Jackson to be inducted into FAMU Hall of Fame

Joe Bullard has been the "voice of the FAMU Marching 100" and a major contributor to the hundred legacy of greatness, since 1975. The silky smooth Bullard has been a radio personality(96.1 JAMZ FM) in the Capital City since 1972. As the band's announcer, his voice is known throughout the world.

Almost 25 years later, former Florida A&M baseball coach Robert Lucas still vividly remembers the day that Robert Jackson Jr. decided to be an ironman for the Rattlers. FAMU was involved in two tournament games against Alabama State when Jackson threw under 80 pitches to win the first of two seven-inning games. He pleaded with Lucas to give him the ball for the second game. Lucas reluctantly allowed the now deceased Jackson to make his second start on the same day.

"He said, 'coach, I'm not even tired,' " Lucas recalled. "I said let's go two innings. I looked up and he had thrown only 18 pitches." Jackson ended up staying in the game and throwing 78 pitches, just as many as he did in the first game as he went to distance to win both games. "He was a guy that had a tremendous amount of courage," Lucas said. "He wanted the ball he wanted to pitch."

On Oct. 1, Jackson will get the ultimate athletic recognition from FAMU for his heroics during his four years as a pitcher for the Rattlers. He will be inducted in the school's hall of fame along with five others in ceremonies at the Lawson Center. The other inductees are Tiffany Daughtry, Track & Field; Olrick Johnson, football; Ulysses Wilson, baseball; Amos Hill, coach; and supporter Joe Bullard.



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Florida A&M fires baseball coach Lucas‎

The former Atlanta Braves scout, Robert Lucus ends three stints with FAMU baseball with a 154-171-2 career record. The FAMU baseball program was provided below par support by the school's administration and less than six scholarships. The Rattlers are still operating without a permanent athletic director, since William "Bill" Hayes resigned from the post on October 2, 2009, that became effective on December 31, 2009. Hayes is now the A.D. at Winston Salem State University.

Florida A&M has fired Robert Lucas as head baseball coach, following the worst finish in the history of the program that left the Rattlers out of this week’s MEAC tournament. Lucas confirmed Sunday that he was put on administrative leave until August and said he was told his year-to-year contract won’t be renewed. Interim athletic director Mike Smith was in a meeting Monday and wasn’t immediately available to comment. Lucas, however, said that he was told his assistant Brett Richardson would stay on to handle the day-to-day operation of the program until a replacement is hired.

FAMU finished the season with a 10-31 record and 3-15 in conference play. One more conference win would have put the Rattlers into the tournament, but a 1-2 record against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore kept them out in favor of the Hawks, which also had a 3-15 conference mark. Lucas said he was on a recruiting trip when he was called by Smith, who later handed him his termination letter.

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FAMU baseball heads into season with reloaded roster

FAMU Coach Robert Lucas cleans Rattlers house; only 12 players return from last year's squad

With less than half of the players from last year's roster returning to FAMU's baseball team, coach Robert Lucas has reloaded the Rattlers with a mix of transfers and walk-ons. At least two football players are expected to join the team along with transfer outfielders Stavone Martin and Tobi Adeyemi. Their presence should bolster the Rattlers offensively, said Lucas, who has shaken up his team's personnel after they were unable to carry late-season momentum into the MEAC tournament.

"We talked about last year and the disappointment we had in the tournament for one day," Lucas said. "There is no point in us belaboring the fact that we didn't do what we were supposed to do. I think not bringing it up is going to help us focus on the things we need to do fundamentally." FAMU will have a much different look when the season starts with a doubleheader against Jackson State on Feb. 20. Only 12 players, including infielder/pitcher Tim Schalch and MEAC MVP pitcher Jared Jefferies, will return from last year's squad.

Of the 14 players who won't return, only two were lost to graduation, Lucas said. "After a while, you have to make some decisions on education and athletics," he said, explaining the cuts that he's made. "I felt from what I didn't see in their abilities that it was time for them to work on their academics."

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