton, who transferred to ASU from Appalachian State during the offseason. “All four of us bring something different to the table. I’ve got my inside-outside game ... LiRonnie’s the power back, and Kareem is the finesse back. And we have Carey, who can do it all, too.” It’s a change of pace from past seasons, when the team primarily relied on one player to do most of the work.
ALBANY, GA — Nine-time defending SIAC champions. Has a nice ring to it, eh? Of course it does, only Albany State coach Robert Skinner thinks he knows another phrase that sounds even better: 10-time defending SIAC champs. No. 10 is what’s at stake as the Lady Rams get set to kick off their 2010 season, the schedule for which was released late last week.
But before any of the conference’s teams take the court, there was some housekeeping to handle Wednesday when the SIAC announced its 2010 Preseason All-SIAC Teams as ASU landed two players on that list: Seniors Latrice Lewis and Pricilla Sena. Surprised a team that’s nine-time defending champ only had two players named preseason all-conference — and on the Second Team, at that? Don’t be. Skinner wasn’t.
ALBANY, GA — A quintet of Albany State University alumni are about to go from legendary to immortal. Five distinguished individuals — Dr. Wilburn Campbell Jr., Dr. John I. Davis, Johnny Seabrooks, Timothy Goff and Antonio Leroy — will be inducted into the Albany State University Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010 on Sept. 10 as part of the school’s 11th Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
The event will begin at 7 p.m. in the Albany State University HPER Gymnasium.
Campbell is an associate member of the ASU National Alumni Association and was the swimming coach at Albany State from 1969 to 1982. During that span, his swimming and diving teams were SIAC Champions from 1975 to 1981. Campbell’s swimming and diving teams were the first National Black College Champions in 1979, and he was SIAC Coach of the Year. His team repeated as National Black College Champions in 1980. Campbell is the only Albany State coach to win a college national championship. As a coach, Dr. Campbell contributed to the success of numerous students.
ALBANY, GA — The A.J. McKenna era is over, so when coach Mike White and the Albany State University football team took the field for their first practice Thursday morning, one of the main things on their mind was the open quarterback spot. It’ll be tough to replace McKenna, who led the SIAC in passing yards per game (184.3) last season, but White said one of the three players vying for the spot — Wayne Campbell, Stanley Jennings and Chris Payne — should fit in nicely.
“They’ll be alright,” White said. “I don’t know if any of them will beat A.J.’s (numbers) — the size, the athlete, the combination A.J. had was really rare — but I think somebody will fill his shoes and definitely take care of the offense.” Campbell returns from last year’s team, Jennings is a transfer from Southwest Mississippi Community College and Payne is a redshirt player who originally signed with ASU in 2006.
And while Thursday was the first time the coaches were able to see them all together in action, White said he already knows they’ll follow plays better than McKenna did. “These are a little more coachable guys,” White said. “A.J. was a pretty intelligent kid, but he was a guy who always wanted to throw the ball deep. He would have a guy wide open in his face and he would try to force it deep. “He had that trouble all season. It was hard to get him to see that.”
ALBANY, GA — Every college football season begins with uncertainty. Players come and go, strategies change and teams that don’t win a championship the year before look for areas to improve the next season. Albany State is no exception, coming off a season where it started 7-0, only to lose three out of its last four and finish the season at 8-3, leaving area fans scratching their heads.
The team was back at the drawing board this summer, but as far as head coach Mike White is concerned, there is no doubt the Rams can add another Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship to their stash this season. “We think we’re going to be a very good football team in 2010,” said White, who has led ASU to four championships as he enters his 10th season as the Rams’ head coach. “We have to constantly improve. Each year, the goal is the same, to improve on what we did (the last year) and find those things we have to work on and get ready for the season.”
As if ASU didn’t have enough incentive, the SIAC’s preseason predictions — released Wednesday — picked nine Rams for the first team, but surprisingly picked the team to finish second behind Tuskegee. Those rankings don’t matter to White, though, who said his team’s play on the field does all the talking. “That’s the difference in being at Albany State,” White said. “You just gotta get it done.”
ALBANY, GA — Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference predictions? What predictions? As far as Albany State head football coach Mike White is concerned, the SIAC’s predicted order of finish for the 2010 season Wednesday didn’t happen. “I have no reaction (to the SIAC predictions),” White said. “I understand what it is, but (I think) everything is solved by going on the field and taking care of business on Saturdays.”
That may be true, but that fact is, the SIAC coaches picked nine players from Albany State for the Preseason All-Conference team — the most in the conference — but didn’t pick the Rams to win it all, choosing Tuskegee University instead. “Tuskegee’s been the champ the past few years,” White said. “They’re well-deserved to be picked first.”
While ASU had the most official All-Conference team members, in reality, they were tied with Tuskegee, Fort Valley State and Kentucky State with eight selections. White confirmed Thursday that defensive linesman Joshua Ingram (Sr.) — a first-teamer — will not be returning next season. “I believe some of (those All-Conference teams are) misleading,” White said. “(For instance), Ingram is no longer with the team, so he won’t be back next year. ... It just boils down to trying to stay healthy and finish some football games.”
Albany basketball stars from the past and present will hit the court Saturday for the 2nd annual Legends Game.
ALBANY, GA — Get ready for some more old school versus new school. The 2nd annual Albany Legends game takes place Saturday night at Albany State University, featuring an “old school” team — area basketball stars who played before 2000 — against a “new school” team of players who played since 2000. A relatively new tradition, the game gives area hoops fans a chance to not only see star players from Albany’s past, but learn from their life experiences.
“We want everybody to come out,” said Chris Cameron, the Albany State men’s basketball coach and member of the old school team. “The mission of the game is to inspire, to entertain and to educate the community. And (another goal is) to recognize the hoopers from Albany that helped establish Albany as a basketball hotbed in the south.”
Looking Ahead WHO: Basketball stars from Albany’s past and present. WHAT: 2nd annual Albany Legends Game. WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m. WHERE: Albany State University’s HPER Gym. COST: $3 general admission, $1 for children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
ALBANY, GA — The Albany State University Rams football fans and supporters are invited to meet and greet the football coaches and hear exciting information about the upcoming season at a preseason reception. The 11th annual Preseason Football Reception will kick off on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Eula Lovett Hall at the Albany State University Coliseum at Albany State.
The reception is free of charge and open to members of the QuarterBack Club and Golden Rams football fans. The dinner, like every year, will mark the official start of the 2010 season, according to coach Mike White.
"The football reception is a great opportunity for us to thank our fans for supporting us throughout the past season and solicit support for the upcoming season," White said. "We are looking forward to a great 2010 season and providing lots of excitement for our fans as we compete for the SIAC and national championship titles."
White and the assistant coaches will give a preview of and answer questions about the Rams’ upcoming season. Guests will also get to meet and greet several Rams football players. ASU, which has won 13 SIAC Championships, will open the 2010 season on Aug. 28, in a conference matchup against the Kentucky State University Thorobreds. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Frankfort, Ky.
For more information about the dinner or tickets for games this season, call (229) 430-4673 or (229) 430-6470.
Albany State University Golden Rams: President Everette Freeman announced administrative and organizational changes as a result of former ASU executive Joshua Murfree taking the reins of the Dougherty County School System as its new superintendent. Murfree, who had worked for ASU since 1999, served in four positions at ASU — executive assistant, administrative chief of staff, athletic director and interim vice president for enrollment management and student affairs. Murfree left ASU June 7 and became the 14th superintendent of Dougherty County since 1885 when he started work June 8. Richard Williams, the third-year chair of the department of health, physical education and recreation, was named ASU’s interim athletic director. The Thomasville native will supervise the management of the university’s 11-sport program which includes football, baseball, softball, women’s volleyball and tennis, and men’s and women’s basketball, cross country and track and field.
“The opportunity to serve as the interim athletics director at ASU is a very exciting and rewarding opportunity,” Williams said in a news release. “Having a grandmother and father (who played football, baseball, basketball and ran track) who are both alumnus, I consider this a huge honor to assist in the great Golden Rams legacy here at Albany State University.”
Williams previously served two years as a professor and chair of the health, physical education and recreation department at Langston University in Langston, Okla. He earned a doctorate of education degree in exercise science/muscle physiology in 2002, master’s degree in education in 1997 and bachelor’s degree in education in 1995, all from the University of Georgia.
Morehouse College Maroon Tigers: The college is mourning the loss of a rising sophomore English major who had recently been named the school's freshman of the year. Police said 18-year-old Khalifah Muhammad and his 20-year-old brother, Idris, were in a car that veered off the southbound lane of Layhill Road (Silver Spring, Maryland) and hit a utility pole Wednesday night in Montgomery County. Idris had been driving, and officials said he and his brother were wearing seat belts. Officials said two women in the back seat did not suffer severe injuries. The men are the sons of Ward 8 ANC Commissioner Anthony Muhammad, a D.C. advisory neighborhood commissioner.
Morehouse College released a statement that said, "The Morehouse family is greatly saddened by the news of the sudden and tragic death of Morehouse sophomore Khalifah Muhammad and his brother, Idris. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time."
Claflin University Panthers: Woodland High School (Dorchester, S.C.) valedictorian Bobbie Blake made her college choice after landing honors scholarships with the Claflin Honors College and a volleyball scholarship. She has about $94,000 in scholarships as she will seek two degrees in biology and accounting. Having all her college expenses paid for "feels awesome," she said. Throughout her process of applying for scholarships, Blake said writing essays was the most difficult part.
"Basically, you have to convince someone to give you their money," said Blake, who received about half of the 20 scholarships she applied for. Blake, 18, said she also was keeping in mind her three younger sisters, who also will need college funds. "I'm really doing my parents a favor," she said. "We won't have to pull out loans." Blake said she and her family finally will get to see all her hard work she's put forth in high school come to fruition. "Everything paid off in the end," she said.
Former FAMU men's Track and Field coach and Olympian sprinter Rey Robinson inducted into Polk County All Sports Hall of Fame.
Florida A&M University Rattlers: Former Sneads High School Pirates (Sneads, FL) running back Mark Lawson, who originally signed with Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., has instead decided to walk on for the Florida A&M Rattlers for the 2010 season. Lawson, who compiled three 1,000-yard rushing seasons for the Pirates from 2008-10, originally signed a scholarship to play for Benedict College.
But the speedy running back has since changed his mind. Lawson said location had much to do with his change of heart. “I really didn’t want to go that far, all the way to South Carolina,” he said. “I wanted to go to FAMU before I signed. I just wanted to stay close to home.” There isn’t currently a scholarship available for Lawson at FAMU, or even a guaranteed roster spot. However, he said the Rattlers coaches told him that the next spot that became open would be his. Lawson said the decision to stay in state was a family decision he made with his mother and father.
Jacksonville Mandarin 6-0/225 linebacker Larry Mitchell has signed with Rattlers football program. Mitchell broke former NFL player Sam Cowart's school record for tackles in a season with 104, despite playing in only seven games because of injuries. He also had 3.5 sacks for the 3-7 Mustangs.
Wakulla High School War Eagles (Crawfordville, FL) baseball teammates Jose Linton and Shay Barwick have signed NLT to play for the Rattlers next season. The pair of left-handed pitchers could help bring stability and wins to Rattlers team next season. Barwick and Linton had a major role in helping the War Eagles reach the elite eight in the state high school playoffs this past season. Barwick also has been accepted to FAMU's school of pharmacy. Both have played continuously together since their T-ball days as tiny tots.
Former FAMU Track and Field coach and the one time "world's fastest man" Reynaud "Rey" Robinson was inducted into Florida's Polk County All Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday night at the Lakeland Center. Robinson came to FAMU from Lakeland High School and participated in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, but he was disqualified from the 100-meter competition after a schedule mix-up (by his coach) had him late to the qualifying race. Robinson, then a 20-year-old sprinter was considered a co-favorite with U.S. teammate Eddie Hart to win the 100-meter gold medal in 1972. The three qualifying races to the final were considered formalities for the duo, who months earlier had tied the world record by each running the 100 in 9.95 seconds.
North Carolina Central University Eagles: NCCU Marching Sound Machine's 2010 Car Raffle Fundraiser--You can Win a new 2010 Nissan Versa automobile while helping the NCCU Marching Sound Machine to participate in the 2011 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. For more information, visit The NCCU Sound Machine Booster Club at: http://NCCUsmbc.com
Want to help get the NCCU Marching Sound Machine to Pasadena for the 2011 Tournament of Roses Parade? There are a number of ways to contribute.
- You can send a text message to (NCCU) 50555. Each text will mean an automatic $10 contribution to the parade fundraising campaign, which will be added to your phone bill.
- You can call (919) 530-7784 and make a contribution by credit card.
- Finally, you can mail a contribution to NCCU Foundation, P.O. Box 25111, Durham, NC 27702-25111. On the memo line, put TORP (for Tournament of Roses Parade).
Grambling State University Tigers:Athletic director Lin Dawson would prefer to remove baseball head coach James Cooper's interim title immediately, but university policy prevents him from doing so. Cooper was named interim coach in early August 2009 as a replacement for the departed Barret Rey, who accepted the head coaching job at Alcorn State University. But, according to university policy, when an interim coach is in place the position must be advertised to other candidates. Cooper led the Tigers to a SWAC title in the 2010 season and was named SWAC Coach of the Year. The position is his to keep, but Dawson can't make it official until around August 1, when Cooper will have been on the job for a full year.
It’s that time again, between spring training ending and just before fall practice begins, when you get those old pre-season jitters with anticipations of your team winning it all this year. Thanks to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon, and to all the college head football coaches and their players who attended the Pig Skin Preview media event last week, here’s a few hints, stats and innuendoes which might help you determine how your team will actually perform this fall.
Savannah State University seems to change head coach’s more often than most teams change quarterbacks. Interim Head Coach Julius Dixon will direct the team this fall after a 2-8 season last year. Even though the Tigers are returning eight offensive and seven defensive starters things won’t get much better this year. They begin the season by traveling to Statesboro on September 4 to face GA Southern, and things won’t get any better after that. The team could be hard pressed to match last year’s record.
Fort Valley State University, last year under second year Head Coach Donald Pittman, the Wildcats finished number one in total offense and third in total defense within the SIAC, and with most of last year’s team in tact, will probably win their conference and advance to the NCAA Division II Playoffs. It all starts on August 28 when they travel to Miles College.
Clark Atlanta University Panthers are scheduled for the Gateway Classic in St. Louis, Missouri facing the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions on September 25, 2010.
Clark Atlanta University Head Coach Daryl McNeill said, “Starting strong and finishing strong is not just a goal for each game, it’s the goal for the season and will commence with our first game.” They’ll attempt to resurrect their program on August 28 when they travel to Jackson TN to take on Lane College.
Albany State University continues to be guided by Head Coach Mike White in his 10th season with the Golden Rams. Coach White has led his team to appearances in the NCAA Division II Championships in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. With 14 starters returning on offense and defense, he may be poised to win the SIAC again this fall. The team begins play on August 27 versus Chowan University in Murfreesboro, NC.
For more than four decades, Dougherty County Director of Athletics Johnny Seabrooks has been a fixture on the Southwest Georgia sports scene, first as an athlete, then as a coach (28 years) and these days as an administrator. And earlier this week — when Seabrooks was inducted into one of Georgia’s many sports Hall of Fames — he finally received a small piece of recognition for his enormous contributions.
It was quite a sight, the traveling rec center, whirling up and down the back roads of Brooks County, a tiny 1972 Volkswagen Beetle stuffed with balls, bats, volleyball nets and whatever else Johnny Seabrooks could cram into his car. And there was Seabrooks, who looked as tall as a Georgia Pine, crawling out of that little car. It was quite a sight, indeed. More recently, Seabrooks was sitting in his office at Hugh Mills Stadium, smiling and laughing at the memory, his eyes dark and deep as his mind drifts back to that bare bones beginning.
Who would have known that little bug of a car was starting out on a journey that would last a lifetime for Seabrooks? He delivered a one-man gym to the kids in Brooks County more than a generation ago — and then just kept on delivering. He’s the newest member of the Hall of Fame — the one they seem to have built just for Seabrooks, who was inducted into the Track and Cross Country Coaches of Georgia Hall of Fame on Wednesday in Atlanta.
Seabrooks said he was shocked, stunned and overwhelmed when he got the call, but those who know him best feel it was overdue for a man who has spent most of the last four decades teaching, mentoring and giving back to the kids of Georgia. Not a bad legacy for a guy from Florida. Hard to tell now. Seabrooks has dug both of his feet — and his heart — into the Georgia clay, where he spent 28 years coaching in high schools and 37 years in one capacity or another overseeing high school athletes.
He has been the Dougherty County Director of Athletics since 2002 — that’s where that winding road led the young man who took a job as a roving physical education teacher in Quitman 38 years ago after graduating from Albany State University (Ga.). “I had three elementary schools and I rotated between them,’’ remembers Seabrooks. “They didn’t have gyms. We played basketball on a dirt court. But just to see those kids. They were so excited to have a P.E. class. When I showed up it was like I was heaven-sent. I had plenty of energy, and I loved it. I really loved it.’’ That hasn’t changed.
The Albany State University Rams announced their 2010 cross country schedule this week.
