Coming Friday/April 4th on PBS: Morgan (State) Lacrosse Story

Photo: Morgan State University's 1975 Lacrosse Team -'Ten Bears'

INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY FOR PBS: 'THE MORGAN LACROSSE STORY'

View Movie Trailer for The Morgan Lacrosse Story: Click on Blog Title Above.

The Morgan Lacrosse Story, is slated to air nationally on PBS April 4th at 10 pm. The film chronicles the rise of the country’s first and only college lacrosse team at a historically black university--Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland. .....Produced by Luke David.

The Morgan Lacrosse Story will begin airing on public television (PBS) on April 4th at 10:00 PM. Contact your local PBS station to find out when it will be aired locally.

This Documentary Brings Alive the Legacy of the First and Only College Lacrosse Team at a Historically Black Institution in the 1970's.

WASHINGTON, DC - College lacrosse was at the center of a significant storm in the early 1970's, a riveting story that is coming into full view for the first time on television with The Morgan Lacrosse Story, a new documentary film for PBS. An accounting of the first and only college lacrosse team at a prestigious and historically black institution, Baltimore's Morgan State University.

When a young white administrator reluctantly accepted the position of head lacrosse coach at Baltimore’s Morgan State University, a six-year journey culminating in a shocking upset began. The Bears’ solidarity and determination to succeed changed the sport of lacrosse forever, even as they played in a racially charged period in our nation’s history — the early 1970s.

An emotionally-charged film that deals with issues of race and class during the Civil Rights Era, The Morgan Lacrosse Story uses the official team sport of Maryland as a vehicle to tackle complicated issues, and to honor the legacy of a groundbreaking team who would eventually pull off one of the greatest upsets in intercollegiate sports history.

By introducing viewers to the courageous individuals who made this important part of history and allowing them to tell their stories directly, this highly dynamic one hour documentary film connects the audience to the real emotions of their experience.

The Morgan Lacrosse Story was deeply inspired by the book Ten Bears, co-written by Chip Silverman, the team's coach, and Miles Harrison Jr.

"It's rare to get the chance to work on something that you want to be a part of, a legacy worth preserving," David says. "Once I became aware of this story, there was no way I was going to let it go, or leave it in someone else's hands.

"With the archival resources that Chip had available, we knew we had to get things moving right away while everything was still intact. The real hook came once I started meeting the players and I realized how compelling they were as individual characters, let alone the civil rights backdrop of what they accomplished."

The Morgan Lacrosse Story is set in Baltimore, but the themes contained within quickly reveal themselves to be universal. The events of the team's formation and rise to prominence are re-told by the players themselves, and examined in historical context by thoughtful and informed narration by Wendell Pierce from HBO's "The Wire".

In addition, hundreds of photographs from the collections of Silverman and his players have been gathered for the film, as well as newspaper clippings from almost every game they played.

Through the prism of a sport infused with the spirituality of its Native American roots, the Morgan Lacrosse Story shows how this determined group harnessed the power of the game to change the college landscape forever.

"This is a positive story," Luke David concludes. "So many stories about race relations have a sour ending or feel hopeless, but here there's a resolution and a spiritual element. I hope people take the time to watch it, absorb the material and realize that things aren't always as inclusive as we think they are, but with courage things can be different and better."

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I expect this documentary to be as good as "Black Magic" was last month and it's definitely worth your time to watch and learn about the rich sports history of HBCUs during this era.

-beepbeep McDonald

Three-Run 8th Inning Rallies No. 2 Miami Past BCU Wildcats, 7-6

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Freshman catcher Yasmani Grandal drove in the game-winning run after junior Dave DiNatale hit a two-run game-tying single in the bottom of the eighth as No. 2 Miami rallied to defeat Bethune-Cookman, 7-6, Wednesday night at Mark Light Field. Junior right-hander Carlos Gutierrez tossed the final inning to record his fifth save for the Hurricanes, who improved to 19-2 on the season.

The Wildcats managed to the get the tying-run on base in the top of the ninth, but after back-to-back strikeouts by Carlos Gutierrez, Grandal threw out the baserunner trying to steal second to end the game.

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On Chip Silverman: Ailing ex-coach made lasting mark on lacrosse at Morgan State

Even as he lies on a hospice bed with cancer, Chip Silverman perks up when he hears his fiancee, Gail Wolven, answer questions about his days as Morgan State's lacrosse coach. Silverman, 65, has been flooded with visits, phone calls and text messages from former players since he was diagnosed with stage IV melanoma Oct. 5.

The cancer has spread through his body, but Silverman is strong in spirit. He speaks barely above a whisper. "The turnout has been great," Silverman said of the players' response. "It's amazing. I've been blown away by it. I know it's my time."

But Silverman has been more than just a lacrosse coach. He has been the head of the state drug commission and authored several books, including Ten Bears, which he co-wrote with Dr. Myles Harrison Jr., and Diner Guys. He also is an accomplished photographer.

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READ MORE ON THE MORGAN LACROSSE DOCUMENTARY FILM AND VIEW PREVIEW TRAILER: http://meacswacsports.blogspot.com/2008/03/morgan-state-bears-lacrosse-story.html

Patience not for Ben Jobe--Part III

"From the 1940s on into the '50s and '60s, the greatest basketball players in this country and many of the greatest coaches - were black. Problem was, hardly anybody knew it." Howie Evans, sports editor of the Amsterdam (N.Y.) News

There are certain historical facts the average college basketball fan doesn't know. Most have probably heard of Clarence "Big House'' Gaines of Winston-Salem State, who won 828 games between 1946-93.

But how many knew John McLendon, who won 523 games in 22 years at five different schools, was the first college coach to win three national championships (1957-59 at Tennessee State)?

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Bethune Cookman's Chaney part of 'Black Magic'

"BLACK MAGIC" IS ON ESPN AT 9 PM EDT TONIGHT AND MONDAY NIGHT.

John Chaney knows what it's like to be poor.

"People don't really understand poor," says the Hall of Fame basketball coach. "It doesn't mean you have something. It means you have nothing. You're working to make ends meet at all times, and yet there's always someone worse off."

Chaney knows what it's like to be a second-class citizen.

"In the South, when I was growing up, blacks were being arrested for vagrancy if they didn't have money in their pocket," he says. "So my mother always made sure I had a quarter on me."

Chaney knows what it's like to be slighted.

"In 1951, I was the best basketball player in Philadelphia, but I had no scholarship offers," he says. "There were only two schools in the city that had black athletes at the time -- La Salle and Temple. The others had no black basketball players on their teams."

Chaney's story is one of the threads that ties together Dan Klores' four-hour documentary, "Black Magic," which ESPN will air in two parts Sunday and Monday nights without commercial interruption.

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Film on black colleges a slam dunk

"Black Magic," 8 p.m. CDT, Sunday and Monday, ESPN

Dan Klores stands 5-foot-9, weighs about a buck-seventy and is white.

His emotionally uplifting film, "Black Magic," is a neck-craning 7-feet tall, can jump out of Madison Square Garden and is Earl Lloyd black (but more on Earl later).

No, the Brooklyn-raised director of this captivating documentary - which details the triumphs and utter degradation experienced by the student athletes who played basketball at historically black colleges and universities - does not remotely resemble the protagonists of his heart-wrenching film.

Still, the words uttered by those he featured in this long-overdue project, produced in conjunction with ESPN, speak volumes.

"He literally saved my life," said former Southern University coach Ben Jobe, one of many captivating stories captured by Klores that slam back the glory days of college basketball at schools such as Winston-Salem State, Tennessee State and Morgan State.

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This film is a tremendous Black History lesson and each of us need to make time to watch this documentary. Additional video footage is available by clicking this link: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blackhistory2008/index

Dismissal unjust, ex-SCSU player says

Photo: SCSU 6-7/215 junior forward David Cobb from Brooklyn,NY/Our Savior Lutheran HS/(SUNY Delhi).

David Cobb is no longer a member of the South Carolina State men's basketball team. That didn't stop the 6-7 junior forward from speaking to The Times and Democrat newspaper (T&D) on Tuesday about his dismissal from the Bulldogs by first-year head coach Tim Carter.

"I decided to go public because I don't want this to continue to go on," Cobb said. "When they dismissed me from the team, it was just get dismissed and just try to finish out your year and go somewhere else. But it's more than that. You're hurting my future by taking away Division I basketball.

Cobb said he was booted from the team primarily because he expressed his feelings. "I think that's wrong. I feel like I should be able to express how I feel to a coach."

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UMES Lady Hawks sting DSU Hornets 61-55

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. -- Maryland-Eastern Shore scored the last six points to earn a 61-55 victory over Delaware State University in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women's basketball Wednesday. The score was tied 55-55 with 34 seconds remaining when UMES freshman Casey Morton started the 6-0 run by hitting a short jumper and a free throw to give the Hawks their first lead of the second half. Morton added two more free throws with 13 seconds left and Queenique Tyler hit one with one second remaining.

The Hawks won their school-record sixth straight to improve to 13-8, 6-2 in the MEAC.

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Technical costs DSU a second time

Three Florida A&M players ejected, but foul call goes against Hornets.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Delaware State saw another technical foul play a key role in a men's basketball game Monday night, and again it ended in a loss -- 70-68 to Florida A&M at rowdy Gaither Gym. The Rattlers (8-11, 4-3 MEAC) made 11-of-12 free throws in the final 2:23.

FAMU's Cassius Bell, Darryl Demps and Jon Mason were ejected with 4:38 remaining after DSU's Marcus Neal received a technical for shoving FAMU guard Jon Ballard under the basket after Neal fouled Ballard on a layup. No technical fouls were called against FAMU, despite a prolonged discussion between DSU coach Greg Jackson, FAMU coach Eugene Harris and the referees.

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DSU Lady Hornets cruise past Bethune Cookman

Photo: #3 Keyhana Wakefield scored 16 points, 7 rebounds against the Wildcats.

Daytona Beach, FL - DSU women's coach Ed Davis, who can shout with the best of them, kept no secrets Saturday. "Come on, get inside!" he said to his Hornets as they trailed early on. Heeding his call, Delaware State got the ball inside. That's all the Hornets needed to do to turn around their fortunes and secure a 71-51 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win.

"I wanted to see them get productive in the post," Davis said. And so they did. In the end, the Hornets out-scored Bethune-Cookman 40-24 in the paint. DSU's Raquel Collier had a game-high 20 points on 9-for-16 shooting. Keyhana Wakefield added 16 points as four DSU players scored in double digits.

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Three Tennessee State defensive coaches won't return

Photo: TSU head football coach James Webster

A shakeup on the Tennessee State University football coaching staff has resulted in the departure of defensive coordinator Ron Lambert, defensive backs coach Randy Fuller and defensive tackles coach Justin Roberts, team officials said Friday. Coach James Webster decided not to retain Lambert while Fuller and Roberts resigned.

Webster confirmed the changes and said: "I have not hired anyone to replace those who won't be back."

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FAMU Coach Joe Taylor: Sermon on the Rattlers

Photo: Is another National Football Championship in the plans for the Joe Taylor led FAMU Rattlers? Only time will tell as Step One in the process has been completed. Photo is FAMU's 1978 National Championship Team, the hardware and Miss FAMU 1978.

The dialogue from FAMU's press conference on December 31, with the presentation of Florida A&M University new head football coach Joe Taylor quickly became an ole fashioned revival of Rattler Pride and an awaking of the Jake Gaither mystique.

Coach Taylor, like FAMU President Dr. James Ammons and director of athletics William "Bill" Hayes vowed to return Florida A&M University to its former greatness on the gridiron. The synergies of these three leaders are remarkable and Rattler Nation finally has the leadership and commitment necessary for us to work collectively together to accomplish these lofty goals.

As you read the transcript of Coach Taylor's remarks, you will have no doubts that this is all part of the master's plan or the master plans of the Ammons Administration.

Joe Taylor is now the highest paid football coach in Black College Football and is predestined to take the mighty Rattlers to their traditional place of football supremacy in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Here are the remarks made by Coach Joe Taylor.

Thank you so much.

I didn’t have a prepared speech. I guess when you’ve been here and done some things for a while, it’s kind of here what you do. [Taylor points to his heart.] I do want to thank Dr. Ammons and let him know that really he’s the reason I’m here. I’ve researched. I’ve looked around. Everywhere I looked, everything I heard said this is a guy you really want to work for. That’s why I’m here.

When you look at Eddie Robinson, certainly he did a great job of molding and building and sending men forward. Then there is another guy I had the real fortunate occasion to meet. That’s the great Jake Gaither. He had built, in my mind, one of the most storied programs ever. I tell the story all the time when Eddie and Jake got together in the Orange Blossom Classic. Bob Hayes was one of the great receivers out of here.

This story I always share with my players because it sends a message. Bob was running down the sideline. He had caught a pass and he was about to score. One of the Grambling corner-backs was in pursuit and about to make the tackle. The fans from FAMU started to yell, ‘Go Bob Hayes. Go Bob Hayes.’

The corner-back stopped running. He was about to make the tackle. When he got back to the sideline, Eddie said, ‘Son, what happened? You could have made the tackle.’ The corner-back responded,‘I didn’t know that was Bob Hayes. I’m not supposed to be able to catch him.’ So I use that often because that’s a mystique.

You want that kind of tradition. You want people to know that what you stand for they can’t compete against. I would think that spirit can return. That spirit can still be here. With that in mind, what I intend to bring here is no magic. There’s no mystery.

In my mind, coaching is a ministry. Whenever you are trying to improve the lives of young people, it’s a ministry. We’re not going to be concerned with what happens on Saturday; we’re going to be concerned with what happens all week. You can not be a champion all week and expect to be one on Saturday.

I think that every Sunday everybody should start off in some-body's church. Find a man’s spirit, there also you find him. When his spirit is right, then everything else follows. On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – class. You’ve got to go to class. That’s what champions do. You can’t get smarter turning in someone else’s homework. You’ve got to do it for yourself.

In the weight room, it’s not osmosis. You lift to get smarter. That’s what champions do. On the track, again you’ve got to run to get faster. If you could lay under a shade tree and drink kool-aid to get in shape, then we’d do that. But we know that doesn’t work.

Study hall – we’ve got to be there. Whatever responsibility there is, you have to manage. If you do that, the only thing that changes on Saturday is the atmosphere because you are already a champion.

In my mind there are four numbers that we all have. Those four numbers we have nothing to do with. That’s the year we were born. There will be, at some other time, four other numbers. Those will represent expiration. We really have nothing to do with that. But in between those numbers is a dash. That’s the only thing we have control over – that’s your dash.

How do you control your dash? Let’s spell it out.

Now, I’m letting you know that the players are going to hear this a little more intensely but I want you to hear the philosophy.

The ‘D’ is for discipline. I don’t care what you try to get done in life, it must start with discipline. You’ve got to do the right thing. There is no short cut. You’ve got to do the right thing.

‘A’ is attitude. We will never accept invitations to pity parties. Attitude. Attitude. We’re not concerned about what the naysayers are saying. We’re not concerned about what people say you can’t do.

We’ll find a way to reach inside and flush all of that negative programming because it’s about your attitude. And your attitude can get derailed by what I call noise. We’ve got to rise above the noise. Attitude. Attitude. You have to control your attitude.

‘S’ is for sacrifice. You were not put here on this earth to be served. You were put here to serve. It’s about sacrifice. When you put forth the necessary effort to be the best person that you can be, that’s a sacrifice. But look at how many people it serves and who can sit there and feel great about what’s happening on that field or in that classroom. It’s a sacrifice. You need to think about that.

We are ambassadors for all the great things that ever happen here. We have to connect that. We need to understand that. Others made great sacrifices so that you could be here. How dare you think you don’t need to be of that same nature. You must sacrifice.

Then the ‘H.’ The ‘H’ is for habits. Man does not decide his future. Man decides his habits. And his habits decide his future.

A player comes into me and says, ‘Coach, I want to be a doctor.’ ‘That sounds good, son, but I heard you were out drinking last night.’ ‘Yeah, but I want to be a doctor.’ ‘No, you want to be an alcoholic.’ Let’s get that straight.

When you can get that D-A-S-H, when you can control that, then you’ve got a chance. The program has a chance. The people around you have a chance. More importantly, you will have a life that is full of quality. That’s what the Lord wants. He wants you to have a great life. But you’ve got to control the dash.

In a nutshell, that’s really the key to success.

Certainly, this profession has been great to me. Really, I was called for this. It’s not like you came out of the womb and said that’s what you wanted to do. As my life went on in terms of going on to college with a scholarship and graduating within four years and having all kinds of opportunities, my high school coach kept calling me back. It just evolved. I’m just being obedient.

Someone says, ‘Wow, 16 years and 13 championships and you want to move?’ I’m being obedient. I told them I wasn’t moving. I’m expanding the neighborhood.

This is another opportunity to come and to minister and to let young men understand why they are on this earth. We want the Jake Gaither spirit to rise. We want all of Rattler Nation to be proud of what’s going on and we want to be a part of that.

As I said, Dr. Ammons is the biggest reason but Bill Hayes and I go back a long ways. We faced each other across the field. I don’t know who got the record over the other one. I’m just saying let’s put both records together. Then, too, we all know this place has so much potential. Let’s let people know we were sleeping for a little while but we’re back.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity. I vow to you my best. My wife already knows that football is 13 months a year. It’s non-stop. It’s something you can always do because you enjoy. It’s not a job. It’s an opportunity and it’s something we look forward to doing in this community.

Straight No Chaser, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and Nat Adderley 1974

JSU Tigers' TE would trade all aliases for catches

Photo: Antoine Ott-Terrell, JSU

By Rod Walker, Clarion Ledger

For now at least, Jackson State tight end Antoine Ott-Terrell has more nicknames than receptions.

There's Lew Alcindor, pinned on him by his offensive line coach because of his resemblance to the player more commonly known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

And Steve Harvey. "People say I looked like him when I had my afro," says Ott-Terrell with a laugh.

And O-T. And simply Twan.

"And I have some that you can't put in the newspaper," the sophomore added.

But while the nicknames have been plentiful, the receptions haven't been. Ott-Terrell caught his first two passes of the season in the Tigers' last game, a 50-16 blowout victory over Mississippi Valley State. He hopes to add to that total Saturday when Jackson State (2-2, 2-0 in the SWAC) hosts Alabama State (4-1, 3-1) at 3 p.m.

"It felt like I got a monkey off my back," said Ott-Terrell, all smiles as he reminisced about his first catch. "(Quarterback) Jimmy (Oliver) put the ball on the money and I went and grabbed it and brought it in."

It was Ott-Terrell's first reception in an actual game in three years. Before then, his last catch was in 2004 as a senior at Lahser High (Mich.).

It was at Lahser that Ott-Terrell excelled in football and basketball - "eighteen points and 10 rebounds," he boasts - and in the classroom.

The computer engineering major considered playing basketball at some smaller schools in Michigan and also at Ivy League member Princeton, but instead decided to walk on and play football at Tennessee.

"I love football because it's more of a team game," he said.

After a redshirt season and his freshman year in 2006 where he never touched the field, he transferred to JSU.

"This was the best situation for me," said Ott-Terrell, whose parents are Jackson State alums. "This gave me an opportunity to succeed in football. It's different, but my focus is still there and my drive is still there. I'm just going out every day and making sure that I take care of the things I need to take care of to contribute to the team. The location has changed. I'm in the SWAC now, not the SEC, but mentally I'm still the same hard-working guy."

And JSU coaches say the hard work is paying off for Ott-Terrell, who is trying to help the Tigers fill the giant void left after tight end Marcel Frost broke his leg in the spring game.

"He has height and he is getting better each week," said JSU coach Rick Comegy. "He's getting stronger in the weight room as we go along. I think he is going to be a premier tight end. I don't think right now he is in the class of a Frost, but I think he is developing into that type of a guy. Time will tell."

And according to JSU offensive line coach Bruce Johnson, Ott-Terrell doesn't mind putting in that time.

"He has some big shoes to fill, but he's constantly watching film and trying to get better," said Johnson. "He's going to be a very good one when it's all said and done. It's all starting to fall in place for him now. His attitude and demeanor is a little different from Frost, though. Frost knows his potential and is a little more cocky. Antoine is a little more humble and reserved."

But don't be surprised if that reserved demeanor escapes Ott-Terrell soon. Especially if he somehow finds his way into the end zone of Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.

"Yeah, I've thought about that," he said. "That's next on the list. I know things will come and whatever is meant to be is meant to be. I'll just be waiting and looking every ball in that comes my way and make the most of it. I'll have to say a silent prayer to myself to make sure I don't get a (celebration) penalty."

Coaching pals inducted into Alcorn Hall of Fame

PAUL BEAUDRY, For The Birmingham News

For the better part of the past 40 years, Willie Ray and Joseph Martin have been friends.

They went to the same high school in Birmingham, they went to the same college in Mississippi and they coached together on many levels back in Birmingham.

That's why it's more than appropriate that they were inducted into the Alcorn State University Hall of Fame together.

Ray and Martin were inducted into Alcorn's Athletic Hall of Fame last month as much for their achievements in college - Ray for football and Martin for basketball - as for their life after it.

"We've been friends forever," said Martin, now the principal at Parker High School and a four-year letter winner in basketball at the Mississippi SWAC school in the early 1970s. "We coach at the U.S. Youth Games together in track. In fact, he and his brother James recruited me to play basketball at Alcorn State."

Ray, a standout at Western-Olin in the mid-1960s, played football at Alcorn State for four seasons, taking a medical redshirt season for knee surgery.

"I was recruited as a fullback and to run track," said Ray, a former Jackson-Olin coach who was an assistant principal at Ensley. He retired the same year the school closed. "I was converted to running back and just got too big to run track. But I was also one of the premier punters in the city."

Ray wound up signing a free-agent contract with the Detroit Lions, but bad knees forced him into education. He was the head track coach and assistant football coach at Parker from 1971-72 and moved over to Jackson-Olin, where he coached until becoming an assistant principal at Ensley in 1990.

One of his biggest accomplishments came through one of his athletes. He coached Vonetta Flowers in track at J-O. She went on to win an Olympic gold medal in bobsled in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Martin, a 6-foot-7 tweener at big guard or small forward, came out of Western-Olin to average about 19 points a game at Alcorn. He averaged 28 as a sophomore - starting all four years for the Braves. Upon returning to Birmingham, he coached girls basketball at Jackson-Olin - starting the program with the help of head football coach Robert Dickerson - for two seasons.

"When I was in high school, I played it all - I was a wide receiver in football and a first baseman in baseball and got drafted by the Baltimore Orioles," Martin said.

He moved to Glenn High School from 1975-81 as boys basketball coach (with a player named Bobby Humphrey) and followed that as an assistant basketball and football coach at Parker. He left coaching when he got into administration, and has served as principal of Huffman High School and Banks Middle School.

"Alcorn was a nice, friendly place," Martin said. "That's why I chose to go there. And a big part of that was Willie Ray. He was ahead of me in school and kept telling me how wonderful it was."

Q&A with legendary W.C. Gorden--former JSU head football coach

Photo: For 15 years, W.C. Gorden headed the Jackson State football team. Gorden, here talking to defensive back Carl Tart during the 1990 JSU-Grambling game, compiled a remarkable 123 wins.

By David Brandt, Special to The Clarion-Ledger

W.C. Gorden was the most successful football coach in Jackson State history, winning 123 games over a 15-year span from 1976 to 1991. Gorden, now 77 years old, still lives in Jackson and is active in the community.

Q: What are you doing these days?

A: Well, I serve on about five different board of directors including the Make-A-Wish foundation and Pearl River Valley Water Supply District. It's something I really enjoy doing. For 40 years, I saw things as an educator and now I'm getting another perspective from a business and political side. It's all very interesting and for the most part I think everybody works together very well. Honestly, it's a lot like athletics. You win some and lose some, but you play by the rules and try not to alienate yourself because you never know when someone you're fighting against might become an ally.

Q: It's year two of JSU football coach Rick Comegy. What do you think of his program?

A: I'm fortunate enough to get to talk to coach Comegy quite a bit. I'm very impressed with the way he's jumped right into the business aspect of the community and really is working to do things for Jackson State. In these days, a head coach has to be much more than a football man - and that's exactly what coach Comegy is. This summer, he brought poor kids onto campus and had a football camp. Things like that are really strengthening the program. And I think in time his teams will be very good. It just takes a while to build a program to where there's a family aspect involved.

Q:You've been outspoken about wanting to keep Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium instead of building a new stadium on campus. Why?

A: Because Veterans Memorial Stadium is one of the largest Division I-AA stadiums in the country and is in a great part of our town. Jackson State is an urban university and I think our borders go beyond the four or five blocks on campus. There's not a bad seat in the place and there's plenty of parking. I wish the city would set aside the stadium as a green space. Maybe they could get rid of a parking lot and make a park. Then they could really celebrate the history of Mississippi football with some kind of exhibit around the stadium. I just think it's a great facility with a lot of history and I'd hate to see it go.

Q: The SWAC doesn't get an automatic bid to the I-AA playoffs because of the SWAC championship game, Bayou Classic and Turkey Day Classic. Do you see things changing?

A: Well, much has changed in the past 20 or so years, but you've got to understand that a lot of us were pretty disenchanted by the I-AA playoffs by the time we got out. We'd play Alcorn State the week before Thanksgiving and play in front of about 45,000 people. Then we'd make the playoffs, have to practice over Thanksgiving, and then travel somewhere like Sam Houston State and play in front of about 8,000 people. That was hard for our players to get psyched up for. But I can see the appeal of wanting to play for a national championship. Hopefully, Division I-AA can do a better job of promoting the playoffs if the SWAC does get back into it.

Q: What's the thing you miss most about coaching?

A: I'll tell you what I don't miss: That feeling on Sunday after you lost a game. After 40 years of coaching I really got my fill of football. But there is one thing I miss - it's that look on a player's face when he realizes that all that weight lifting and hard work in the off-season paid off and he made a game-saving tackle or a catch that helped us win a football game. Those were some very special moments.

SCSU football sees wisdom in taking on Carolina

By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer

‘Ollie would be excited’ - 91-year-old queen of SCSU football
sees wisdom in taking on Carolina

Gracia Dawson thinks of herself as a “living historical marker” for South Carolina State University -- and with good reason.

The 91-year-old widow of Bulldog coaching legend Oliver Cromwell Dawson has meticulously maintained her husband’s memoirs, trophies and plaques at the Orangeburg residence they shared for 49 years. A self-professed “campus brat” who was born where now Bethea Hall stands, Dawson is also the oldest living Miss South Carolina State winner (1937) and has spent most of her life cheering on the Bulldogs’ football team.

“We’re celebrating 100 years of football, and I’ve almost celebrated that 100 with them,” she said.

Yet even Dawson could not envision this particular day coming when her alma mater would head to Williams-Brice Stadium to play 17th-ranked University of South Carolina. At 7:05 tonight, Dawson will be in attendance to witness the latest keepsake chapter in SCSU football history.

“Oh, he would be quite excited as I am,” Dawson said. “I’m very excited. We’re making history. As I say, I am a historical marker so ... I plan to be right there. And I’m hoping that we might win it and if we don’t, I hope that we play very well and do their best. That’s all we can demand of them.”

Such a game taking place was very much unthinkable during the early part of Dawson’s 41-year tenure in which he coached five sports, served as athletics director and initiated the school’s Health and Physical Education program. With segregation the law of the land in South Carolina, Dawson said even the thought of scheduling USC could have made her husband’s stay in Orangeburg a short one.

“In those days, no, that was unheard of,” she said. “No, No. You’re talking about the ‘30s now, 1935. That was a no, no. That wouldn’t have come about in that era. This is a new day.

“But in 1935, playing the University of South Carolina, I was afraid somebody might have run him out of Orangeburg for even thinking that, let alone try to do that.”

Through what she called the “lean years,” her late husband more than managed to make a thriving athletics environment at SCSU. Not only did Dawson coach football, basketball, track, tennis and golf, he helped bring several high-profile tournaments in those sports to Orangeburg for the town’s black youth.

“We were living on Goff Avenue at the time ... and we lived across the railroad tracks from Claflin,” Dawson said. “He would come home from the football field, grab a bite and go to the gym to start basketball practice.”

The Thomaston, Ga., native, who was also a boxing champion in Cleveland, Ohio, even taught Sunday school, which may have caught by surprise those student-athletes who sometimes were on the receiving end of his verbal admonishments.

“Somebody use to always say ‘Lord, we’ve never seen a person that cusses so much during the week and prays so good on Sunday,” she said. “But Ollie could get up and give an exemplary speech.”

Dawson’s efforts to help young people receive an education lasted right up until the night before his death on the morning of Feb 9, 1989, when he convinced then-head coach Willie Jeffries to give his nephew, Dyrek Dawson, a football scholarship.

“It was ironic that the last act he did before he died was to get a scholarship, something he had done for other people’s children over all those years, and he was getting help for one of his relatives,” Dawson said. “He never spoke another word after that, but he got that scholarship.”

Dawson did have one lasting message to impart to his nephew over the telephone following his final meeting with Jeffries.

“He told them ‘I had paved the way for you’,” he said. “‘But the truth is, I’m going to tell you. If you’re not interested in an education, don’t come down here because I don’t want no Dawson tramp athlete!’ People thought he was rough, but once you knew him, he had a heart of gold.”

Dawson’s legacy lives on in the form of the stadium that bears his name, through his widow who continues to financially support the university and the coaches who have followed in his footsteps and shown the same commitment to helping young people.

Gracia Dawson sees those similar traits in the Bulldogs’ current head coach who, ironically, shares the same first name as her late husband and was a former neighbor.

“I think he’d be proud of (Oliver) “Buddy” Pough,” Dawson said. “I think ‘Buddy’ Pough has done real well and is such a fine representative.”

Dawson is especially happy to see Pough schedule games against the Football Bowl Subdivision teams, as she believes they will help the Bulldogs in the long run.

“I’ve heard a lot of people complain, ‘Oh why in the world did they put schools like Air Force Academy and USC (on the schedule)?,’” she said. “But to me, that’s the only way you’re going to grow. I tell you one thing, I feel that playing Air Force helped us win our first conference game (last week against Bethune-Cookman). I mean that’s my thinking. And they’ll do better when you have better competition.

“But a lot of people are saying ‘Why in the world are they putting those schools on the schedule? They know they’re out of our league.’ What’s wrong with trying to reach up into another league or whatever. I’m glad to see them play them.”

While still very spry, Dawson now attends few road games, content to follow the action on the radio at home decked out in her SCSU paraphernalia. For this special occasion, however, Dawson plans to make the trip to Columbia with her late husband in spirit.

“I just hope that they play some ball,” she said.