Some Sports Could Be Cut as WSSU Faces Budget Deficit

 

Some sports could be cut as Winston-Salem State University works to recover a $3.9 million deficit in its athletic program. The school went back to Division II this year after four years in the Division I ranks. That saved $2 million, but left the aforementioned $3.9 million deficit.

The downgrade has led to an upgrade in basketball game attendance, increasing by nearly 400 a game this year.

"Attendance was definitely up. It was more support for the team, especially since the basketball team went to the CIAA this year," said Kelsey Mobley, student.

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Winston-Salem State Earns At-Large Bid To NCAA Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - The Winston-Salem State Rams (19-7) received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament, Sunday. Though the Rams fell short in the 2011 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) tournament, they will receive a shot at ultimate redemption when they face the 2011 CIAA champion Shaw Bears in the opening round of the 2011 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament.

"We didn't like the way the season ended. This will give us a chance to go out and make it right," WSSU men's basketball head coach Bobby Collins said.



 WSSU gets Division II bid

Winston-Salem State’s season will continue. The Rams (19-7) are seeded fifth in the eight-team Atlantic Region and will take on CIAA champion Shaw (22-8), the fourth seed, in the first round of the 64-team Division II Tournament on Saturday.

The winner of the Shaw-WSSU game will take on the winner of the West Liberty-Slippery Rock game in the second round on Sunday. West Liberty is 29-0 and is the seeded No.1 in the eight-team regional, and Slippery Rock (21-10) is seeded eighth.

West Liberty is located in West Virginia.

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Winston Salem Rams left to ponder what-ifs of season

Durham, N.C. - It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Coach Connell Maynor shed some tears after Winston-Salem State’s season came to an end on Saturday as Shaw rallied to win 31-27.

Maynor, who was in his first season as a head coach, is passionate about winning, as evidenced by the many sprints he does up and down the sidelines in every game trying to get everything he can out of his players. But with the season over and the Rams finishing 8-2, Maynor’s body language said it all a few minutes after the loss that officially eliminated them from the CIAA’s Southern Division race.

While it was a boost to the program to make a turnaround after last season’s 1-10 record, Maynor said he was disappointed because for him, it’s about championships.

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WSSU rivals point to scholarships

Coach Connell Maynor: “That’s what losers do, they complain,” Maynor said. “They make excuses, and we don’t make excuses — we take what we have and we keep going.”

Winston-Salem State has made quite an impact in its first football season back in the CIAA — compiling records of 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the league. Some opposing coaches say that some of that success can be tied to scholarship numbers.

Last season, in what was supposed to be the final year of transition to Division I, WSSU had 51 scholarship players and was on target to reach the Football Championship Subdivision limit of 63 this season. But school officials decided to change course, stopping the move and keeping WSSU in Division II.

Rams Break Into Top 20 In AFCA Poll; Debut In D2Football.com Poll

Winston-Salem, NC - The Winston-Salem State Rams (6-0, 4-0 CIAA) continued their move up the NCAA Division II polls as the team moved into 17th-place in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll and make their debut in the D2Football.com top 25 in the 22nd slot.

After earning their first top 25 ranking since 2002 last week, the Rams followed up their effort with a 49-3 win at Johnson C. Smith. The effort boosted the Rams into the top 20 of the AFCA poll as the team earned a 17th-place ranking.

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