The "unofficial" meeting place for intelligent discussions of Divisions I and II Sports of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC).
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TALLAHASSEE, Florida - Though the Florida A&M University Lady Rattlers are undefeated in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play and atop of the standings, they may not be the team to beat. The same can be said of the Norfolk State Spartans Mens basketball team as they perch atop the conference standings with two losses. Both teams have been competitive during their tough non-conference schedule, but as Norfolk has already found out their real threat will come from the teams in the northern sector of the conference.
On the women’s side Hampton and Coppin State are presently the teams to beat. This is no slight to FAMU. Hampton is an experienced team with consistent play from game to game. They have already spanked conference top contender Howard University twice this season with one conference lost to guess who? The Coppin State women are quietly making themselves known in the conference and may well be the sleeper. They are the only team to overcome Hampton’s defense and beat them this season. They will not play FAMU during the regular season.
With wins over South Carolina State, Savannah State, Norfolk, North Carolina Central and the North Carolina A&T Lady Aggies, Morgan State is proof ...
TALLAHASSEE, Florida - Two years ago when the Florida A&M women’s basketball team won 18 games for the first time in more than a decade, the Rattlers had served notice early in their schedule that they’d be a competitive team.
They beat Florida. Alabama and South Florida also made the Rattlers’ hit list. Such accomplishments — by FAMU or any other teams in the MEAC — were few not too long ago.
Before that, signature victories were mostly rivalry games or a meeting between top teams in the conference. But now teams in the MEAC are making it common to win games that they play as underdogs.
That’s happening because more talented players are coming into the conference and coaches are having more success getting their players to develop a mental edge, said LeDawn Gibson who is in her fourth season at FAMU.
Tallahassee, Florida -- The long road to finding out their fate at the end of the season is down to three more stops. First up is a bye week and plenty of time for the players on Florida A&M football team to get bored.
But that didn't seem to be a concern for coach Joe Taylor following a 27-24 victory over South Carolina State. His players know there is too much at stake to become lackadaisical in their bid to run the table and have some say-so in determining who wins the MEAC title.
"These guys have turned the corner," he said. "If we keep doing what we're supposed to do we'll be OK." The Rattlers played pretty well on Saturday at Dawson Stadium when they snapped eight seasons of losing to the Bulldogs.
Columbus, GA - The 8th Annual Historical Black College All-Star Classic is coming to Columbus (Georgia) on April 23rd with the game being played the Civic Center. The event pits the best players from the SWAC, MEAC, SIAC, and CIAA against each other in a battle of East and West.
In addition to the College game the event will also feature matchups including local boys and girls high school all stars. Among those expected to attend include: Jordan's Harry Short, Kendrick's Elbert Elliot, Dwayne Belfield, Erica Stanley, and Janai Merritt, Hardaway's Valenta Williams and Jamaine Burrey and many more.
More than 60,000 fans will flock through the gates of Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on January 29th, 2011 to witness the 9th annual Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase, an unparalleled performance and celebration of the nation’s elite marching bands. Renowned Hip-Hop performer and actor “Bow Wow” will join more than 1,800 student musicians and one of Atlanta’s best amateur vocalists to celebrate the music and creativity found at America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
The Invitational Showcase Line-Up
For the highly anticipated 2011 showdown, the curtain will go up promptly at 3:00 p.m. EST. The bill includes a special guest performance by “Bow Wow,” along with crowd-pleasing routines by the nation’s top eight elite black college marching bands. Georgia’s own Albany State University will open the show and lead this year’s “great eight” performances in the following order:
1. Albany State University “Marching Rams Show Band” 2. Tennessee State University “Aristocrat of Bands” 3. Virginia State University “Trojan Explosion Marching Band” 4. Clark Atlanta University “Mighty Marching Panthers” 5. Jackson State University “The Sonic Boom of the South” 6. Winston-Salem State University “Red Sea of Sound” 7. South Carolina State University “Marching 101” 8. Bethune Cookman University “Marching Wildcats”
Grants, Internships, and More
The Honda Battle of the Bands program not only provides a platform to shine a rare spotlight on the pageantry, pride and showmanship of HBCU music and culture, but it also is the only national music scholarship program of its kind. For the 2011 program, 45 HBCU marching bands participated in the pre-qualifying “Celebration Tour,” and received $1,000 grants for their music programs. An additional $20,000 will be awarded to the eight institutions selected to participate in this month’s Invitational Showcase.
In addition to the distribution of grant monies, the program also includes internship opportunities through the Fox Music Experience, and an HBCU Recruitment Fair will expose future college students to all HBCUs have to offer. The Fox Music Experience, now in its fourth year, provides one HBOB Invitational Showcase student-musician the opportunity to spend a few weeks during the summer months as an intern at Twentieth Century Fox studios in Los Angeles, learning film and television music production first-hand. The Honda Battle of the Bands HBCU Recruitment Fair, now in its sixth year, gives young people the opportunity to meet with marching band and admissions recruiters to discuss admissions requirements and scholarship opportunities.
Group and individual tickets for the show are still available, but moving quickly. They can be purchased at the Georgia Dome Box Office, via www.Ticketmaster.com or www.HondaBattleoftheBands.com for just $10 and $12.
For more information on the Invitational Showcase, Fox Music Experience summer internship program and HBCU Recruitment Fair, photos, press materials and video footage visit www.HondaBattleoftheBands.com, the official online destination and clearinghouse for all HBOB information.
Hip-Hop Icon “Bow Wow” to Perform
Hip-Hop artist and actor “Bow Wow” will be on hand as the special guest performer this year. The Columbus, Ohio native is best known for his musical lineage, taking his stage name from his mentor, fellow rapper-actor “Snoop Dog,” Bow Wow’s film credits include The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Lottery Ticket. He is also noted for his cameo appearances in the critically-acclaimed television series, “Smallville,” “Ugly Betty,” “Entourage” and others.
Amateur Vocalists Welcomed To Audition for National Anthem
The Honda Battle of the Bands national anthem will be performed by a talented local vocalist selected once through a promotional radio “sing-off.” WVEE-FM, or “V-103,” Atlanta’s top-ranked urban radio station, is partnering with the Honda Battle of the Bands once again to invite listeners 16 years of age or older to demonstrate their vocal skills for a once–in-a-lifetime opportunity to open the 2011 Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase. This year, three finalists will be selected by a panel of judges at the open audition on Saturday, January 8th, 2011 at the Mall at Stonecrest in Lithonia, Georgia. Music fans can then log on to the station's web site and vote for their favorite rendition of the national anthem. The winner will be announced on-air on January 21st, 2011, and he or she will command the spotlight to open the showcase on January 29th.
Watch out FAMU and MEAC! ESPN will be coming to FAMU on Saturday.
The multimedia giant will bring its popular GameDay show to the Florida A&M campus this weekend, the first time the show will broadcast from the campus of an historically black university. The two-hour live broadcast will begin at 10 a.m. and precedes the MEAC showdown between the Rattlers and Hampton scheduled for 1 p.m.
“It is an honor to be the first historically black university to host ESPN’s College GameDay,” FAMU president James H. Ammons said in a release on the MEAC website. “We look forward to having ESPN on our beautiful campus as we take on the Hampton Pirates.”
FAMU is 7-3 overall and 3-3 in the MEAC while Hampton is 5-4, 4-2 MEAC.
The FAMU versus. Hampton game will not be broadcast by ESPN family networks, but can be viewed over the Internet onFlorida A&M University's FAMCast Video Streaming Network at: http://www.famu.edu/famcast/famusports/ (Click Link).
Wouldn’t it be refreshing if the Rockets had enough guts to take a stand with Rafer Alston? Don’t hold your breath. Hell will freeze over before a professional sports team holds an athlete accountable for bad behavior. Yes, the Chicago Bears waived Cedric Benson after his second arrest this year, but the fact Benson had been a bust on the field surely made it easier for them to take action regarding his behavior off it.
Maybe teams don’t care what kind of people they have in uniform because they know you don’t care. The Rockets were widely praised for obtaining a guy with baggage ranging from domestic violence to animal cruelty to an assortment of suspensions, fines and other bad behavior. Who’ll remember that stuff if Ron Artest smothers Kobe Bryant in the playoffs? That’s when Artest will become misunderstood.
An NFL guy recently joked, “If Jeffrey Dahmer could play, we’d say he had an eating disorder.” That’s especially true of the Rockets. A team that just acquired Ron Artest isn’t likely to get tough about a measly little misdemeanor drunk driving charge.
Commissioner thought that FAMU, B-CU supported MEAC-SWAC clash
MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas on Tuesday clarified his response to a question from the Democrat concerning the participation of FAMU and Bethune-Cookman University in the MEAC-SWAC Challenge.
A story in Sunday's sports section quoted Thomas' initial response to the schools' decision. The story also prompted the presidents of FAMU and B-CU to issue a joint statement reiterating their position to not support the game.
Thomas said he thought the question — answered during a MEAC Media Day session last week — implied that the two universities had reversed their decision about participating, and he responded favorably. FAMU and B-CU decided last spring that they would not play in the MEAC-SWAC game after it was moved to Orlando.
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You draw your own conclusion from these articles, but if I had the authority to hire and fire--Thomas would be history!
Howard University named the head of Bowling Green State University, Sidney Ribeau, as its 16th president Wednesday after an eight-month search, replacing the embattled Patrick Swygert.
Ribeau, who has led the 21,000-student Ohio university since 1995, will take over Aug. 1. A professor of communication, he previously was vice president for academic affairs at California Polytechnic State University in Pomona.
"I am excited by the opportunity to serve this historic institution," Ribeau said of the 10,000-student university. "Howard is a remarkable university, a truly international university and one that has made significant contributions not only in this country but around the world, training principally African-Americans for global leadership roles in America and the world."
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who co-chaired the search committee with Time Warner Inc. Chairman Richard Parsons, stressed Ribeau's reputation for communication.
Photo: Winston Salem State University head football coach Kermit Blount.
If Winston-Salem State had to play a football game today, Coach Kermit Blount said it would be tough to choose a starting quarterback.
One of the priorities during spring practices, which ended yesterday, was to find a starter from the three candidates. But with the final spring scrimmage being rained out yesterday, Blount couldn’t say who won the battle.
The three candidates - junior Jarrett Dunston, sophomore Brian Wynn and freshman Tienne Jefferson - all had their good and bad moments during the 14 practices that were spread out during the past three weeks.
Another candidate who will arrive in the fall is Branden Williams, a talented player from Seale, Ala. Williams, 6-1 and 190 pounds, came to watch practice on Friday, making the long drive with his father, Arthur. Williams, who is playing high-school baseball this spring, passed for more than 3,000 yards and rushed for more than 2,000 while scoring a combined 45 touchdowns in his career.
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference brought its basketball tournament here three years ago with high expectations. Growth, publicity and income were all but promised to the league, which would send its champion to the NCAA Tournament.
Three years later, on the eve of its final tournament in Raleigh, the MEAC is about to leave town; neither of its Raleigh winners advanced past the play-in game in the NCAA field of 65; and the Division I league is looking for a new home.
The MEAC will hold its final Raleigh tournament today through Saturday at the RBC Center. There will be some parties to attend, but many here aren't weeping about the tournament's impending departure.
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The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is looking for a city for its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, and Winston-Salem might be in the running. Commissioner Dennis Thomas of the MEAC said that information on the bid process was sent to Winston-Salem officials. The next step is for the city to submit a proposal to the MEAC, if it’s interested.
Chico Caldwell, the athletics director at WSSU, is a member of the Greater Winston-Salem Sports Commission. He says that the commission has not met to discuss the MEAC Tournament. But Caldwell said that landing the tournament would be a good thing.
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The facility being discussed for Winston-Salem, North Carolina is the Joel Coliseum, which seats 14,500. Norfolk, Virginia is countering with the Scope, which seats 10,000. Richmond, Virginia is also one of the MEAC's targeted cities, expecting to place a bid for the tournaments.
Compiled by beepbeep, MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street
Photo: Morgan State University Choir: "Wherever it traveled, Dr. Carter insisted that the chorus perform at least one song in the language of the country it visited. In Prague, Czech residents greeted the singers in the streets with chants of "Morgan, Morgan, Morgan!"
We are amazed by the tremendous talent and high level of achievement that exists in organizations within the MEAC and SWAC institutions. We are not speaking about football championships, but cultural achievements like the Morgan State University Choir concert winning three Emmy Awards for Maryland Public Television. This was some time ago, but their performance is still electrifying today.
We saw this show for the fourth time this afternoon and each time we hear MSU Choir, we get the same feelings of pride as we do in viewing the FAMU Marching 100, the Fisk Jubilee Singers or the Morehouse Glee Club.
Morgan State University has one of the nation's most respected and lauded choral ensembles. Known for their consistency of excellent performances, the Choir probably does more annual appearances with major orchestras of the United States than any other university choir.
The late Dr. Nathan W. Carter, Jr., who was an internationally renowned teacher of vocal music, directed the choir for 34 years until his death in 2004, at age 68. He was chairman of Morgan's Department of Fine Arts and director of the university's performing arts series. He also led a fundraising drive for the school's $40 million performing arts center, which opened in 2001.
The organizations are now under the baton of Dr. Eric Conway, who is a highly accomplished pianist, conductor and chairperson of the MSU Department of Fine Arts. He has served as Associate Conductor and principal accompanist for the Morgan State University Choir for the past twenty years under the leadership of the late Nathan Carter.
"We preach not only music, but learning good work habits, discipline, responsibility," Dr. Carter told the Baltimore Sun in 2000. "We expect them to be punctual and to look sharp."
Photo: Conductor Dr. Eric Conway and the Morgan State University Choir.
Background history:
The Morgan State University Choir, led for more than three decades by the late Dr. Nathan Carter, the celebrated conductor, composer, and arranger, is one of the nation’s most prestigious university choral ensembles. The choral forces of the critically acclaimed choir include the University Choir, which is over 140 voices strong, and The Morgan Singers – approximately 40 voices.
While classical, gospel, and contemporary popular music comprise the choir’s repertoire, the choir is noted for its emphasis on preserving the heritage of the spiritual, especially in the historic practices of performance. The Morgan State University Choir has performed for audiences throughout the United States and all over the world – including the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Canada, Africa, Asia and Europe.
Their most recent overseas appearance was in St. Petersburg, Russia at the invitation of Maestro Yuri Temirkanov, music director and conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
In Russia, the Choir performed in the 5th International Festival Arts Square to enthusiastic receptions by their Russian audiences. The Choir has appeared at the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall on numerous occasions – performing and premiering works such as John Corigiliano’s “Poem On His Birthday,” “Too Hot to Handel” arranged by Broadway composers, Bob Christianson and Gray Anderson; and Hannibal Lokumbe’s “African Portraits,” led by music director, Leonard Slatkin, as part of the Kennedy Center’s African Festival.
One of the Choir’s most historic moments came with the opportunity to sing under the baton of Robert Shaw, conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and joined by Jessye Norman and others in Carnegie Hall’s One Hundredth Birthday Tribute to Marian Anderson.
A major milestone and historical movement occurred in the 1996-1997 season with the sounds of the “Silver Anniversary” concert being broadcast into households throughout the state of Maryland. The concert won three Emmy Awards for Maryland Public Television (MPT). MPT continues to air this hallmark performance during select sections of their membership drives.
Known for their consistency of excellent performances, the Choir probably does more annual appearances with major orchestras of the United States than any other university choir.
For example, season 1998-1999 included performances with the National Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The Buffalo Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Knoxville Symphony. During the 1999-2000 season, the Choir was featured with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in a (then) newly commissioned work for the millennium, “All Rise,” by Wynton Marsalis.
The Choir reprised “All Rise” in Prague, in October 2000 and recorded it with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra; the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and in 2003, the Choir recorded it in Paris.
In December 2003 the Choir performed “African Portraits” with the Baltimore Symphony at the Gala Concert for the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture.
In their May 2004 issue, Reader’s Digest named the Morgan State University Choir “the Best College Choir in the U.S.’ in its list of “America’s 100 Best.”
Morgan State University Choir - "What A Mighty God We Serve", Dr. Eric Conway, Conductor
Morgan State University Choir - "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Eric Conway, Conductor.
Morgan State University Choir - "Ezekiel SawThe Wheel," Dr. Eric Conway, Conductor
Morgan State University Choir ministers with "Jesus Christ Is The Way" with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Eric Conway, Conductor.
The Morgan State University Choir performs "We Shall Walk Through The Valley in Peace," with Dr. Eric Conway, Conductor. This arrangement is by the choir's late great director, Dr. Nathan M. Carter.
The Morgan State University Choir performs "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Eric Conway, Conductor. This arrangement is by the choir's late great director, Dr. Nathan M. Carter. Soloist: Andrea Albert.
The commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference confirmed Monday that the league is not looking to expand at this time, a crucial situation for N.C. Central as it looks to move to find conference affiliation in Division I.
N.C. Central has left the CIAA, and Bill Hayes said in August that he hoped to hear something from the MEAC by December. The MEAC, which includes North Carolina A&T and is adding Winston-Salem State, would be a natural fit for the Eagles.
But MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas indicated Monday that his conference is not looking to add members.
“This past March of ’07 the conference decided to put a moratorium on expansion at this time,” Thomas said. “There is no timetable to it.”
The MEAC has 12 members, and 10 that play football. North Carolina A&T athletics director Dee Todd said expanding could make scheduling difficult, so the league wants to take a long look at any additions.
NCCU, however, could be appealing if the MEAC decides to grow. Thomas praised its academic and athletic reputation, and the Eagles are generally strong in men’s basketball and football. The addition of the Eagles would be a boost to the MEAC if the league basketball tournament remains in Raleigh.
The returns to the RBC Center for the third time this fall. Attendance has been low, and Thomas said the league is hoping to improve that.
“We’re pleased but not satisfied. We’re working assiduously to increase tournament attendance and make it more fan friendly.”
Thomas said the league expects to decide to award a three-year contract for the 2009-2011 tournaments by March.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida - Though the Florida A&M University Lady Rattlers are undefeated in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play and atop of the standings, they may not be the team to beat. The same can be said of the Norfolk State Spartans Mens basketball team as they perch atop the conference standings with two losses. Both teams have been competitive during their tough non-conference schedule, but as Norfolk has already found out their real threat will come from the teams in the northern sector of the conference.
