The significance — and even the news itself — might have escaped many fans and supporters this week. Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C., has joined the Hampton-based CIAA as a football member starting in 2008.
It is the first time that a predominantly white institution has joined a historically black college athletic conference, but it might not be the last.
Many fans on the popular black college sports site onnidan.com are skeptical of the union. Others are taking a wait-and-see attitude.
The feelings are similar at Chowan, according to athletic director Dennis Helsel.
"The reaction has ranged from 'Wow, that's creative!' to 'Will it work?' We haven't had any outright negative," Helsel added. "We've had some quizzical."
Eric Moore, founder and Webmaster for onnidan.com, said the relationship is a win for both sides.
"Now you have pretty much broken the mold," Moore said. "Because you are saying that schools who fit geographically and well as athletically will be welcome."
Moore said he doesn't think the union takes anything away from the purity of a historically black college conference, because the colleges for years have had white athletes, and "black colleges will always be historically black."
Jerry Holmes, defensive coordinator at Hampton University, and a graduate of Chowan when it was a junior college, agreed. "It's a good fit for both," Holmes added. "Chowan has always had a solid program."
Indeed, the school's Website lists 20 athletes, including Holmes, under "Chowan in the NFL."
Folks having a problem with this arrangement need to get over it quickly. This was a marriage of convenience that is already being looked at by at least one of the other three black conferences.
But first a little recent history.
The CIAA has been hemorrhaging members and looking for new partners. Hampton and Norfolk State left at least 10 years ago, and Winston-Salem and N.C. Central took off recently, hoping for greener pastures in Division I-AA.
Meanwhile, Chowan's courtship (provisional membership) with the Division III USA South Conference ended when the school was denied full membership in 2004. But in came a new president and new direction — and a decision to move up to Division II.
Chowan had played many of the CIAA schools in nearly all of its sports, and conference membership looked enticing — to both the CIAA and Chowan.
But race, so often an incendiary element, threatened an open love affair.
Credit CIAA commissioner Leon Kerry, a Hampton native. And credit both Helsel and Chowan president M. Christoper White for not letting race be a dividing factor.
All it took was a look ahead and even a look back.
"We want to be out of the box in our thinking," Kerry said. "We're looking for people with excellent venues, who play similar sports that we do. It's not about color."
Helsel, a former associate commissioner for Conference USA, searched for a new league for Chowan. He found that the average driving distance to the closest compatible conferences was 350 miles.
However, the average driving distance to the CIAA schools was 196 miles.
"That's a substantial cost difference in terms of savings," Helsel said. "If you take race out of it, the CIAA popped up as the best fit."
Helsel said some university officials also looked back to Chowan's beginnings in 1851 "as a four-year college for women — one of the first of its kind — not just a finishing school.
"We were ground breakers, so there is a parallel with us going to a historically black conference," Helsel said. "We're hoping people will look at us and say, 'Wow, this was a very creative and very good idea.' "
Helsel wasn't at first sure the CIAA would be receptive to a non-historically black institution. But once he learned the CIAA was having discussions with the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, a predominantly Native American institution, Chowan became less shy and made contact.
Discussions took place this summer and the arrangement was announced this week. Both Helsel and Kerry say that Chowan might become a member in other sports down the road.
Kerry said historically black Lincoln University, near Philadelphia, and UNC-Pembroke will join the CIAA in football in 2009.
Williams Lide, president of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, a black-college league based in Atlanta, said the CIAA-Chowan arrangement is the future.
"We are too looking to diversify our conference," Lide said. "It's the right thing to do, and it's also a good business decision.
"It expands your fan base, instills new rivalries and enhances your revenues."
So in the end, it is about color.
It's about green.
David Squires, Daily Press
Friday, September 28, 2007
Gulf Coast Classic: Barlow--will, desire key to ASU Hornets' success
By CASSANDRA M. TAYLOR, Special to The AdvocateReggie Barlow is a proven winner.
A freshman on the 1991 Alabama State squad, Barlow and the Hornets claimed a National Black College Championship that season after going 11-0-1.
He claimed his second championship ring 11 years later with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when the group won Super Bowl XXXVI.
Despite all the accolades and title rings, fans and critics alike are trying to figure out how this year’s Alabama State squad remains undefeated.
The Hornets will put their unbeaten record on the line against another unbeaten team in Southern University on Saturday, when the two clash in the 34th annual Gulf Coast Classic in Mobile, Ala. The Southwestern Athletic Conference clash will be televised by ESPNU and will kick-off at 2:30 p.m. at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
With running back Jay Peck, who leads the conference in rushing yards with 492 yards on 98 carries and two touchdowns, being the lone superstar returning from last year’s 5-6 team, Barlow doesn’t have a simple answer to the secret of his team’s success.
In his first year as head coach at his alma mater, Barlow cites different factors in the group’s 4-0 start.
“That 1991 team was as deep as any team I’ve ever seen. We had so many play makers and it was a very explosive group,” Barlow said. “In comparison, I think this team has a better defense than we did in 1991. But offensively, we had so many weapons.
“To be fair to this year’s team, we have our own character,” he continued. “It’s a bunch of silly young guys that really care and love each other and the game of football equally. In every game this season, our guys kept fighting under the final horn. I contribute that to will, desire and conditioning.”
The last time the Hornets program opened the season 4-0 was in 1991.
One of the reasons Barlow’s group has been successful is credited to the poise and play of quarterback Chris Mitchell.A backup before the season, Mitchell has led the group to four consecutive fourth quarter come-from-behind victories, including a pair of rushing touchdowns a week ago against Alcorn State.
“Chris just never gets rattled. He’s as calm late in the game as he is prior to the game starting,” Barlow said. “Obviously we’d love to close teams out early but every team has their niche. Right now rallying late in the game might be our niche.”
At 34, Barlow is the youngest coach in the SWAC and is quick to give praise to his staff.
“Our coaches have been really good to me and encouraged me,” he said. “Anywhere I’m slacking they’ve encouraged me and picked me up. Plus what a great group of players we have. I’m just grateful and happy for this staff and our team.”
In Mobile on Monday for a meet-and-greet sessions with fans, Barlow admits his team will have to play some of their best football on Saturday.
“This game is going to be pivotal for both schools. Southern is a great team and it’s scary because they have so much talent and explosive players,” he said. “We’ll have to make sure we take the proper angles and come to battle when we tackle these guys.
“It’s going to be challenging for us and all of their play makers scare me,” Barlow continued. “Obviously their talent level is back to where it use to be and their coaching staff will have their team prepared.”
While the upcoming contest will be the battle of the unbeatens for the Montgomery, Ala., native he has the same message for his team that he’s had the previous four contest.
“As a player, a coach and a team you can’t ever feel like you’ve arrived. You have to always compete and always feel threatened that you may fail,” Barlow said. “That’s what we’ve been trying to get our kids to buy into.”
Hampton's Taylor sets example in MEAC
Photo: Hampton's head coach earns respect from DSU, other rivalsBy KRISTIAN POPE, The News Journal
DOVER -- Joe Taylor's first job in college football, as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois in 1978, was just as important as the one he holds now.
Maybe that is the secret behind Taylor's quiet rise through the college ranks.
"I guess I was told, wherever you are is supposed to be the best job," Taylor said.
A virtual unknown to the mass-consuming audience of college football, the head coach at Hampton University is showered with great esteem within his own sect.
Winners of three-straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships and seven playoff bids, Taylor's Pirates have placed the bar where few programs can reach.
Delaware State coach Al Lavan, who brings his team to meet Taylor's Pirates at 1 p.m. Saturday at Armstrong Stadium in Hampton, Va., holds reverence for Taylor's exploits.
The Hornets' only victory over a Taylor-led Hampton team occurred in 2004, in Lavan's first season at DSU. Taylor is 11-1 all-time against the Hornets.
"Teams that do that, it's not an accident," Lavan said. "Joe Taylor for a number of years has had his program running at a high level, and that's impressive."
Morgan State head coach Donald Hill-Eley, who also worked as an assistant under Taylor, echoed the sentiment.
"It's hard to do anything in life three times," Hill-Eley said. "You just have to respect who they are. It doesn't happen haphazardly."
In 15 seasons at Hampton, Taylor has directed his team to eight conference titles (CIAA and MEAC). He owns a 194-73-4 record with the third most wins among active Division I-AA coaches.
Taylor, who attended Western Illinois, began his career in the mid-1970s as a physical education teacher around Washington, D.C., before he was offered a chance to coach the offensive line at Eastern Illinois.
In 1984, he took over at Division II Virginia Union and took the program to three division playoffs.
Taylor took over then-Division II Hampton in 1992 and has been on a roll ever since. Since Hampton classified as Division I and joined the MEAC in 1995, he has won 102 games against league opponents.
Taylor takes it all in stride.
"We've been blessed in this profession," Taylor said. "At Eastern Illinois, we won a Division II championship, so that was great. Virginia Union, we won some championships there. But you just wake up every day and take what the Lord gives you and try to make the best of it. Maybe when I'm sitting in the rocking chair I'll look back on it."
Taylor has been long rumored to be an overdue candidate for a I-A job. He said he's spoken with some I-A leadership, but the positions were never enough to warrant leaving the Pirates.
Last year, Taylor relinquished his role as Hampton athletic director to concentrate on football. That move started rumors of his pending retirement. But Taylor laughed off any notion of retiring soon.
"I look at the guys who retired, and they don't last long," Taylor said. "As long as your health is good and people want you around, you just enjoy what you're doing and you don't look that far ahead."
Without question, Taylor's success in recent years has allowed him to lure many transfers from upper-division programs and high school recruits who wouldn't normally go to Hampton.
Five Pirates players last year were invited to the NFL combines. Even the best players Delaware State has offered in recent years, linebackers Kenny Kern and Sam Smith, were talented but failed to be included in the type of consideration Taylor's players regularly receive.
Despite losing 14 seniors to graduation, Hampton remains in a position to win a fourth championship. It enters Saturday's game with a 3-0 record, all against MEAC competition.
While no one wants to be Taylor, coaches want the secret to his successes.
"His program is much more attractive to attract high-level people," Lavan said. "The consistency in the acquisition of personnel is critical at a certain point. The ability to acquire personnel and use them in that context, that's why guys win."
North Carolina A&T's losing deal turns over a 21
Photo: Norfolk State defensive back Josh Anderson tries to grab N.C. A&T wide receiver Mike Caldwell.
FINAL: Norfolk State 50, N.C. A&T 20
By Rob Daniels, Greensboro News-Record
GREENSBORO -- N.C. A&T hit 21 on Thursday night, but this was no jackpot.
The Aggies' losing streak reached that occasionally magic number when Norfolk State struck suddenly, patiently and often in racking up a 50-20 victory before an ESPNU audience.
Casey Hansen went 19-for-27 passing for 351 yards and four touchdowns, and the Spartans (3-1) improved to 2-0 in the MEAC for the first time in their 11 seasons in the league. A&T (0-5, 0-2) now has allowed 70, 59 and 50 points in its past three national television appearances and owns the fifth-longest skid in the 30-year history of the NCAA's second-highest division, formerly called I-AA.
The Aggies forced one punt in the first three quarters. They fumbled it away, setting up a Spartans touchdown in the process. Norfolk State didn't need any help on a night when it combined for 532 yards in total offense.
"We didn't take care of the ball in any phase tonight, and they capitalized," said A&T coach Lee Fobbs. "Poor execution on our part."
Hansen hooked up with Jeremy Wicker on three nearly identical deep balls against single coverage in the first half, but the Aggies were still competitive to a point. They actually led three times in the early going, the last at 20-16 when quarterback Herb Miller scrambled deftly in from the Spartans' 4 with 8:39 left in the half.
At that stage, the Aggies had amassed their highest-scoring half in any game since the season finale in 2005.
"We wanted to start fast," said tailback Michael Ferguson, whose 18-carry, 131-yard night included a 51-yard run that set up an A&T score 75 seconds into the game. "We felt we could move the ball on them. We went down and scored."
The lead began to evaporate at the end of the first half. After Norfolk State kicked a field goal, A&T trailed 26-20 with 2:45 left and had decent field position following a short kickoff.
Norfolk State had one timeout left, which meant even a three-and-out possession with a punt by A&T would leave the visitors with a long field, a short clock and little compulsion to seek another score.
Under its current set of circumstances, A&T couldn't have griped about a six-point deficit at the half on its home field.
The problem was not the attempt to find the end zone again; it came when Miller failed to protect the ball as protection broke down around him. The resulting sack and fumble led to a Spartans field goal with 7 seconds to go in the half.
After Norfolk State took the second-half kickoff, it didn't go for the quick hit. The Spartans exercised patience with an experienced line and the forceful running of Daryl Jones. In 16 plays, they effectively put the victory away by going 76 yards and churning up more than 81/2 minutes.
For the Aggies, life only got worse. Five nights after they came within six yards of breaking the streak, they suffered through an inconsequential fourth quarter in which the only highlight was the end.
If they need a role model for a revival, the Aggies could do worse than the Spartans, who won in Greensboro for the first time in 20 years. Last week, they ended a long losing streak to Bethune-Cookman.
"We've been down for so long, and it's hard to get respect," said coach Pete Adrian, who became the team's fourth coach in two years when he was hired three seasons ago.
"It's an interesting thing. We hadn't beaten Bethune-Cookman in nine years. We've got South Carolina State coming up. I think we've beaten them once in the past nine years. That's the depths of where we're coming from. But I'm pleased with the direction we're headed in."
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Norfolk St., D.Jones 25-105, Ferrell 12-53, Cook 4-20, Moore 5-18, Hansen 2-(minus 15). N.C. A&T, Ferguson 18-131, Robinson 3-22, Caldwell 1-18, Walls 1-3, Tomlin 3-3, McNair 2-2, Miller 10-(minus 17).
PASSING--Norfolk St., Hansen 19-27-0-351, B.Jackson 0-1-0-0, K.Jones 0-1-0-0. N.C. A&T, Miller 3-7-1-51.
RECEIVING--Norfolk St., Walker 6-93, Wicker 5-172, Dickerson 2-37, Ja.Johnson 2-23, Bailey 2-21, D.Jones 2-5. N.C. A&T, C.Dawson 2-41, Caldwell 1-10.
Saturday homecoming puts B-CU, Daytona touches to test
By MARK HARPER, Daytona Beach News-Journal Education Writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- Homecoming traditions: The parade. The marching band. The game. The traffic.
Bethune-Cookman University puts on a good show for its students, alumni and friends every year. But long lines forming at the gates of Memorial Stadium, extending down LPGA Boulevard and onto International Speedway Boulevard have been problematic, said Lynn Thompson, athletic director.
"We have a lot of people trying to get into the same spot at the same time," he said. "It's caused a logjam."
This year, school officials have worked with city officials to develop a plan. Here are some details for folks attending Saturday's homecoming:
PARADE: Starts at 9 a.m. Saturday. Main viewing areas are along Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard, Walnut Street and Oak Street.
SAFETY: Daytona Beach police Sgt. Lance Blanchette said traffic, especially at Nova Road where Bethune Boulevard crosses, frequently backs up as the parade gets started. Officers will likely allow parts of the parade to cross Nova, then stop the parade to allow traffic through before resuming the parade. "We may stop the parade from time to time to let traffic flow a bit," he said.
GRAND MARSHAL: Joyours "Pete" Gamble, executive director of the Daytona Beach Housing Authority and a member of the class of 1969, will lead the parade.
BUSES TO STADIUM: About 20 buses will run from the university's campus in central Daytona Beach to Memorial Stadium on the west side.
PREGAME PARKING: Passes for the Memorial Stadium lot are available through the university ticket office, 698 W. International Speedway Blvd. Cost is $15. Spaces are limited but off-site parking on the day of the game is also available at the LPGA Golf Course and the USTA Tennis Center on LPGA Boulevard. Those spots cost $10, and shuttle buses will run from those locations.
PARTYING: Many of the tailgating spots have already been sold. The stadium lot opens at 8 a.m. An Alumni Boosters Welcome Tent opens at the stadium at 1 p.m. The pregame show begins at 3:30 p.m.
GAME: The Wildcats host the Morgan State University Bears at 4 p.m. Tickets are $30.
DAYTONA BEACH -- Homecoming traditions: The parade. The marching band. The game. The traffic.
Bethune-Cookman University puts on a good show for its students, alumni and friends every year. But long lines forming at the gates of Memorial Stadium, extending down LPGA Boulevard and onto International Speedway Boulevard have been problematic, said Lynn Thompson, athletic director.
"We have a lot of people trying to get into the same spot at the same time," he said. "It's caused a logjam."
This year, school officials have worked with city officials to develop a plan. Here are some details for folks attending Saturday's homecoming:
PARADE: Starts at 9 a.m. Saturday. Main viewing areas are along Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard, Walnut Street and Oak Street.
SAFETY: Daytona Beach police Sgt. Lance Blanchette said traffic, especially at Nova Road where Bethune Boulevard crosses, frequently backs up as the parade gets started. Officers will likely allow parts of the parade to cross Nova, then stop the parade to allow traffic through before resuming the parade. "We may stop the parade from time to time to let traffic flow a bit," he said.
GRAND MARSHAL: Joyours "Pete" Gamble, executive director of the Daytona Beach Housing Authority and a member of the class of 1969, will lead the parade.
BUSES TO STADIUM: About 20 buses will run from the university's campus in central Daytona Beach to Memorial Stadium on the west side.
PREGAME PARKING: Passes for the Memorial Stadium lot are available through the university ticket office, 698 W. International Speedway Blvd. Cost is $15. Spaces are limited but off-site parking on the day of the game is also available at the LPGA Golf Course and the USTA Tennis Center on LPGA Boulevard. Those spots cost $10, and shuttle buses will run from those locations.
PARTYING: Many of the tailgating spots have already been sold. The stadium lot opens at 8 a.m. An Alumni Boosters Welcome Tent opens at the stadium at 1 p.m. The pregame show begins at 3:30 p.m.
GAME: The Wildcats host the Morgan State University Bears at 4 p.m. Tickets are $30.
U.S.News & World Report ranks black colleges for the first time
Photo: Sisters Chapel at Spelman College
BY TIMES SPECIAL REPORT
Washington, D.C. – Spelman College, Howard University and Hampton University top the list of U.S.News & World Report’s first annual ranking of the nation’s historically black colleges and universities, the magazine announced this week.
Morehouse College, Spelman’s counterpart for male students in Atlanta, ranked fourth.
Florida A&M University in Tallahassee came in at No. 13.
The “America’s Best Black Colleges” rankings were released on Thursday at www.usnews.com/blackcolleges, and will be available on newsstands beginning Monday, Oct. 1, in the magazine issue dated Oct. 8.
The 2008 edition of “America’s Best Black Colleges” marks the first time U.S.News & World Report has released a stand-alone ranking of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), as defined by the U.S. Department of Education.
These schools have been – and will continue to be – ranked within their appropriate categories in U.S. News’s annual “Best Colleges” issue, published annually in August, the magazine stated.
The “Best Black Colleges” issue is the latest extension of U.S.News & World Report’s expanding “Best” series which includes “America’s Best Colleges,” “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” “America’s Best Hospitals,” “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals,” “America’s Best Health Plans,” and “America’s Best Leaders.”
Additional “Best” issues are scheduled to launch later this fall.
“As historically black colleges and universities continue to play a vital role in today’s higher education landscape, we decided to create a specific ranking of them to allow apples-to-apples comparisons of these schools,” said Brian Kelly, editor of U.S.News & World Report. “This unique ranking offers for the first time an independent perspective on these institutions to help students and parents make an informed choice about one of life’s most important and expensive decisions.”
Included in this listing are any HBCUs as defined by the U.S. Department of Education that were also eligible for inclusion in U.S.News & World Report’s 2008 edition of “America’s Best Colleges.”
The ranking table lists numerically the schools in the top half of the 70 eligible to be ranked – 37 schools are listed, as four tied for 34th place. Those falling into the second half are listed alphabetically.
The “America’s Best Black Colleges” methodology closely resembles that of U.S.News & World Report’s annual “America’s Best Colleges” rankings.
The schools are ranked using key industry standards for measuring higher education quality: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving rates.
Earlier this year, U.S. News conducted its first-ever peer survey among only the HBCUs, asking head administrators to rate the scholarship and quality of all other black colleges with which they were familiar.
This method enables consumers to make an educated choice based on an unbiased, side-by-side comparison of institutions, the magazine stated.
Critics say the U.S. News college rankings warp college admissions and distract colleges from educating students.
But Kelly, the magazine’s editor, says students and their parents come to the magazine to make sense of all the data that is available on colleges.
A complete detailing of the methodology used for the HBCU survey can be found online at www.usnews.com/blackcolleges.
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2008 “America’s Best Black Colleges” Rankings
1. Spelman College • Atlanta, GA
2. Howard University • Washington, DC
3. Hampton University • Hampton, VA
4. Morehouse College • Atlanta, GA
5. Fisk University • Nashville, TN
6. Tuskegee University • Tuskegee, AL
7. Claflin University • Orangeburg, SC
8. Xavier University of Louisiana • New Orleans, LA
9. Dillard University • New Orleans, LA
10. Johnson C. Smith University • Charlotte, NC
11. Tennessee State University • Nashville, TN
12. Winston-Salem State University • Winston-Salem, NC
13. Florida A&M University • Tallahassee, FL
14. Morgan State University • Baltimore, MD
15. Virginia State University • Petersburg, VA
16. Bennett College • Greensboro, NC
16. Elizabeth City State University • Elizabeth City, NC
16. North Carolina Central University • Durham, NC
19. North Carolina A&T State University • Greensboro, NC
20. Tougaloo College • Tougaloo, MS
21. Alcorn State University • Alcorn State, MS
22. Clark Atlanta University • Atlanta, GA
22. Oakwood College • Huntsville, AL
22. South Carolina State University • Orangeburg, SC
22. University of Maryland Eastern Shore • Princess Anne, MD
26. Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University • Normal, AL
26. Albany State University • Albany, GA
26. Delaware State University • Dover, DE
26. Jackson State University • Jackson, MS
26. Kentucky State University • Frankfort, KY
26. Stillman College • Tuscaloosa, AL
32. Lincoln University • Lincoln University, PA
32. Mississippi Valley State University • Itta Bena, MS
34. Bluefield State College • Bluefield, WV
34. Fayetteville State University • Fayetteville, NC
34. Miles College • Birmingham, AL
34. Norfolk State University • Norfolk, VA
Source: U.S.News & World Report
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Comments from the folks at the Daytona Beach News Journal regarding FAMU....
No comments are necessary from the FAMU side as U.S. News could not find two graduate level programs at BCC to justify a "U."
B-CU misses top ranking but still measures up
By MARK HARPER, Education Writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- For the first time, U.S.News & World Report has ranked historically black colleges and universities, and Bethune-Cookman University is relegated to the second tier.
Out of 70 schools rated by the magazine, B-CU failed to make the top 37 in the upper group. Alumni giving and its acceptance of students with lower college entrance exam scores were factors that lowered the school's ranking, while other categories were in line with the top tier.
Students, alumni and friends gathering in Daytona Beach for this weekend's homecoming will be "shocked," one school official predicted.
"It is surprising," said Willis Walter, vice president for institutional research, planning and accreditation. "In most of the categories, we rank very high -- if not at the top."
Bethune-Cookman's percentage of returning freshmen (73) is better than the average of the top tier. Its student-faculty ratio (17-1) and other measures also compared favorably.
Even the university's relatively low percentage of alumni donors (7 percent) doesn't appear to be that much lower than the majority of the top-tier schools.
Bethune-Cookman officials say the school has increased its alumni giving rate by 63 percent since 2005-06, the time frame upon which the rankings are based.
Another factor that hurt the university's rating was student selectivity, which accounts for 15 percent of the rating.
The university's mission, though, is to provide access to higher education for students who are not necessarily academic all-stars in high school, but who have shown the potential to become leaders, Walter said.
"If we had excluded more students, we would get more (rating) points," he said.
One of Bethune-Cookman's fiercest rivals, Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, was rated 13th despite revelations of financial and accreditation problems in recent years.
"It kind of makes U.S.News look silly," Bethune-Cookman spokeswoman Catherine Kershaw said.
A U.S.News & World Report editor did not return a call for this report.
Brian Kelly, editor of U.S.News & World Report, said in a news release: "This unique ranking offers for the first time an independent perspective on these institutions to help students and parents make an informed choice about one of life's most important and expensive decisions."
The magazine's ratings will be posted today at: www.usnews.com/blackcolleges.
Tennessee State's top sacker practices, could play
Photo: TSU head Coach James Webster has a word with his team late in the third quarter during the Tennessee State University vs. Alabama A&M John Merritt Classic football game. By MIKE ORGAN, the Tennessean
Tennessee State starting defensive end Shaun Richardson practiced Thursday for the first time this week, leaving the door open for him possibly to play Saturday when the Tigers meet Florida A&M in the Atlanta Football Classic at the Georgia Dome.
Richardson, who leads TSU in sacks (4), tackles for loss (6) and quarterback hurries (3), suffered a bruised shoulder and sprained knee in last week's game at Southern. Earlier this week, Coach James Webster said Richardson was "doubtful" for the game against Florida A&M, but since Richardson was able to practice Thursday, he still could play.
"He knows my rule is if you don't practice on Thursday, you don't travel,'' Webster said. "He had to practice just to travel."
Webster said a decision on Richardson's playing status would be made closer to kickoff of the 2 p.m. game.
Branden Gouch, a freshman from Atlanta, replaced Richardson in practice and backed him up in last week's game. Gouch, who moved from linebacker earlier in the season, recorded four solo tackles at Southern.
"Gouch has done a really good job and is improving,'' Webster said. "He took a lot of snaps last week. That's one of those positions where you don't want a true freshman playing because there's too much to learn, too many adjustments, too many blocks to read. But he's done an excellent job considering he is a freshman."
Sophomore Kellen Woodard rotated with Gouch in the practices while Richardson was sidelined.
Cornerback returns: Defensive backs coach Randy Fuller said cornerback Marquez Hall would return to the first team after missing the past two games with a high ankle sprain.
Fuller said the unit had missed Hall, a freshman who transferred from Vanderbilt, in a big way.
"It's huge getting Marquez back,'' Fuller said. "He hadn't played in a college football game until our opener against Alabama A&M. Then he played half the game against Jackson State when he got hurt. He was getting experience and he was playing pretty good for us. So it's very important to get him back just to get him some more experience so we can have a solid corner on the other side (opposite of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie)."
Top 20: TSU has climbed to 19th nationally in total offense, averaging 421.8 yards per game (239.3 passing, 182.5 rushing), but is 69th in total defense, allowing 363.8 yards.
Photo: TSU quarterback Antonio Heffner (16) looks for a receiver during the Tennessee State University VS. Alabama A&M John Merritt Classic football game.
Tennessee State starting defensive end Shaun Richardson practiced Thursday for the first time this week, leaving the door open for him possibly to play Saturday when the Tigers meet Florida A&M in the Atlanta Football Classic at the Georgia Dome.
Richardson, who leads TSU in sacks (4), tackles for loss (6) and quarterback hurries (3), suffered a bruised shoulder and sprained knee in last week's game at Southern. Earlier this week, Coach James Webster said Richardson was "doubtful" for the game against Florida A&M, but since Richardson was able to practice Thursday, he still could play.
"He knows my rule is if you don't practice on Thursday, you don't travel,'' Webster said. "He had to practice just to travel."
Webster said a decision on Richardson's playing status would be made closer to kickoff of the 2 p.m. game.
Branden Gouch, a freshman from Atlanta, replaced Richardson in practice and backed him up in last week's game. Gouch, who moved from linebacker earlier in the season, recorded four solo tackles at Southern.
"Gouch has done a really good job and is improving,'' Webster said. "He took a lot of snaps last week. That's one of those positions where you don't want a true freshman playing because there's too much to learn, too many adjustments, too many blocks to read. But he's done an excellent job considering he is a freshman."
Sophomore Kellen Woodard rotated with Gouch in the practices while Richardson was sidelined.
Cornerback returns: Defensive backs coach Randy Fuller said cornerback Marquez Hall would return to the first team after missing the past two games with a high ankle sprain.
Fuller said the unit had missed Hall, a freshman who transferred from Vanderbilt, in a big way.
"It's huge getting Marquez back,'' Fuller said. "He hadn't played in a college football game until our opener against Alabama A&M. Then he played half the game against Jackson State when he got hurt. He was getting experience and he was playing pretty good for us. So it's very important to get him back just to get him some more experience so we can have a solid corner on the other side (opposite of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie)."
Top 20: TSU has climbed to 19th nationally in total offense, averaging 421.8 yards per game (239.3 passing, 182.5 rushing), but is 69th in total defense, allowing 363.8 yards.
Photo: TSU quarterback Antonio Heffner (16) looks for a receiver during the Tennessee State University VS. Alabama A&M John Merritt Classic football game.
Who's got best band? Really? Prove it
JON BUSDEKER, Huntsville Times
This is for all those fans who think football gets in the way of the real excitement. This is for those who get pumped up by the sound of cymbals crashing and drums pounding.
On Sunday, Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University and a slew of other college and high school bands will perform in the Rocket City Battle of the Bands.
The event, held at Louis Crews Stadium, will begin at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at James Records and Tapes on North Memorial Parkway, through Ticketmaster or at the stadium box office.
The Battle of the Bands will coincide with A&M's homecoming.
Barney Smart, a former saxophonist for the A&M marching band and organizer for the Battle of the Bands, said this will be the first time the bands will share a football field. Performing will be bands from Butler, Johnson and Lee high schools, Bethune Cookman College, Miles College and Texas Southern University.
"Each band has a different style," Smart said.
Smart added that the marching bands from Bethune Cookman and Texas Southern have never played in Huntsville.
For years, marching bands from historically black colleges and universities didn't get any exposure to a mass audience, Smart said. That changed in 2002.
"We got a lot of help from the movie 'Drumline,'" Smart said.
"Drumline," starring Nick Cannon, follows a hotshot drum major who must learn to work with his fellow bandmates to achieve success. The movie showed the excitement behind marching bands.
Smart, whose father was once the band director at A&M, has seen the popularity of marching bands increase since the film's release.
In January, Smart plans to showcase the Battle of the Bands at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
"The entertainment part of it is nonstop," Smart said. "It's always fun to watch. It's so much going on at the same time, you don't know where to look."
Conditioning factor in Alabama State comebacks
By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter
Alabama State is 4-0 because the Hornets have made fourth-quarter comebacks in all four of their games.
The ability to come back is no accident. Alabama State prepares to be the better team in the fourth quarter.
To get ready, the Hornets run “gassers” (sprints) before, during and practices, not just after practices.
“We pride ourselves on being a well-conditioned team,” first-year Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow said. “We’re just trying to be creative so these guys can actually see what it feels like to have to compete in a game, feel like you’ve spent everything and all of a sudden you need a big drive or a big stop and being able to reach down and grab some more energy. We practice like that.”
Alabama State has outscored opponents 46-23 in the fourth quarter. And the Hornets (4-0, 3-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference), who play Southern (4-0, 2-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Mobile, Ala., have totaled just 39 points in the other three quarters combined.
“Every team has its character, so I guess this is ours,” Barlow said. “We must like it close, but we are finding a way to win so its alright with me.”
In the season opener, Jay Peck’s 15-yard run with 3:27 to play capped a 10-play, 81-yard drive to give ASU a 24-19 win over Jacksonville State. The Hornets, down 16-6 with five minutes left in the third quatrer, dove 81 and 94 yards in the fourth quarter to twice overcome deficits.
After trailing 10-7 to Texas Southern with 13:26 left, Peck’s 3-yard run with 2:40 to play put ASU up 14-10 and the Hornets scored on two short drives (24 yards after a 17-yard punt, and 22 yards, taking over on downs) in the final three minutes to win 21-10.
Down 10-6 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 9:10 in the fourth quarter, Chris Mitchell completed a 10-yard pass to Fred Ragsdale with 41 seconds to play for a 12-10 victory.
And down 18-14 to Alcorn State entering the fourth quarter, a 41-yard Joel Riggins punt return to the Alcorn 37-yard line set up Mitchell’s 23-yard touchdown run two plays later (9:30 left) and a fumble recovery at the Alcorn 11 on the ensuing kickoff set up Mitchell’s 1-yard TD (8:02 left) in a 28-25 victory.
“I really can’t say how proud I am of these guys. No matter what they never quit fighting,” Barlow said after Saturday’s 28-25 win over Alcorn State. “I am so proud of our team, how hard we play as a team.”
Southern coach Pete Richardson said watching game film showed him how hard and how long Alabama State was playing for its new coach.
“What I’ve seen is the players are playing with a lot of effort for 60 minutes,” Richardson said.
Alabama State is 4-0 because the Hornets have made fourth-quarter comebacks in all four of their games.
The ability to come back is no accident. Alabama State prepares to be the better team in the fourth quarter.
To get ready, the Hornets run “gassers” (sprints) before, during and practices, not just after practices.
“We pride ourselves on being a well-conditioned team,” first-year Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow said. “We’re just trying to be creative so these guys can actually see what it feels like to have to compete in a game, feel like you’ve spent everything and all of a sudden you need a big drive or a big stop and being able to reach down and grab some more energy. We practice like that.”
Alabama State has outscored opponents 46-23 in the fourth quarter. And the Hornets (4-0, 3-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference), who play Southern (4-0, 2-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Mobile, Ala., have totaled just 39 points in the other three quarters combined.
“Every team has its character, so I guess this is ours,” Barlow said. “We must like it close, but we are finding a way to win so its alright with me.”
In the season opener, Jay Peck’s 15-yard run with 3:27 to play capped a 10-play, 81-yard drive to give ASU a 24-19 win over Jacksonville State. The Hornets, down 16-6 with five minutes left in the third quatrer, dove 81 and 94 yards in the fourth quarter to twice overcome deficits.
After trailing 10-7 to Texas Southern with 13:26 left, Peck’s 3-yard run with 2:40 to play put ASU up 14-10 and the Hornets scored on two short drives (24 yards after a 17-yard punt, and 22 yards, taking over on downs) in the final three minutes to win 21-10.
Down 10-6 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 9:10 in the fourth quarter, Chris Mitchell completed a 10-yard pass to Fred Ragsdale with 41 seconds to play for a 12-10 victory.
And down 18-14 to Alcorn State entering the fourth quarter, a 41-yard Joel Riggins punt return to the Alcorn 37-yard line set up Mitchell’s 23-yard touchdown run two plays later (9:30 left) and a fumble recovery at the Alcorn 11 on the ensuing kickoff set up Mitchell’s 1-yard TD (8:02 left) in a 28-25 victory.
“I really can’t say how proud I am of these guys. No matter what they never quit fighting,” Barlow said after Saturday’s 28-25 win over Alcorn State. “I am so proud of our team, how hard we play as a team.”
Southern coach Pete Richardson said watching game film showed him how hard and how long Alabama State was playing for its new coach.
“What I’ve seen is the players are playing with a lot of effort for 60 minutes,” Richardson said.
Landry says he’ll be fineSouthern senior wide receiver Gerard Landry on Wednesday did not wear a sling on his left arm and said he’d be fine to play Saturday.
“I’m feeling pretty good. The range of motion is getting back there,” said Landry, who has scored a touchdown in all four games this season and six of Southern’s last seven games overall. “Saturday, I’ll be ready to go.”
Landry, who said he’s getting rehab twice a day, said he injured the shoulder diving for the football in the end zone after fellow wide receiver Del Roberts score to put Southern ahead for good with 10:16 remaining in Saturday’s 41-34 win over Tennessee State. Landry said he was unsure if Roberts had scored or the ball was live.
Landry has 14 catches for 199 yards this season.
Coates for MVP
Richardson on Wednesday lauded senior running back Darren Coates, who leads the team in rushing with 341 yards and four touchdowns (along with 62 yards and another TD through the air.)
Said Richardson, “If there’s an MVP on our football team at this time, it has to be him.”
Coates has played with turf toe since the second game of the season.
“Game by game, I’m just building up confidence in myself, knowing I can do it,” Coates, who ran for 119 yards and one touchdown last season.
In comparison, through four games last season, SU’s top rusher was Coates, but he had only 61 yards. Meanwhile, Kendall Addison, who went on to lead SU with 650 yards and seven TDs, had 60 yards and one TD.
“I get stronger (as the game goes on),” Coates said. “That comes from the conditioning we had this summer, fighting the heat. All that’s doing is helping us, helping us fight for 60 minutes.”
Malveaux injury significant
Richardson said junior linebacker Johnathan Malveaux, already scratched for this week with a high right ankle sprain, may be out several weeks.
Malveaux, with 33 tackles, is Southern’s top tackler. Junior Donald Steele (four tackles) will start in Malveaux’s place, with sophomore D.J. Bolton (five tackles) as Steele’s primary backup.
“(Malveaux) won’t play. He’s in a cast,” Richardson said. “I don’t think he’s going to be back within a couple of weeks.”
Coach’s honors
Richardson named quarterback Bryant Lee (23-for-33 for career highs of 305 yards and four TDs), drop linebacker Gary Chapman (11 tackles, one forced fumble, one sack) and cornerback Joe Manning (four tackles, his first interception at SU) as his offensive, defensive and special teams players of the week for the win over TSU.
Earlier in the week, Lee was named the SWAC Offensive Player of the Week and Chapman the SWAC Newcomer of the Week.
ATLANTA FOOTALL CLASSIC: Fantastic finishes for FAMU, Tenn. State
By STAN AWTREY, The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionThe series between Florida A&M and Tennessee State has produced final-quarter theatrics for the past four years. Each of those games, all FAMU victories, has been decided by six or fewer points. Last year FAMU kicked a field goal to win in overtime.
"Those are great for the fans, but they're hard on the coaches," laughed FAMU coach Rubin Carter. "The overall atmosphere — the alumni from both schools, the venue, the bands — makes for an exciting game."
The excitement should continue Saturday in the 19th Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic. That's partly because both schools start quarterbacks who can generate a buzz throughout the Georgia Dome.
FAMU starts Albert Chester, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior from Miami, who threw for 1,986 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2006. A preseason All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference choice this year, Chester has thrown for 502 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 52 yards.
Tennessee State starts Antonio Heffner, a 6-2, 195-pound junior from Memphis, who originally signed with South Carolina. He threw for 1,668 yards and nine touchdowns last year and was first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference.
Heffner threw for a career-best 316 yards and three touchdowns last week against Southern, but also had two interceptions and lost a fumble. He has passed for 954 yards and leads the OVC.
"When you have a balanced attack it puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback," said Tennessee State coach James Webster. "We're like [FAMU]; so goes the quarterback, so goes us."
Both teams have exciting backs. FAMU freshman Phillip Sylvester averages 120.7 yards per game and has twice been named the MEAC's rookie of the week. He rushed for 221 yards against Howard. Tennessee State's Tavarris Williams, a junior who gained 1,233 yards in 2006, averages 106 yards per game. Williams rushed for a career-best 229 against FAMU last year.
"I think both teams match up well through all the personnel groups," Carter said. "The quarterbacks, the tailbacks ... you take that equality across the board with all the different parts of the game."
That could mean a continuation of the recent dramatics:
• 2006: Tennessee State scored 15 points in the final seven minutes to send the game to overtime. FAMU won on Wesley Taylor's 34-yard field goal.
•2005: After a turnover, FAMU stopped Tennessee State from point-blank range near the end of the game and preserved the win with a fourth-down interception.
•2004: FAMU took the lead with 2:12 left and stopped Tennessee State's last-minute effort with an interception.
•2003: FAMU blocked a field goal in the waning minutes and returned it for a touchdown to stun the Tigers, who had led most of the day.
"We're in the entertainment business," Webster said. "We want the people to enjoy themselves and have a good time. But this year we want our fans to be the ones jumping up and down at the end of the game."
Thursday, September 27, 2007
No More Meat: Working in Slim Jim factory convinced Newton to go back to WSSU football team
Photo: #92 Keith Newton, at 6-3 and 275 pounds, has helped Winston-Salem State fill a void at nose tackle with his return to the team.By John Dell, JOURNAL REPORTER
The suffocating heat is what Keith Newton remembers the most.
He quit school at Winston-Salem State in the spring of 2005, went home to Raleigh and took a job in a factory that made beef jerky. He quickly found that working 10 to 12 hours a day in an area of the factory without air conditioning could do a lot to straighten out one’s priorities.
“I came to realize how important school was, and that I really missed football,” said Newton, now a 22-year-old junior at WSSU.
Newton (6-3, 275) has plugged a hole for the Rams at nose tackle this season, and he’s making up for lost time.
He came to WSSU in the fall of 2003 ready to take on the world and be a big factor on the field. But he let his grades slip later in his career, quit the team, quit school and said he was doing everything he wasn’t supposed to be doing.
“It was all me,” he said. “I was just doing immature stuff.”
He eventually wound up at the factory, an experience he said he won’t ever forget.
“After a while, I was just like, ‘I’m not doing this,’” Newton said. “I’ve got to get back to school and get that degree.”
Newton said he did a lot of grunt work at GoodMark Foods Inc., a leading producer of meat snacks, including Slim Jims.
“I had to scrape the excess meat out of the pans,” he said. “It was tough work, and it was hot, especially near the ovens where they cooked the meats.”
During his time at GoodMark, Newton met another employee who had a college degree and after just two weeks was able to move from the factory to a position as floor manager. That was enough to convince him that he needed to return to school.
“The part where I worked at, it wasn’t air conditioned, and it was right there where the ovens were,” Newton said. “I remember they had these big trolleys that weighed about 400 pounds with the meat on them and the trolleys would get stuck and we actually had to go inside the ovens to pull them out.
“And I’m talking about it being so hot it burned your eyes and nearly burned your skin. And there was smoke, so it was just tough.”
Photo: #92 Keith Newton
Shaking off would-be blockers is a lot easier for Newton. Convincing Coach Kermit Blount that he was serious about rejoining the team wasn’t as easy.
Newton played one game in 2003, as an offensive lineman, and then was redshirted. He played two games in 2004, was injured and missed the rest of the season. He was academically ineligible for the 2005 season and was back home in Raleigh by the spring of 2006.
“I talked to Coach Blount a few times about coming back once I did get back into school,” Newton said. “Once he saw that I was committed to the team, he let me back on. And I trained a lot with a personal trainer (Marcus Nesby) who really helped me get back.”
Newton was on the team last season but made little impact. He was credited with one tackle in one game. This season, he has filled the gap at nose guard quite nicely. He had his best game in a 19-17 win over Morgan State, making 11 tackles.
“A lot of guys would have packed it in by now,” Blount said. “But I remember talking to his mother when Keith was ineligible, and she knew what a mistake he was making. But he’s rectified that mistake and is on track to get his degree and is helping us.”
Newton has to petition the NCAA to play next season, which he said he will do. He’s having too much fun on the field and in school, where he’s majoring in business.
Newton isn’t sure what he’ll be doing after he graduates. But he knows what he won’t be doing.
“I know one thing, it’s not going to be working in a factory,” he said, “unless I’m management and I’m wearing a tie.”
Engram helps Alabama State in special teams
Photo: Alabama State quarterback Alex Engram won the SWAC weekly special teams award for his punting duties against Alcorn State last weekend.
By A. Stacy Long, Montgomery Advertiser
Alex Engram was in the middle of a postgame meal when Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow signaled for him to come over.
Engram hurriedly went to Barlow and found out he was going to use more than his arms on the football within the next week.
You can use your leg, too.
Just like that, ASU's backup quarterback learned he was about to try punting, though he had no experience and -- at that moment -- no desire to do so.
"When he told me, I really didn't know what to think," Engram said. "I always like to throw it. I've never liked to kick it."
A week later, Engram's enthusiasm now includes kicking. He averaged more than 42 yards per kick in ASU's win over Alcorn State last weekend, had two late 50-yard punts that helped hold off the Braves and has won the Southwestern Athletic Conference's weekly special teams award.
Engram showed he has some leg, too.
"Alex can do it all," running back Jay Peck said. "I'm telling you, he'll run it, throw it, he'll kick it now, catch it. It's good to have somebody like that.
You can put him anywhere and expect positive things out of him.
"Who knows what he'll do next week?"
ASU (4-0, 3-0 SWAC) faces Southern (4-0, 2-0) on Saturday afternoon at Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium and Engram's duties give the Hornets options in apparently obvious punting situations.
"Now, teams know I can be a threat to kick it," Engram said. "They'll be more focused on the punt return. Now, we might try to sneak a little something in there."
Engram's first punt caught many of his teammates unprepared.
Linebacker Michael Figgers was in on the secret, but let those standing nearby enjoy their naiveté for a few extra seconds. Their excitement over a potential fake was soon eclipsed by a punt's surprise.
"He had an excellent punt," Figgers said. "The ball went way farther than I thought. It kind of shocked me, for real. I had to look back for a second because it was a great punt."
Figgers first watched Engram punt in practice and his initial thoughts were that the Hornets were working on a fake that involved Engram. Like a rubbernecker driving past a car accident, Figgers kept watching to see the trickery unveiled, but soon was disappointed.
"The first two times they snapped it to him, he didn't do anything with it, so I still thought they were working on a fake," Figgers said. "The next two times, he kicked it. We kept going and he kept kicking. I thought, 'Is he the punter?'"
Engram uses a rugby-style kick where he takes a few steps to his right -- which can easily look like a fake at first -- before kicking.
The junior's initial goals against Alcorn were simple. No blocks.
"We didn't have any expectations," Engram said. "We just wanted to get the ball out of there. It's great that the numbers were good, but we didn't have any expectations."
Engram caught ASU coaches' attention when the Hornets were considering a quick kick out of the usual shotgun formation. Engram said he unleashed an unexpected rocket and, a few weeks later, was getting called over by Barlow.
A 42-yard average later, Engram's a sudden star.
"Did we get more than we thought we would?" ASU special teams coordinator Brian Williams said. "Yes, but it's another added weapon to our team."
By A. Stacy Long, Montgomery Advertiser
Alex Engram was in the middle of a postgame meal when Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow signaled for him to come over.
Engram hurriedly went to Barlow and found out he was going to use more than his arms on the football within the next week.
You can use your leg, too.
Just like that, ASU's backup quarterback learned he was about to try punting, though he had no experience and -- at that moment -- no desire to do so.
"When he told me, I really didn't know what to think," Engram said. "I always like to throw it. I've never liked to kick it."
A week later, Engram's enthusiasm now includes kicking. He averaged more than 42 yards per kick in ASU's win over Alcorn State last weekend, had two late 50-yard punts that helped hold off the Braves and has won the Southwestern Athletic Conference's weekly special teams award.
Engram showed he has some leg, too.
"Alex can do it all," running back Jay Peck said. "I'm telling you, he'll run it, throw it, he'll kick it now, catch it. It's good to have somebody like that.
You can put him anywhere and expect positive things out of him.
"Who knows what he'll do next week?"
ASU (4-0, 3-0 SWAC) faces Southern (4-0, 2-0) on Saturday afternoon at Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium and Engram's duties give the Hornets options in apparently obvious punting situations.
"Now, teams know I can be a threat to kick it," Engram said. "They'll be more focused on the punt return. Now, we might try to sneak a little something in there."
Engram's first punt caught many of his teammates unprepared.
Linebacker Michael Figgers was in on the secret, but let those standing nearby enjoy their naiveté for a few extra seconds. Their excitement over a potential fake was soon eclipsed by a punt's surprise.
"He had an excellent punt," Figgers said. "The ball went way farther than I thought. It kind of shocked me, for real. I had to look back for a second because it was a great punt."
Figgers first watched Engram punt in practice and his initial thoughts were that the Hornets were working on a fake that involved Engram. Like a rubbernecker driving past a car accident, Figgers kept watching to see the trickery unveiled, but soon was disappointed.
"The first two times they snapped it to him, he didn't do anything with it, so I still thought they were working on a fake," Figgers said. "The next two times, he kicked it. We kept going and he kept kicking. I thought, 'Is he the punter?'"
Engram uses a rugby-style kick where he takes a few steps to his right -- which can easily look like a fake at first -- before kicking.
The junior's initial goals against Alcorn were simple. No blocks.
"We didn't have any expectations," Engram said. "We just wanted to get the ball out of there. It's great that the numbers were good, but we didn't have any expectations."
Engram caught ASU coaches' attention when the Hornets were considering a quick kick out of the usual shotgun formation. Engram said he unleashed an unexpected rocket and, a few weeks later, was getting called over by Barlow.
A 42-yard average later, Engram's a sudden star.
"Did we get more than we thought we would?" ASU special teams coordinator Brian Williams said. "Yes, but it's another added weapon to our team."
Alabama A&M notebook
Huntsville Times
Harper slated to start against Texas Southern
Defensive tackle Justin Harper, who was named Alabama A&M's co-defensive Player of the Week for his effort against Grambling last week, will start Saturday against Texas Southern, defensive line coach Ben Blacknall said Wednesday.
Harper, who lost his job to Whitney Garrett last spring and had surgery on his thumb during preseason practice and missed the season opener against Tennessee State, will start at left tackle in place of Renaldo Askew, Blacknall said. Garrett will make his fifth consecutive start at right tackle.
"He played better than any defensive tackle we had," Blacknall said of Harper's effort against the Tigers. "He deserves an opportunity to start."
The Bulldogs, who have annually been among the league's best against the run, are seventh in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in rushing defense, allowing 127 yards per game.
Harper, a 6-foot-2, 252-pound junior from Gulfport, Miss., was credited with nine tackles, including six solos, two tackles for loss and a sack while grading out 92 percent.
Early starter: Texas Southern coach Steve Wilson said if he had to do it over again he would have redshirted quarterback Tino Edgecombe.
A 6-2, 185-pound senior from Miami, Edgecombe was pressed into action as a freshman and Wilson said that has affected him throughout his career.
"Tino had to come through a situation where we had to play him as a freshman and we didn't have people to protect him and that hindered his growth," Wilson said. "He had some breakout games last season, but we haven't been able to get him in a rhythm this season.
"Part of it is our offensive line being unsettled. He made some plays last week (against UTEP) that proved he can be an outstanding quarterback."
Edgecombe is fourth in the league in passing yards per game, averaging 162.5 yards.
He has completed 64-of-112 passes (57.1 percent) for 650 yards, three touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Smith likes ball distribution: A&M tight end John Smith admits he would like to see a few more balls thrown his way, but he says he can't complain with the way quarterback Kelcy Luke is distributing the football.
Ten players have caught passes and six different players have caught touchdown passes.
Wide receiver Thomas Harris and tight end Charles Moody have 17 catches apiece. Smith has eight followed by wide receivers Rashad Johnson and Gerald Stockdale, who have six apiece.
"The distribution is pretty good," said Smith, who has eight catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. "We've got a lot of talent out there. No one person is above the team."
Reggie Benson
Harper slated to start against Texas Southern
Defensive tackle Justin Harper, who was named Alabama A&M's co-defensive Player of the Week for his effort against Grambling last week, will start Saturday against Texas Southern, defensive line coach Ben Blacknall said Wednesday.
Harper, who lost his job to Whitney Garrett last spring and had surgery on his thumb during preseason practice and missed the season opener against Tennessee State, will start at left tackle in place of Renaldo Askew, Blacknall said. Garrett will make his fifth consecutive start at right tackle.
"He played better than any defensive tackle we had," Blacknall said of Harper's effort against the Tigers. "He deserves an opportunity to start."
The Bulldogs, who have annually been among the league's best against the run, are seventh in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in rushing defense, allowing 127 yards per game.
Harper, a 6-foot-2, 252-pound junior from Gulfport, Miss., was credited with nine tackles, including six solos, two tackles for loss and a sack while grading out 92 percent.
Early starter: Texas Southern coach Steve Wilson said if he had to do it over again he would have redshirted quarterback Tino Edgecombe.
A 6-2, 185-pound senior from Miami, Edgecombe was pressed into action as a freshman and Wilson said that has affected him throughout his career.
"Tino had to come through a situation where we had to play him as a freshman and we didn't have people to protect him and that hindered his growth," Wilson said. "He had some breakout games last season, but we haven't been able to get him in a rhythm this season.
"Part of it is our offensive line being unsettled. He made some plays last week (against UTEP) that proved he can be an outstanding quarterback."
Edgecombe is fourth in the league in passing yards per game, averaging 162.5 yards.
He has completed 64-of-112 passes (57.1 percent) for 650 yards, three touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Smith likes ball distribution: A&M tight end John Smith admits he would like to see a few more balls thrown his way, but he says he can't complain with the way quarterback Kelcy Luke is distributing the football.
Ten players have caught passes and six different players have caught touchdown passes.
Wide receiver Thomas Harris and tight end Charles Moody have 17 catches apiece. Smith has eight followed by wide receivers Rashad Johnson and Gerald Stockdale, who have six apiece.
"The distribution is pretty good," said Smith, who has eight catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. "We've got a lot of talent out there. No one person is above the team."
Reggie Benson
Texas Southern's drought deepens
By REGGIE BENSON, Times Sports Staff
Texas Southern falters further with Wilson at helm
Steve Wilson was supposed to resurrect Texas Southern's moribund football program when he was hired four years ago. Instead, the Tigers have sunk even lower.
Texas Southern hasn't had a winning season since 2000 and the Tigers' last Southwestern Athletic Conference championship came way back in 1968. Wilson was supposed to change all that.
He did it at Howard University, where he led the Bison to a pair of black college national championships in the mid-1990s. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to duplicate that success in Houston and Texas Southern alumni and fans have begun to voice their displeasure. Some have even called for him to be fired.
Under Wilson, the Tigers went 0-11 in 2004, 1-10 in 2005, 3-8 in 2006 and are 0-4 so far this season. Combined, Wilson has compiled an underwhelming 4-33 record at Texas Southern.
"Our season is not over yet," Wilson said earlier this week during the league's weekly teleconference. "We can't control what has happened in the past. We can either sit and mope around or do something about it. We have six conference games left, including the meat of our division schedule in front of us.
"We feel good about our opportunities. We're not going to sit and worry about what has happened in the past. When you do that you stop playing to win. We're capable of playing good football. It's just a matter of getting it done."
This time two years ago, Texas Southern came here and played good football.
The Tigers, riding a 16-game losing streak, shocked Alabama A&M 17-7 on homecoming. The two teams will meet again on homecoming Saturday at Louis Crews Stadium. Kickoff is 3 p.m.
Texas Southern has played A&M extremely tough during Wilson's tenure.
The Bulldogs won 22-3 in 2004, lost in 2005 and escaped last season with a 19-14 victory on a late interception by Marcus Black.
"We match up well with them," Wilson said when asked why his team has been so competitive against A&M. "They're a physical football team and that's the way we like to play."
Texas Southern caught A&M coming off a 42-0 win over NAIA foe Allen University two years ago. The Bulldogs were feeling pretty good about themselves and perhaps overlooked the Tigers.
Wilson knows that won't be the case this time around, especially after Grambling whipped A&M 31-6 last weekend.
"We're going to catch them at their best," he said. "We know they're going to be hungry. They're a championship football team and they'll be ornery this weekend.
"It's their homecoming and the coaches will get their attention and have them ready to play."
But A&M coach Anthony Jones says Wilson will have his team ready to play as well.
"They're coming down here to do everything they can to upset us on homecoming," Jones said. "This is a team that if you're not alert in handling all your P's and Q's can be very scary.
"They're big and physical and they can run. They were in the game against Prairie View and Alabama State and played Jackson State tough before the weather became a factor. This is not a team to be joking with."
GSU cited for five secondary offenses but avoided steep penalties
GRAMBLING, La. -- The NCAA has cleared Grambling State University of any significant wrongdoing in a wide-ranging investigation that stretched over three football seasons.GSU was cited for five secondary offenses, but avoided the steep penalties involving scholarships or postseason play that are typically associated with major infractions.
"We will redouble our efforts, in terms of educating our coaches about these rules," said Athletics Director Troy Mathieu. "We have pledged to do everything that's reasonable and prudent to avoid this situation in the future."
The NCAA determined that the violations occurred within the football program between 2004-06, all during the tenure of former coach Melvin Spears.
They are:
• Denying a student athlete a hearing after canceling his scholarship.
• Non-certified assistants conducting strength and conditioning sessions.
• A graduate assistant improperly observing seven-on-seven passing drills.
• Two separate instances of providing small, but improper benefits to student athletes, one by a booster and another by two now-departed coaches.
Grambling faces only a series of self-imposed penalties, including a reduction in the number of voluntary summer conditioning workouts and football recruiting visits.
The investigation was under way when Mathieu took over at Grambling in 2006, with investigators arriving on campus during his third day. It continued through the university's subsequent separation from Spears and through the hiring process to replace him.
Over that span, Grambling has also had two other ADs, including an interim director.
Spears has since filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, which is still pending.
"They needed to be thorough in their process," Mathieu said of the NCAA. "We tried to be as cooperative as we could be along the way, and were careful never to speculate on how it might end."
First-year football coach Rod Broadway has been regularly briefed as the process unfolded, Mathieu said. "He was involved from the beginning in the discussions and he had a role in bringing this thing to closure in a positive manner," he said.
Grambling's penalties are already being enforced. Voluntary summer conditioning workouts were cut by one week over the summer. Those sessions will be limited to seven weeks again in the summer of 2008. Official football recruiting visits are being reduced from 52 to 45 for the 2007-08 academic year and recruiting trips will be slashed by 10, from 42 to 32.
The NCAA accepted Grambling's suggested punishment, saying in correspondence that since the school's "actions in this case were substantial and meaningful, no further action should be taken in the matter."
Mathieu said Grambling will also conduct regular training and education meetings for coaches and other athletics personnel so that they are familiar with NCAA regulations.
"We're pleased to put this behind us," Mathieu said. "Now, we can focus on the future of this department."
Things won’t get any easier for UAPB
By Mike Marzelli, of the Commercial Staff
How does a team bounce back from a 55-point loss when it knows its next opponent is expected to be its toughest of the season?
That’s the question Arkansas-Pine Bluff is trying to answer this week as it prepares for New Mexico State. Fresh off an embarrassing 58-3 loss to No. 7 Southern Illinois that was the program’s worst defeat since 1983, the Golden Lions are now staring down the task of taking on a Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) opponent for the first time in school history. Not just any FBS team, either. The Aggies (2-2) have been an offensive juggernaut under former Kentucky coach Hal Mumme, averaging 487 yards of total offense and just under 30 points a game on the season.
The situation may appear to spell doom already, but UAPB head coach Mo Forte isn’t ready to count out the competitive spirit of his team.
“We know it’s going to be a huge challenge for us out there but if we just gave in to what things looked like on paper we would never need to play a game,” Forte said after practice Tuesday. “I don’t think anyone in Las Vegas is going to pick us but hopefully we will go out there and give 100 percent and that will be good enough to win the game. I think our team’s mindset is that they know how they were embarrassed last weekend and they need to go out and fight harder and focus more on playing better to make sure that never happens again.”
After watching film Forte heaped plenty of praise on the Aggies, but he was also quick to point out that his team may not be taking a giant step up in competition this week.
“Obviously [New Mexico State is] a good football program and they’re the biggest challenge we’ve faced since I’ve been here, but who’s to say that [Southern Illinois] isn’t as good as a mid-level Division I team like they are?” he asked. “We already found out that the [former] No. 1 team in I-AA is better than Michigan, the No. 5 team in Division I, so who knows how good they’re really going to be compared to what we’ve faced?”
Regardless of how good New Mexico State may be, UAPB needs to play a drastically different game than it did Saturday in Carbondale, Ill. The Golden Lions were stagnant offensively for the fourth straight week, eventually leading them to wear down on defense, but the most alarming aspect of the game was players’ lack of effort and intensity in the second half.
“Pride is always on the line any time you’re involved in any type of competition and when you’re a competitor you’re going to do whatever you can to be successful in any situation because of that pride,” Forte said. “We didn’t play with pride for four quarters last week and that surprised me because I know our team is made up of competitors.
“I’m looking for a renewed sense of pride and focus for this game and for our guys to come out fighting and working hard and focusing on one play at a time and giving 100 percent on that one play until its over.”
There will not be wholesale changes for the Lions, as Forte plans to stick with junior Johnathan Moore at quarterback after Moore and former starter Chris Wallace both saw action at SIU.
“I saw progress with the offense last week, especially with our offensive line, I really did,” Forte said. “We had much better pass protection than we had before, we were just killed by drops that cost us a number of chances to move the chains.”
NOTE: Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Saturday and not 6 p.m. as listed on a number of area schedules. Las Cruces, NM is in Mountain Time and the game is slated for 6 p.m. MDT, which is an hour behind Central Time. There will be no television broadcast, so the only chance to follow the game will be on KUAP 89.7 FM.
BCU Wildcats' twins follow kin as corners
By BRENT WORONOFF, News-Journal
DAYTONA BEACH -- Antwane and Antonio Cox are like mirror images. The same smile. The same haircut. The same easy demeanor.
About the only way to tell Bethune-Cookman's identical twins apart is on the football field. Antwane is No. 4. Antonio is No. 9.
Four games into their Wildcat careers, the sophomore cornerbacks have become double trouble for B-CU opponents. Combined, they have three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, a touchdown and a blocked kick.
Not bad for a couple of guys who couldn't even get on the field when they were at the University of South Florida. B-CU hopes they can add to those stats in Saturday's homecoming game when the Wildcats host Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe Morgan State.
Photo: Identical twins Antonio, left, and Antwane Cox are the starting cornerbacks for Bethune-Cookman University.
The redshirt sophomores transferred to B-CU this past offseason.
"We just wanted an opportunity to showcase our talent," Antwane said. "(USF has) two cornerbacks (Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams) who are up for the NFL Draft, and we probably would have had to wait at least another year to get on the field."
"We always knew," Antonio said, "that if it didn't work at the Division I level we would come to Bethune."
The brothers' goal is to join two of their cousins -- Torrie Cox of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Marcus Hudson of the San Francisco 49ers -- in the NFL. That would give the family four NFL cornerbacks. But then again, everybody in the family plays cornerback.
Cousin Kennard Cox is a senior cornerback at the University of Pittsburgh. And Hudson has three brothers who also played college football -- Nathaniel and Eric at Bethune-Cookman and Kevin at Iowa State.
"I guess cornerback is in our blood," Antonio said. "We see our cousins playing that position, so we want to play the same position."
Eric Hudson actually played safety when he was at B-CU in 1992-95, and the twins' 11-year-old brother might actually become a receiver, Antonio suspects. But as for the twins, they're used to manning opposite sides of the field on defense.
Antwane has started four straight games for the Wildcats and leads B-CU's cornerbacks in tackles with 18. Antonio has been the first corner off the bench, and he's quickly becoming known as a big-play specialist. He returned a fumble 52 yards against South Carolina State and he ran back an interception 42 yards for a touchdown against Norfolk State last week.
Antwane came close to matching his brother's heroics in the Norfolk State game. His interception in the end zone would have clinched a B-CU victory, but he was called for pass interference, and the Spartans went on to score the winning touchdown with 36 seconds left. B-CU coach Alvin Wyatt says the interception was clean, and the only contact on the play came after he stepped in front of the receiver and the receiver pulled the front of his jersey trying to knock the ball away.
"Antwane caught on when he first hit the field here," Wyatt said. "Antonio was a little bit behind. But now he's putting a lot of pressure on (starter) Brent Davis."
Off the field the twins have been just as impressive, Wyatt said.
"They're a couple of quiet guys," Wyatt said. "They just say, 'Yes sir and no sir,' They're two kids who are responsible and reliable. They're just a pleasure to be around."
Wyatt said B-CU's coaching staff knew of the twins when they were in high school, and knew that they were "D-I players all the way." But they've become the fourth and fifth players in the past three years to transfer from USF to B-CU because of a lack of playing time at the Big East school.
In the case of Cox twins, B-CU was their backup plan since they were youngsters going to Wildcat games to watch their older cousins play.
"We always wanted to play for Bethune-Cookman," Antwane said. "The skill players are pretty much the same here as they are in the Big East. The only difference are the linemen."
As for the twins, there seems to be no difference in appearance, behavior or football ability.
"We're around each other 24-7, and we're always pushing each other," Antonio said. "Our strengths are pretty much the same. I was adjusting early, but it's coming along now, and both of us are making plays."
DAYTONA BEACH -- Antwane and Antonio Cox are like mirror images. The same smile. The same haircut. The same easy demeanor.
About the only way to tell Bethune-Cookman's identical twins apart is on the football field. Antwane is No. 4. Antonio is No. 9.
Four games into their Wildcat careers, the sophomore cornerbacks have become double trouble for B-CU opponents. Combined, they have three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, a touchdown and a blocked kick.
Not bad for a couple of guys who couldn't even get on the field when they were at the University of South Florida. B-CU hopes they can add to those stats in Saturday's homecoming game when the Wildcats host Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe Morgan State.
Photo: Identical twins Antonio, left, and Antwane Cox are the starting cornerbacks for Bethune-Cookman University.The redshirt sophomores transferred to B-CU this past offseason.
"We just wanted an opportunity to showcase our talent," Antwane said. "(USF has) two cornerbacks (Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams) who are up for the NFL Draft, and we probably would have had to wait at least another year to get on the field."
"We always knew," Antonio said, "that if it didn't work at the Division I level we would come to Bethune."
The brothers' goal is to join two of their cousins -- Torrie Cox of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Marcus Hudson of the San Francisco 49ers -- in the NFL. That would give the family four NFL cornerbacks. But then again, everybody in the family plays cornerback.
Cousin Kennard Cox is a senior cornerback at the University of Pittsburgh. And Hudson has three brothers who also played college football -- Nathaniel and Eric at Bethune-Cookman and Kevin at Iowa State.
"I guess cornerback is in our blood," Antonio said. "We see our cousins playing that position, so we want to play the same position."
Eric Hudson actually played safety when he was at B-CU in 1992-95, and the twins' 11-year-old brother might actually become a receiver, Antonio suspects. But as for the twins, they're used to manning opposite sides of the field on defense.
Antwane has started four straight games for the Wildcats and leads B-CU's cornerbacks in tackles with 18. Antonio has been the first corner off the bench, and he's quickly becoming known as a big-play specialist. He returned a fumble 52 yards against South Carolina State and he ran back an interception 42 yards for a touchdown against Norfolk State last week.
Antwane came close to matching his brother's heroics in the Norfolk State game. His interception in the end zone would have clinched a B-CU victory, but he was called for pass interference, and the Spartans went on to score the winning touchdown with 36 seconds left. B-CU coach Alvin Wyatt says the interception was clean, and the only contact on the play came after he stepped in front of the receiver and the receiver pulled the front of his jersey trying to knock the ball away.
"Antwane caught on when he first hit the field here," Wyatt said. "Antonio was a little bit behind. But now he's putting a lot of pressure on (starter) Brent Davis."
Off the field the twins have been just as impressive, Wyatt said.
"They're a couple of quiet guys," Wyatt said. "They just say, 'Yes sir and no sir,' They're two kids who are responsible and reliable. They're just a pleasure to be around."
Wyatt said B-CU's coaching staff knew of the twins when they were in high school, and knew that they were "D-I players all the way." But they've become the fourth and fifth players in the past three years to transfer from USF to B-CU because of a lack of playing time at the Big East school.
In the case of Cox twins, B-CU was their backup plan since they were youngsters going to Wildcat games to watch their older cousins play.
"We always wanted to play for Bethune-Cookman," Antwane said. "The skill players are pretty much the same here as they are in the Big East. The only difference are the linemen."
As for the twins, there seems to be no difference in appearance, behavior or football ability.
"We're around each other 24-7, and we're always pushing each other," Antonio said. "Our strengths are pretty much the same. I was adjusting early, but it's coming along now, and both of us are making plays."Antonio Cox
CLASS: Sophomore
HOMETOWN: Miami
HIGH SCHOOL: Killian
LAST COLLEGE: South Florida
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6 feet, 180 pounds
POSITION: Defensive back
2007 STATS: Eight tackles, one interception (42 return yards), one fumble recovery (returned for 52 yards) -- through four games
Antwane Cox
CLASS: Sophomore
HOMETOWN: Miami
HIGH SCHOOL: Killian
LAST COLLEGE: South Florida
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-foot-1, 180 pounds
POSITION: Defensive back
2007 STATS: 18 tackles (two for a loss), two fumble recoveries (10 returnyards), one forced fumble and one blocked kick -- through four games.
CLASS: Sophomore
HOMETOWN: Miami
HIGH SCHOOL: Killian
LAST COLLEGE: South Florida
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6 feet, 180 pounds
POSITION: Defensive back
2007 STATS: Eight tackles, one interception (42 return yards), one fumble recovery (returned for 52 yards) -- through four games
Antwane Cox
CLASS: Sophomore
HOMETOWN: Miami
HIGH SCHOOL: Killian
LAST COLLEGE: South Florida
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-foot-1, 180 pounds
POSITION: Defensive back
2007 STATS: 18 tackles (two for a loss), two fumble recoveries (10 returnyards), one forced fumble and one blocked kick -- through four games.
19th ANNUAL ATLANTA FOOTBALL CLASSIC: FAMU vs. TSU
By Eric Stirgus, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The streets of downtown Atlanta will be covered with Florida A&M green and orange and Tennessee State blue this weekend as approximately 150,000 people are expected to attend the 19th annual Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic.
Classic events began Wednesday with a town hall meeting on childhood obesity, and will continue with a step show, a health and job fair, parade and Saturday's football game at the Georgia Dome (3 p.m. kickoff). Many of the Thursday and Friday events will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Next to the State Farm Bayou Classic, held each November in New Orleans, the Classic is considered the largest historically black colleges and universities football game and weekend. Slightly more than half of those who will take in some portion of a Classic event come from outside Georgia. The Classic is organized and hosted by 100 Black Men of Atlanta Inc.
"It has grown because we have tried to make it more inclusive," said John T. Grant, 100 Black Men's chief executive officer. "Our goal is to make it a Super Bowl event."
Classic organizers estimate it pumps $30 million into the city's economy. Some proceeds from the weekend's events will go to 100 Black Men of Atlanta's flagship charity, Project Success, a mentorship program for Atlanta Public Schools students.
Florida A&M and Tennessee State played each other in the first two Classic contests in 1989 and 1990 at Georgia Tech's Grant Field. Saturday's game will be the ninth consecutive year they meet in Atlanta. The two schools earlier this year signed a three-year extension to play each other at the Georgia Dome through 2010.
COUNTDOWN
5: Florida A&M's winning streak over Tennessee State
54%: Attendees from outside Georgia
78: Companies at the job fair
3,800: Parade participants
$70,000: Average household income of attendees
Source: 100 Black Men of Atlanta Inc., Atlanta Sports Council
THE SCHOOLS
Tennessee State University
>Mascot: Tigers
>Colors: Reflex Blue and white.
>Founded: Nashville on June 19, 1912, as the Agricultural & Industrial State Normal School, serving 247 students.
>Today: The present-day school, 65 buildings over 500 acres, exists as a result of a 1979 merger with the former University of Tennessee at Nashville. More than 75 percent of the school's 9,000 students are black; 46 states and 45 countries are represented. Since 1994, TSU has been listed in the U.S. News & World Report's "Guide to America's Best Colleges."
>Claim to fame: The Tigerbelles. Coached by Ed Temple and anchored by the great Wilma Rudolph, TSU's women's track team was perhaps the most dominant in history.
>Football: Simply put, TSU was a national power for decades, winning 10 black college national championships, stringing together a 27-game win streak in the early 1950s and producing nearly 100 All-Americans.
Six Great Tigers:
>Oprah Winfrey, media mogul.
> Harold Ford, Sr., politician.
>Ed "Too Tall" Jones, former NFL great.
>Carl Rowan, award-winning journalist.
>Wilma Rudolph, Olympic gold medalist.
>Moses Gunn, co-founder of the Negro Ensemble Company.
Source: Kina Cleveland, a media representative at the university and a 2001 graduate.
Florida A&M University
>Mascot: Rattlers
>Colors: Orange and Green, representing the citrus industry.
>Founded: Oct. 3, 1887, in Tallahassee with one building, two instructors and 15 students as the State Normal College for Colored Students.
>Today: African-Americans represent 92 percent of the school's 11,700 students. In 2006, Black Enterprise named it the best school in the country for African-Americans.
>Claim to Fame: Under William P. Foster, the Marching 100 has been the school's major public relations machine for decades. It marched in the Bastille Day Parade to celebrate the Bicentennial of the French Revolution and performed at the 1993 inaugural parade of Bill Clinton. Earlier this year, they played with Prince at the Super Bowl.
>Football: Beginning in 1945, under legendary coach Alonzo "Jake" Gaither, the school won 203 games in 25 seasons, captured six national titles and produced 36 All-Americans.
Six Great Rattlers:
> Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and Nat Adderly, jazz greats.
> Althea Gibson, tennis great.
>Kwame Kilpatrick, mayor of Detroit.
> Pam Oliver, sports reporter.
>LaSalle D. Leffall, former president of the American Cancer Society.
Source: Murell Dawson, archivist and curator of the Carrie Meek-James N. Eaton Sr. Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum and 1983 FAMU graduate.
The streets of downtown Atlanta will be covered with Florida A&M green and orange and Tennessee State blue this weekend as approximately 150,000 people are expected to attend the 19th annual Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic.
Classic events began Wednesday with a town hall meeting on childhood obesity, and will continue with a step show, a health and job fair, parade and Saturday's football game at the Georgia Dome (3 p.m. kickoff). Many of the Thursday and Friday events will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Next to the State Farm Bayou Classic, held each November in New Orleans, the Classic is considered the largest historically black colleges and universities football game and weekend. Slightly more than half of those who will take in some portion of a Classic event come from outside Georgia. The Classic is organized and hosted by 100 Black Men of Atlanta Inc.
"It has grown because we have tried to make it more inclusive," said John T. Grant, 100 Black Men's chief executive officer. "Our goal is to make it a Super Bowl event."
Classic organizers estimate it pumps $30 million into the city's economy. Some proceeds from the weekend's events will go to 100 Black Men of Atlanta's flagship charity, Project Success, a mentorship program for Atlanta Public Schools students.
Florida A&M and Tennessee State played each other in the first two Classic contests in 1989 and 1990 at Georgia Tech's Grant Field. Saturday's game will be the ninth consecutive year they meet in Atlanta. The two schools earlier this year signed a three-year extension to play each other at the Georgia Dome through 2010.
COUNTDOWN
5: Florida A&M's winning streak over Tennessee State
54%: Attendees from outside Georgia
78: Companies at the job fair
3,800: Parade participants
$70,000: Average household income of attendees
Source: 100 Black Men of Atlanta Inc., Atlanta Sports Council
THE SCHOOLS
Tennessee State University
>Mascot: Tigers
>Colors: Reflex Blue and white.
>Founded: Nashville on June 19, 1912, as the Agricultural & Industrial State Normal School, serving 247 students.
>Today: The present-day school, 65 buildings over 500 acres, exists as a result of a 1979 merger with the former University of Tennessee at Nashville. More than 75 percent of the school's 9,000 students are black; 46 states and 45 countries are represented. Since 1994, TSU has been listed in the U.S. News & World Report's "Guide to America's Best Colleges."
>Claim to fame: The Tigerbelles. Coached by Ed Temple and anchored by the great Wilma Rudolph, TSU's women's track team was perhaps the most dominant in history.
>Football: Simply put, TSU was a national power for decades, winning 10 black college national championships, stringing together a 27-game win streak in the early 1950s and producing nearly 100 All-Americans.
Six Great Tigers:
>Oprah Winfrey, media mogul.
> Harold Ford, Sr., politician.
>Ed "Too Tall" Jones, former NFL great.
>Carl Rowan, award-winning journalist.
>Wilma Rudolph, Olympic gold medalist.
>Moses Gunn, co-founder of the Negro Ensemble Company.
Source: Kina Cleveland, a media representative at the university and a 2001 graduate.
Florida A&M University
>Mascot: Rattlers
>Colors: Orange and Green, representing the citrus industry.
>Founded: Oct. 3, 1887, in Tallahassee with one building, two instructors and 15 students as the State Normal College for Colored Students.
>Today: African-Americans represent 92 percent of the school's 11,700 students. In 2006, Black Enterprise named it the best school in the country for African-Americans.
>Claim to Fame: Under William P. Foster, the Marching 100 has been the school's major public relations machine for decades. It marched in the Bastille Day Parade to celebrate the Bicentennial of the French Revolution and performed at the 1993 inaugural parade of Bill Clinton. Earlier this year, they played with Prince at the Super Bowl.
>Football: Beginning in 1945, under legendary coach Alonzo "Jake" Gaither, the school won 203 games in 25 seasons, captured six national titles and produced 36 All-Americans.
Six Great Rattlers:
> Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and Nat Adderly, jazz greats.
> Althea Gibson, tennis great.
>Kwame Kilpatrick, mayor of Detroit.
> Pam Oliver, sports reporter.
>LaSalle D. Leffall, former president of the American Cancer Society.
Source: Murell Dawson, archivist and curator of the Carrie Meek-James N. Eaton Sr. Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum and 1983 FAMU graduate.
Hampton Sam Pope attention-getter
By MARTY O'BRIEN, Daily PressHe's an attention-getter. Junior transfer Sam Pope debuted at Hampton University with a hard tackle ... and the hits just keep on coming.
HAMPTON — Sam Pope introduced himself to Hampton University football with an exclamation point. During the Pirates' first scrimmage, Pope sniffed out a screen pass and flattened tailback Kevin Beverly behind the line of scrimmage.
"I don't know if I'd hit a teammate like that again," said Pope, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior who will start Saturday when the Pirates host Delaware State. "I was flying around trying to show the coaches I could be physical and that I wanted to play."
The hits have kept coming ever since. Pope plays cornerback and on special teams, and he's made at least one huge play in the each of the Pirates' three victories this season.
In the season-opening win at Howard, he made eight tackles, blocked a field goal and probably should have been credited with an interception in the back of the end zone. A week later, in the win at North Carolina A&T, he intercepted his first pass.
Last week, in the Pirates' 24-17 overtime victory against Morgan State, Pope blocked another field goal. Among the Pirates' most-heralded group of newcomers in four years, Pope has made the biggest impact.
"If a play is anywhere around him, he thinks it's his to make," Hampton coach Joe Taylor said. "That was a tremendous hit he made on that screen play in practice, but he makes those kinds of plays all the time.
"If opponents try to run a sweep or a pitch to his side, he'll make a solid tackle, not just hold the ball carrier up and wait for help. That's the biggest difference between our cornerbacks this year and in the past."
Taylor credited defensive backs coach Donovan Rose with identifying his needs and targeting the right players to fill them.
"It was easy to see from looking at film that there aren't too many players with Sam's size, strength and ability to cover receivers," Rose said. "He's a sleeper, because people don't think he's moving fast, but when the ball is in the air he's at full throttle."
Pope displayed similar speed and decisiveness when transferring in August to Hampton from the University of South Carolina. Pope says he was the Gamecocks' second-team cornerback at the start of preseason practice, before being asked to move to free safety when a veteran cornerback returned to the team.
A week into practice he bolted for Hampton because he preferred playing cornerback. Pirates right tackle Ryan Cave, a teammate at Beaufort High in South Carolina, sold him on HU.
"He told me about the five players who went to the NFL Combine and the three consecutive (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) championships," Pope said. "He also mentioned that the ratio of women to men at Hampton is 12 to 1. That didn't hurt.
"But the biggest thing is that I like the 1-on-1 competition of covering receivers. South Carolina's coaches wanted me to play free safety because I can hit, but a cornerback can make big hits, too."
Pope is making lots of big plays and plenty of hits. But he's still waiting for an encore to the smack-down he laid on Beverly.
He lives for those kinds of hits but prefers to unleash the rest of them on opposing players.
"I think I'd hit a player on another team a lot harder in the same situation," Pope said. "A big hit is my favorite thing. There's nothing like the cheers a big hit generates, or the excitement it makes your teammates feel.
"Nothing else compares."
HAMPTON NOTES
Taylor said Wednesday that he does not expect Beverly to play against Delaware State. Beverly has been out since sustaining a high ankle sprain in the first half of the season-opener at Howard. The ankle is healing, but Taylor said a sore toe is delaying Beverly's return to action. ... Taylor said strong safety Henti Baird will play on Saturday. Baird missed the Morgan State game with a bruised knee.
The Pope file
NAME: Sam Pope.
SCHOOL: Hampton University.
POSITION: Cornerback.
NOTEWORTHY: Pope, a 6-foot, 190-pound junior, transferred to Hampton after beginning summer practice with the University of South Carolina. … Played the previous two seasons at Southwest Mississippi CC, where he intercepted four passes, returning two for touchdowns. … Played for Beaufort (S.C.) High, intercepting 10 passes as a senior to lead the team to the state playoff semifinals.
Gateway Classic hoping for more
By Bill Smith, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
St. Louis — Disappointed by stagnant ticket sales, the founder of the annual Gateway Classic college football game says he is looking for new ways to boost the amount of college scholarship money his organization gives to local black high school graduates.
Earl Wilson Jr., who has headed the St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation since 1994, said scholarship payments have slipped in recent years, largely because of an inability to increase ticket sales for the football game.
The foundation paid out slightly more than $55,000 for scholarships in 2006, down from nearly $100,000 in 2005 and $182,000 in 2004, according to records. The scholarship totals have dipped each year since 2002, when the foundation paid out more than $246,000 to college students.
"It's a challenge," Wilson said recently from the foundation's headquarters at 20th Street and Martin Luther King Drive. "It's always been a challenge." Advertisement
Wilson, 74, said he is constantly looking for new ways to raise money. Possibilities include a National Basketball Association game at Scottrade Center and moving the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High School Basketball Shootout into a larger facility, such as the soon-to-be-completed arena at St. Louis University.
Wilson also said he is toying with the idea of working with other area nonprofit groups to organize a downtown picnic similar to the annual Strassenfest.
The 3 p.m. kickoff of Saturday's Gateway Classic between Langston University of Langston, Okla., and Stillman College of Tuscaloosa, Ala., marks the 14th anniversary for the fall event between two historically black universities. It also marks the 10th year since the foundation established its scholarship program, which Wilson says remains the organization's top priority.
"You're going to have ups and downs," he said. "The main thing is you're constantly doing something."
The Gateway Classic is one of about three dozen similar black college football classics around the U.S. scheduled for this fall.
Last year, the foundation brought in about $2.4 million, including nearly $1.1 million in noncash, in-kind contributions such as donated advertising and airfare. But the expenses needed to operate the foundation and pay for events took most of the money.
Since its inception, the foundation has distributed nearly $2 million for full student scholarships. Nearly 60 students receiving financial support from Gateway have graduated from historically black universities such as Hampton, Howard, Tuskegee and Lincoln University. The foundation also has donated more than $500,000 to charities, including Mathews-Dickey Boys' and Girls' Club, Annie Malone Children & Family Service Center and the NAACP.
Last year, the foundation committed $237,000, spread over four years, for scholarships to five high school students. Two of those scholarships went to students at McCluer North High School, including Janay Marsh, who attends Lincoln University.
McCluer North Principal Shane Hopper said Marsh is "a good kid" and a "middle-range student" who benefited tremendously from Gateway's help.
"It has given her a big jump-start with her education and her career," Hopper said.
As the Gateway foundation pursues its mission to provide scholarships, it has been managing financial pressures, said Wilson, a retired IBM executive. Two years ago, he reduced his staff from 10 to five.
Wayman Smith, chairman of the Gateway Classic board, said the foundation may have been "overly aggressive" in scholarship commitments. Increasing tuition costs and four-year scholarship guarantees began to stretch the organization's resources.
Wilson said part of the problem was a decision to give scholarships to schools like Tuskegee and Hampton, where tuition can exceed $20,000 a year. In recent years, the foundation has offered more financial support to students attending less costly schools like Lincoln and Harris-Stowe State University.
While the foundation is involved in a variety of fundraising, most of its income comes from the annual football game.
Since the first contest in 1994, ticket sales have averaged about 35,000 per game, with a record attendance of 47,000 in 1996. Last year's attendance was 33,000, the lowest in four years.
As a result, Wilson and the foundation have pushed hard on a campaign to "fill the Dome" with 60,000 fans for this year's contest at the Edward Jones Dome.
Increased involvement of several community leaders, including St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley and Archbishop Raymond Burke, has helped push ticket sales to 40,000 as of Thursday, Wilson said.
In an attempt to increase ticket sales further, the foundation is giving away a new car, a round-trip ticket to Paris and several TV sets to winning ticket holders inside the Dome on game day.
"Five years ago, this was the new game in town," Smith said. "Now it's not quite as new; it's not quite as shiny. So you've got to figure out something that makes up the difference."
Wilson said organizers hope they can sell more tickets to the thousands who turn out for pregame tailgating festivities but who never go inside the Dome. He said he is confident he can build wider support for the game and the cause, noting that more than 500,000 blacks live in the St. Louis area.
"I would think the community would be knocking down doors to support us," he said. "But I can't get discouraged."
The foundation has cultivated partnerships with several corporations, but Wilson said the money from those deals has declined. Still, some sponsors continue to support the foundation, such as American Family Insurance of Madison, Wis.
Francisca Brown, multicultural market sales development director for the company and a member of Gateway's board of trustees, said American Family recently signed a three-year commitment with the foundation at "more than $100,000 a year."
The company has been impressed by Wilson's work and likes the idea that scholarship efforts focus on "C" students, Brown said.
Wilson said he hopes the foundation can distribute $80,000 in scholarship money this year.
"It's a struggle" he said. "But it's a good struggle."
St. Louis — Disappointed by stagnant ticket sales, the founder of the annual Gateway Classic college football game says he is looking for new ways to boost the amount of college scholarship money his organization gives to local black high school graduates.
Earl Wilson Jr., who has headed the St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation since 1994, said scholarship payments have slipped in recent years, largely because of an inability to increase ticket sales for the football game.
The foundation paid out slightly more than $55,000 for scholarships in 2006, down from nearly $100,000 in 2005 and $182,000 in 2004, according to records. The scholarship totals have dipped each year since 2002, when the foundation paid out more than $246,000 to college students.
"It's a challenge," Wilson said recently from the foundation's headquarters at 20th Street and Martin Luther King Drive. "It's always been a challenge." Advertisement
Wilson, 74, said he is constantly looking for new ways to raise money. Possibilities include a National Basketball Association game at Scottrade Center and moving the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High School Basketball Shootout into a larger facility, such as the soon-to-be-completed arena at St. Louis University.
Wilson also said he is toying with the idea of working with other area nonprofit groups to organize a downtown picnic similar to the annual Strassenfest.
The 3 p.m. kickoff of Saturday's Gateway Classic between Langston University of Langston, Okla., and Stillman College of Tuscaloosa, Ala., marks the 14th anniversary for the fall event between two historically black universities. It also marks the 10th year since the foundation established its scholarship program, which Wilson says remains the organization's top priority.
"You're going to have ups and downs," he said. "The main thing is you're constantly doing something."
The Gateway Classic is one of about three dozen similar black college football classics around the U.S. scheduled for this fall.
Last year, the foundation brought in about $2.4 million, including nearly $1.1 million in noncash, in-kind contributions such as donated advertising and airfare. But the expenses needed to operate the foundation and pay for events took most of the money.
Since its inception, the foundation has distributed nearly $2 million for full student scholarships. Nearly 60 students receiving financial support from Gateway have graduated from historically black universities such as Hampton, Howard, Tuskegee and Lincoln University. The foundation also has donated more than $500,000 to charities, including Mathews-Dickey Boys' and Girls' Club, Annie Malone Children & Family Service Center and the NAACP.
Last year, the foundation committed $237,000, spread over four years, for scholarships to five high school students. Two of those scholarships went to students at McCluer North High School, including Janay Marsh, who attends Lincoln University.
McCluer North Principal Shane Hopper said Marsh is "a good kid" and a "middle-range student" who benefited tremendously from Gateway's help.
"It has given her a big jump-start with her education and her career," Hopper said.
As the Gateway foundation pursues its mission to provide scholarships, it has been managing financial pressures, said Wilson, a retired IBM executive. Two years ago, he reduced his staff from 10 to five.
Wayman Smith, chairman of the Gateway Classic board, said the foundation may have been "overly aggressive" in scholarship commitments. Increasing tuition costs and four-year scholarship guarantees began to stretch the organization's resources.
Wilson said part of the problem was a decision to give scholarships to schools like Tuskegee and Hampton, where tuition can exceed $20,000 a year. In recent years, the foundation has offered more financial support to students attending less costly schools like Lincoln and Harris-Stowe State University.
While the foundation is involved in a variety of fundraising, most of its income comes from the annual football game.
Since the first contest in 1994, ticket sales have averaged about 35,000 per game, with a record attendance of 47,000 in 1996. Last year's attendance was 33,000, the lowest in four years.
As a result, Wilson and the foundation have pushed hard on a campaign to "fill the Dome" with 60,000 fans for this year's contest at the Edward Jones Dome.
Increased involvement of several community leaders, including St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley and Archbishop Raymond Burke, has helped push ticket sales to 40,000 as of Thursday, Wilson said.
In an attempt to increase ticket sales further, the foundation is giving away a new car, a round-trip ticket to Paris and several TV sets to winning ticket holders inside the Dome on game day.
"Five years ago, this was the new game in town," Smith said. "Now it's not quite as new; it's not quite as shiny. So you've got to figure out something that makes up the difference."
Wilson said organizers hope they can sell more tickets to the thousands who turn out for pregame tailgating festivities but who never go inside the Dome. He said he is confident he can build wider support for the game and the cause, noting that more than 500,000 blacks live in the St. Louis area.
"I would think the community would be knocking down doors to support us," he said. "But I can't get discouraged."
The foundation has cultivated partnerships with several corporations, but Wilson said the money from those deals has declined. Still, some sponsors continue to support the foundation, such as American Family Insurance of Madison, Wis.
Francisca Brown, multicultural market sales development director for the company and a member of Gateway's board of trustees, said American Family recently signed a three-year commitment with the foundation at "more than $100,000 a year."
The company has been impressed by Wilson's work and likes the idea that scholarship efforts focus on "C" students, Brown said.
Wilson said he hopes the foundation can distribute $80,000 in scholarship money this year.
"It's a struggle" he said. "But it's a good struggle."
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