MSU Farrier adds three to coaching staff

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- Morgan State interim head football coach Fred T. Farrier has added three more assistants to his staff.

Ernest T. Jones is the associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator, Antonio James is the defensive line coach, and Mitch Browning is the offensive line coach.

"I'm happy to announce the hiring of Ernest, Mitch and Antonio," Farrier said in a statement. "I'm excited about putting this staff together for the 2016 season. I think any time you hire people to your staff that it is an opportunity to improve the program and leave an impact on your student-athletes."

"As interim coach, I have one opportunity to try to get this right. I think the hires we made and moving some guys around will make an immediate impact on our program."

Jones was previously the head coach at ASA Miami, a two-year college that started its first football season in 2015. He has also spent time at UConn, Notre Dame, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Central Michigan, Concordia, Oberlin, Kentucky State, and has served as head coach for his alma mater Alcorn State.

"Ernest brings a wealth of experience to the program," said Farrier. "He has been a head coach twice and coached at premiere BCS programs. He has recruited all over the country and coached in a BCS national championship game. I look forward to the contributions he will make as a coach, mentor and a recruiter as we work to move the program forward. I believe his recruiting ties and acumen will help us elevate our national recruiting profile.

James joins the Bears after spending time as a defensive graduate assistant coach at Michigan. Prior to joining U-M, James coached the defensive line and outside linebackers at Urbana High School from 2011-13. He was a four-year letterman on the defensive line at the University of Illinois (2006-09), and helped lead the Fighting Illini to the 2008 Rose Bowl Game.

"Antonio comes highly recommended from a number of highly regarded coaches and coaches I trust," explained Farrier. "He has played and coached in the Big Ten and understands the role he has to play to assist our players to get better. He is eager to make an impact on our young men and I can't wait to see that carry over to the young men on our team."

Browning has been the offensive line coach at Rutgers for the past two seasons. He has 35 years of coaching experience, including stops at six BCS programs and appearances in 12 previous bowl games (seven in 10 years at Minnesota). Browning has recruited 20 players during his career that played in the NFL, including first round draft picks Dana Stubblefield and Laurence Maroney.

"Mitch has coached at the highest levels of college football and been an offensive coordinator at the BCS level," Farrier said. "He has coached in multiple bowl games and prepared many of his pupils for professional football. I look forward to his contributions to our staff room and the impact he will make on his position group. He has recruited guys from all over the country and I look forward to him developing our offensive line."

Farrier also made an additional change to his staff when he moved Travis Manger from offensive line coach to quarterbacks and recruiting coordinator.

"He has experience coaching offensive skill positions and I think he can better impact our program coaching our quarterbacks," said Farrier. "He is very bright and hard working and I think he can assist us in a big way as recruiting coordinator. He develops strong relationships with his players and I look forward to working with him in this new role as we move forward and the contributions he will make."

Farrier's staff also includes: assistant head coach/running backs coach Ken Lucas, defensive coordinator Mike Fanoga, and special teams/tight ends coach Benton Harold.

Morgan State opens its 2016 season with a home-opener against Holy Cross on Sept. 3 before traveling to take on Marshall on Sept. 10. The Bears 2016 schedule features five home games in Hughes Stadium, including a meeting with MEAC co-champion Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 5 in Baltimore.

Fans can keep up-to-date with all MSU Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/MorganStBears. You can also become a fan of the Bears on Facebook at Facebook.com/MorganStateBears.

2016 MSU FOOTBALL TICKETS CAN BE YOURS! For ticket information click here.

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Xavier Rush, Nuggets will run at 2 SEC-hosted meets in 2016

NEW ORLEANS — For the first time in 13 years, Xavier University of Louisiana's men's and women's cross country teams will compete in a pair of meets at SEC schools.

The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will travel to Baton Rouge, La., for the LSU Invitational Sept. 17 and to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the University of Alabama's Crimson Classic Oct. 14.

Joseph Moses, beginning his 12th season as head coach, announced Tuesday the 2016 schedule of the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets. The first meet will be the third annual Xavier Big Easy Opener Aug. 26 at City Park, about four miles from the XU campus.

Xavier will compete Sept. 2 and Oct. 7 in meets at NCAA Division II's Mississippi College. The other XU local appearance will be Sept. 10 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Festival at Lafreniere Park in suburban Metairie, La.

The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships will return in late October after a year's absence. Date and venue of the meet have not been determined. Xavier was the GCAC men's and women's team champion nine consecutive seasons (2006-14).

"We are excited about the 2016 season and our schedule," Moses said. "Our runners are excited about competing in the large SEC meets. The LSU and Alabama meets will help us prepare well for the GCAC and NAIA championships."

The GCAC team champions will qualify automatically for the NAIA National Championships Nov. 19. Charlotte, N.C., will be the site of that meet for the second consecutive year.

Xavier University of Louisiana 2016 Men's and Women's Cross Country Schedule Friday, Aug. 26 XAVIER BIG EASY OPENER, City Park, 5:30 p.m. women, 6 p.m. men Friday, Sept. 2 Mississippi College Season Opener, Clinton, Miss., 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 Allstate Sugar Bowl Festival, Metairie, La., 7:50 a.m. men, 8:25 a.m. women Saturday, Sept. 17 LSU Invitational, Baton Rouge, La., 7:30 a.m. men, 8:20 a.m. women Friday, Oct. 7 Watson Ford Invitational, Clinton, Miss., 4:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14 Crimson Classic, Tuscaloosa, Ala., TBA TBA Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships, site TBA Saturday, Nov. 19 NAIA National Championships, Charlotte, N.C., 10:30 a.m. EST women, 11:45 a.m. EST men Home meets in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS      All times are Central except where noted      Schedules are subject to change

XU schedule has 5 NAIA tourney teams in 1st 7 matches

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's 2016 volleyball schedule will include five 2015 NAIA national tournament teams among the first seven opponents, plus a school-record 10 matches in August.

Fourth-year coach Hannah Lawing — who is 65-22 with the Gold Nuggets and has won three Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships apiece — announced Monday the schedule, which consists of 30 regular-season matches, 12 at home.

Xavier (19-8 overall, 11-1 GCAC in 2015) will open the season with matches against NAIA tourney qualifiers Wayland Baptist, Our Lady of the Lake and Evangel in OLLU's Hotel Indigo at the Alamo Saints Classic in San Antonio, Texas. The Aug. 19 matches against Wayland Baptist and OLLU will be Xavier's earliest-ever season opener.

The following week, Xavier will play two more NAIA tourney qualifiers: Aug. 26 against Coastal Georgia and Aug. 27 against Missouri Baptist in the STU Invitational at Miami Gardens, Fla. Missouri Baptist was the national runner-up a year ago.

"We have tried very hard with this schedule to play more matches, especially those against nationally competitive teams, and to play more pre-conference tournaments," Lawing said. "We'll play a lot of August matches because we're trying to push our girls from the start and hold ourselves to a higher standard."

The Gold Nuggets will play a pair of Aug. 30 matches at city rival Loyola — against St. Thomas (Texas) and Loyola — before playing their home opener at 11 a.m. Sept. 2 against William Carey in the second annual Big Easy Blastoff. William Carey is a longtime NAIA member but in its first season of intercollegiate volleyball.

The other Big Easy Blastoff teams will be Southwest (N.M.) and Pikeville.

"In all we'll play nine times against first-time opponents, which was another scheduling goal," Lawing said.

Additional non-conference highlights include a pair of matches apiece against Mobile and Spring Hill. During the past two seasons, Mobile was 63-10, and Spring Hill was 49-14. Spring Hill will visit Xavier Sept. 15, and Mobile will visit Oct. 15 on Senior Day.

Xavier's first of 12 GCAC regular-season matches will start at 5 p.m. Sept. 6 at Tougaloo. The Gold Nuggets' first GCAC home match will start at 5 p.m. Sept. 12 against Philander Smith.

Xavier will play host to SUNO at 6 p.m. Sept. 29 and to Dillard at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 in a Dig Pink match. Both are city and GCAC rivals. SUNO is a five-time GCAC Tournament runner-up in the last six seasons.

The regular-season finale will start at 7 o'clock Halloween evening at home against Tougaloo. It will be Fan Appreciation Night, and there will be a costume contest.

The GCAC Tournament will be played the first or second weekend of November at Dillard's Dent Hall.

NOTES: This will be the ninth season of XU intercollegiate volleyball and the fourth season of matches at the Convocation Center . . . In the previous eight seasons combined, Xavier played 26 times in August, four times a year ago . . . In the 2015 NAIA postseason coaches poll, Missouri Baptist ranked second, Evangel 16th and Coastal Georgia 20th. OLLU, Wayland Baptist and Mobile were among others receiving votes . . . The preseason top 25 will be announced Aug. 16, and the first regular-season rankings will be unveiled Sept. 6 . . . Xavier is scheduled to play seven more regular-season matches than it did in 2015 . . . Xavier seeks a sixth straight GCAC regular-season and tournament championship apiece, along with a sixth straight NAIA National Championship berth . . . Including tournaments, Xavier has won 72 of its last 73 matches against GCAC opponents.

Xavier University of Louisiana
2016 Women's Volleyball Schedule

Aug. 19 (Fri.):  Wayland Baptist, 9 a.m. (Hotel Indigo at the Alamo Saints Classic, San Antonio, Texas)
Aug. 19 (Fri.):  at Our Lady of the Lake, 1 p.m. (Hotel Indigo at the Alamo Saints Classic, San Antonio, Texas)
Aug. 20 (Sat.):  Evangel, 11 a.m. (Hotel Indigo at the Alamo Saints Classic, San Antonio, Texas)
Aug. 20 (Sat.):  Tennessee Wesleyan, 1 p.m. (Hotel Indigo at the Alamo Saints Classic, San Antonio, Texas)
Aug. 26 (Fri.):  at St. Thomas (Fla.), noon EDT (STU Invitational, Miami Gardens, Fla.)
Aug. 26 (Fri.):  Coastal Georgia, 4 p.m. EDT (STU Invitational, Miami Gardens, Fla.)
Aug. 27 (Sat.):  Missouri Baptist, 10 a.m. EDT (STU Invitational, Miami Gardens, Fla.)
Aug. 27 (Sat.):  Indiana Tech, 4 p.m. EDT (STU Invitational, Miami Gardens, Fla.)
Aug. 30 (Tue.):  St. Thomas (Texas) (at Loyola [La.]'s The Den), 5 p.m.
Aug. 30 (Tue.):  at Loyola (La.), 7 p.m.
Sept. 2 (Fri.):  WILLIAM CAREY, 11 a.m. (Big Easy Blastoff)
Sept. 2 (Fri.):  PIKEVILLE, 5 p.m. (Big Easy Blastoff)
Sept. 3 (Sat.):  SOUTHWEST (N.M), 11 a.m. (Big Easy Blastoff)
Sept. 6 (Tue.)  •  at Tougaloo, 5 p.m.
Sept. 10 (Sat.)  •  at Edward Waters, noon EDT
Sept. 12 (Mon.):  •  PHILANDER SMITH, 5 p.m.
Sept. 15 (Thu.):  SPRING HILL, 6 p.m.
Sept. 22 (Thu.)  •  at Dillard, 6 p.m.
Sept. 23 (Fri.):  FAULKNER, 3 p.m.
Sept. 24 (Sat.)  at Mobile,3 p.m.
Sept. 29 (Thu.):  •  SUNO, 6 p.m.
Oct. 1 (Sat.):  •  TALLADEGA, 1 p.m.
Oct. 2 (Sun.):  •  EDWARD WATERS, 1 p.m.
Oct. 8 (Sat.)  •  at Philander Smith, 1 p.m.
Oct. 13 (Thu.):  •  DILLARD, 6 p.m. (Dig Pink Match)
Oct. 15 (Sat.):  MOBILE, 3 p.m. (Senior Day)
Oct. 20 (Thu.)  •  at SUNO, 6 p.m.
Oct. 24 (Mon.)  at Spring Hill, 6 p.m.
Oct. 29 (Sat.)  •  at Talladega, 1 p.m.
Oct. 31 (Mon.):  •  TOUGALOO, 7 p.m. (Fan Appreciation/Costume Contest)
TBA:  Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, New Orleans (at Dillard's Dent Hall)
Nov. 19 (Sat.):  NAIA National Championship opening round at campus sites, TBA
Nov. 29-Dec. 3 (Tue.-Sat.):  NAIA National Championship final site at Sioux City, Iowa, TBA

Home matches in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS
All times are Central except where noted
Schedules are subject to change

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold 

Tickets on sale for Savannah Invitational basketball tournament

SAVANNAH, Georgia -- Tickets on sale for Savannah Invitational

The Savannah Sports Council has announced that tickets are on sale for the Savannah Invitational, which features six women’s and eight men’s college basketball teams Nov. 22-26 at the Savannah Civic Center.

Participating women’s teams and conferences, which are scheduled to play Nov. 22-24, are Auburn (SEC), Ball State (MAC), East Carolina (AAC), Marist (MAAC), North Carolina A&T (MEAC) and West Virginia (Big 12).

Participating men’s teams and conferences, which are scheduled to play Nov. 25-26, are Akron (MAC), the U.S. Air Force Academy (MWC), East Carolina (AAC), , Georgia Southern (Sun Belt), Mercer (Southern), Radford (Big South) and Stetson (Atlantic Sun).
Florida A&M (MEAC)

Tickets may be purchased at SavannahInvitational.com or by calling the Savannah Civic Center box office at 912-651-6556.

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UMES women will face the Terps again in 2016-17

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- For the second straight season, the University of Maryland's women's basketball team will face the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks.

The Terps released their non-conference slate for the 2016-17 season on Wednesday, July 20 and it includes a Nov. 16 meeting with Fred Batchelor's side in College Park. The time of the game has not been set. It is the second game on the Terps' schedule.

The Terps and the Hawks met last season in Princess Anne and Maryland handed UMES its largest margin of defeat in history, with Brenda Frese’s side winning by 76 points. This will be the fourth time that the Terps and Hawks have met in women’s basketball – Maryland has won every contest.

Maryland was 31-4 last season and won the Big Ten title before falling in the NCAA tournament to Washington. The Hawks took a six-game winning streak into the MEAC tournament, but fell in the first round.

UMES has not released its non-conference women’s basketball schedule. The men’s schedule hasn’t been released either, but George Washington and UTEP have released men’s basketball slates that include match-ups with the Hawks.

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Haynes repays Alcorn State for its trust

LORMAN, Mississippi -- On the day she graduated from Meridian Community College, Norianna Haynes learned of news that would drastically change her life for the foreseeable future.

Haynes was a standout basketball player at Northeast Lauderdale High School and later helped lead the Lady Eagles to an NJCAA Region 23 Championship in during the 2011-12 season. At the time of her graduation from MCC, Haynes held scholarship offers from a number of Division 1 women’s college basketball programs.

But on her graduation day, she found out she was six months pregnant.



“I didn’t have any symptoms,” Haynes, 24, recalled. “I played basketball, and I didn’t feel it. The doctor told me that with me playing a lot, I was at high risk. I had to let the schools know. When I told certain schools, they kind of fell back and told me basically I couldn’t give (them my all) because of me being pregnant.”

The pregnancy sidelined Haynes for a year, and also prompted a number of Division 1 programs to alter the conditions of their scholarships. The full-ride offers became partial offers. Haynes said the situation was difficult to accept at the time.

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Texas Southern coach Mike Davis is shooting for more than just a SWAC championship

HOUSTON, Texas -- Texas Southern head coach Mike Davis is not afraid of a battle. You would think that after his team’s 1-11 start last year against a loaded non-conference schedule -- featuring losses to Syracuse, Baylor and Mississippi State -- that the Tigers would have folded up shop early last year.

But although his team got off to a rough start, it righted the ship against its SWAC conference foes, going 16-2 and ending within one game of the NCAA tournament.

You would think after faltering out of the blocks to start, that perhaps this year Davis would consider a different strategy moving forward for the Tigers. Not so.

Once again, Davis has his Tigers pitted against a formidable list of non-conference opponents to start 2016-17, including road games against Arizona, Louisville, Baylor, Cincinnati and TCU among others.

"I’m trying to build a team that has no relax time," Davis said. "My whole mindset is to go and play as many teams as we can on the road and never play a home game in non-conference."

He feels that having his players compete in those hostile environments would help reap some long-term benefits for his players, not to mention the checks that pour in from playing so many guarantees.

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Walter Payton remembered on his 62nd birthday

CHICAGO, Illinois -- Sneak away from the monotony of your work day today and do a Google video search for Walter Payton. You won’t be disappointed.

Monday would have been his 62nd birthday, after all, and you deserve some “you” time.

The Walter Payton-style running back — bruising, durable, workhorse — is indeed a thing of the past. It’s why we loved Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch, whose style most resembled that of “Sweetness” — a back who punished defenders, who initiated contact and who perfected the shoulder dip.



Mike Ditka, who coached the former Jackson State University star during the last half of an illustrious 13-year NFL career, called him “’the very best football player I’ve ever seen, period, at any position.”

Payton’s son, Jarrett, admitted in 2011 that it’s not always easy to be the son of a famous person — particularly in sports. But he embraces the legacy his father left behind. “It’s truly an honor,” said Jarrett Payton, who proudly champions the two awards in his dad’s honor: the Walter Payton Achievement Award, which is affiliated with the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, and the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, given annually by the NFL honoring a player’s volunteer and charity work, as well as his excellence on the field.

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XULA Gold Nuggets introduce three new distance runners

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana announced Thursday the addition of three student-athletes to its women's cross country program for the 2016-17 academic year. Signed to scholarships were:

• Alexis McDaniel of Biloxi, Miss., and Biloxi High School.
• Taylor Price of Missouri City, Texas, and Ridge Point High School.
• Imani Walker of St. Louis and Parkway North High School.

All will be freshmen and also will compete in outdoor track and field during the spring.
McDaniel was Biloxi's fastest finisher at the 2015 Class 6A state meet. She finished 38th overall and helped her team finish 17th in the team standings. As a junior in 2014, McDaniel placed 56th at the state meet and helped Biloxi finish 12th. She will be a pre-pharmacy major at Xavier.

Price was a national champion at the 2014 USATF Junior Olympics, winning the 3,000-meter run in the 15-16 age group for her club team, the Houston Visions. At Ridge Point she was sixth in the 1,600 at the 5A state outdoor track meet this year, and this past fall she was the Region III-5A individual champion in cross country. Price's best 5K time is 18 minutes, 8.72 seconds, a school record she set while winning the 2014 district meet. Price's XU major will be biomedical science.

Walker was a four-time conference outdoor track champion in the 800 and holds the school record at 2:19.97. She has produced a pair of top-six finishes at the AAU Junior Olympics, including fifth place in 2012. Walker will major in kinesiology
.

Also joining the cross country roster will be sophomore Maliya Vaughan, who competed in track this past season. There will be three returning letterwinners: Chinyere Jones, Dionysia Love and Brianna Pace. The Gold Nuggets will run their first meet of the season in late August. Xavier will release the 2016 schedule soon.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Larry Smith set to represent Alcorn in MS Sports Hall of Fame

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Larry Smith wasn’t gifted with natural-born scoring ability, so he knew there were other things he had to do in order to stay on the basketball court.

“It was a situation where if I wanted to get playing time, I needed to find a way to acquire playing time,” Smith said. “I felt if I pound the glass, rebound the ball and play great defense and did those little things, the playing time will come.”

Those little things added up to a stellar career, which stretched from Simmons High School to Alcorn State and a 13-year career in the NBA for the Rolling Fork native.

The next stop for Smith is the BancorpSouth Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame where he’ll be inducted Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Jackson Convention Center.

“I think he’s one of Mississippi’s all-time basketball greats,” Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame historian Rick Cleveland said. “By any definition he should be in there. He was a great basketball player in college, and was a really solid player in the pros.”

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Alcorn State Athletics Names Robbie Kleinmuntz Director of Sports Information

Robbie Kleinmuntz, SID 

LORMAN, Mississippi -- Robbie Kleinmuntz comes to Alcorn after spending three seasons as assistant director of Media Relations at the University of Louisiana Monroe. He publicized a men's basketball program that shot up to the top of the Sun Belt Conference standings after back-to-back 20-win seasons and a pair of postseason appearances.

In June 2016, Kleinmuntz's 2015 Women's Soccer Media Guide won first-place in the state of Louisiana for Olympic sports by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) and second-place nationally in the Women's Soccer University category by the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Kleinmuntz also finished second in the CoSIDA Spring-At Large category for his 2015-16 Track & Field Media Guide, and second for Feature Story of the Year in 2014-15 by the LSWA.

Prior to ULM, Kleinmuntz served as communications assistant at the Sun Belt Conference office, and sports information graduate assistant at Northwestern State University. He experienced working as the primary contact for soccer, volleyball, softball, tennis and swimming and diving during those stints. Kleinmuntz also worked as an athletics media relations student intern at the University of Pittsburgh for two years.

While in Pittsburgh, Kleinmuntz wrote for the school newspaper, The Pitt News, as a sports writer and interned for the Pittsburgh Sports Report newspaper. He worked in the Media Relations Department when the men's basketball team was ranked No. 1 in the nation on two separate occasions.

Kleinmuntz earned his bachelor's degree as a double major in journalism and history from Pittsburgh in 2010, and his master's degree in sports administration from Northwestern State University in 2012.

He is the son of Ira and Leslie Kleinmuntz and has two younger brothers, Michael and Sam. Kleinmuntz is an avid Pittsburgh sports fan.

COURTESY ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Grambling’s dominace in question this season

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- The dominance that Grambling displayed in the Southwest Athletic Conference in 2015 is somewhat in question at the start of this season.

Grambling, which ran the table through its league schedule last year and then reached the SWAC championship game, has a quarterback issue and a need to improve a defense that allowed 35 points per game, a matter which helped the Tigers finish last in the conference in pass defense.

Coaches and league sports information directors have picked Grambling to finish second in the West Division behind Prairie View A&M. The Tigers received 35 points, six behind Prairie View and three in front of third-place Southern.

The Tigers finished 9-3 overall in 2015 behind quarterback Jonathan Williams, who passed for just over 3,000 yards, an accomplishment that was second best in the SWAC.

There’s quarterback potential help on the way however, as Grambling has Ole Miss transfer
Devante Kincade as a replacement. Kincade injured his foot last year and was not available for any of the Tigers’ spring football workouts.

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Southern looks to break out of the pack this season

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- It could be somewhat of an enigmatic 2016 football season for Southern University.

The Jaguars have plenty offensive experience returning including running back Lenard Tillery, the preseason Southwestern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

There is also a new synthetic turf that will grace the Jaguars’ playing field at 28,500-seat A.W. Mumford Stadium for the start of 2016. The turf, paid for by the SU System Foundation, Baton Rouge Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Louisiana Superdome Management and UBU Sports, will be unveiled at the home opener Sept. 17 against Alabama State.



Those factors should be enough to encourage the Jaguar Nation, as Southern enters this year picked third in the West Division behind projected leader Prairie View A&M and second place Grambling.

That’s the same place the Jags finished last season, despite having one of the nation’s best offenses.

However, for the second straight season, Southern begins a regular season with a problem, as league sanctions due to academic issues prevented the Jaguars from having spring football.

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Ellenwood ready to tackle FAMU athletics issues after joining leadership team

Joyce Ellenwood,
 Associate Athletic Director for Academics and Compliance Services
(COURTESY PHOTO: FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS)

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Joyce Ellenwood is ready to take on the challenges that come with being the head of compliance in Florida A&M’s athletic department.

Ellenwood, who last month was named associate athletic director for compliance and academic services, has a list of things she wants to tackle while on the job.

First, she wants Florida A&M’s entire community to know compliance isn’t 100-percent an athletics issue.

“Ensuring our documents are in place, ensuring we’re following rules and regulations, ensuring we’re educating the university community,” she said.

“Compliance with NCAA rules is a FAMU community effort. It’s a campus-wide effort. It’s not just an athletic focus. Of course, we have our student-athletes, we have our coaches, we have our athletics staff that is responsible for knowing and abiding by NCAA rules, but we also want to make sure the campus community is also educated.”

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COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

UMES Hawks Add JUCO Point Guard Michael Chambers To Recruiting Class

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball program rounded out the roster with a final piece by signing junior college guard Michael Chambers.

Chambers, a 6-foot-3, 186-pound guard spent last season at Cape Fear Junior College in Wilmington, N.C., where he averaged and helped the squad to a 24-8 overall record.

“Mike is a prolific scorer,” Hawks head coach Bobby Collins said. “He has proven that he can score at the collegiate level. He also has a very high basketball IQ and is always thinking a play ahead.”

The Sea Devils advanced to the Region 10 Tournament Championship game falling 75-72 to Spartanburg Methodist. Chambers had 33 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in that contest.

Before playing last season with Cape Fear, Chambers spent the 2013-14 season as a freshman at Division II Lees-McRae where he averaged 18 points His season highlights included 21 and 29 points against Division I High Point and Appalachian State respectively.

The team has awarded its full compliment of scholarships for the 2016-17 athletic year.

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UMES Hawks' Dominique Elliott will play pro hoops in Slovenia

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- Dominique Elliott said that the only thing he knew about Slovenia was that Donald Trump’s wife is from there.

Melania Trump was born in Novo Mesto, then a city in Yugoslavia, in 1970.

Novo Mesto is where Elliott will begin what he hopes to be a long career in professional basketball. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore graduate signed a one-year deal with the ABA Liga’s KK Krka on Thursday, July 21.

“I’ve heard Novo Mesto is very nice,” Elliott said. “I’ve looked it up and talked to some people. The people are nice, the crime is not bad and they love their team. I’m ready to get out there and get to work. It’s a job now.”

Elliott, 24, will leave the states soon. He recently had to get his passport expedited so he can be in Slovenia for training camp on Aug. 8.

The process for Elliott finding a professional basketball home started months ago in Norfolk, Virginia.

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FAMU Marching "100" Summer Band Camp 2016

ALWAYS WATCH IN 1080p HD, WIDE SCREEN

UAPB seeks to reverse slide

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- Arkansas-Pine Bluff is counting on a host of newcomers to contribute as it seeks to escape the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Western Division basement.

With only 12 returning starters (6 offense, 4 defense, 2 specialists), the Golden Lions are the league's least experienced team.



Entering his 10th season, coach Monte Coleman is the SWAC's longest-tenured head coach. Coleman is working to right the ship as UAPB has struggled to a 7-27 mark since winning the conference championship in 2012.

First-year offensive coordinator Ted White has implemented the spread in an effort to boost a stagnant offense which ranked ninth in the SWAC in scoring (19.5 points per game), eighth in rushing (130.4 ypg), seventh in passing (186.6 ypg), eighth in total offense (317 ypg) and dead last among 10 teams in third down conversions (26.5 percent).

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Haywood sets out to revive Texas Southern

HOUSTON, Texas -- Texas Southern is hoping Michael Haywood can duplicate the turnaround that he orchestrated at his previous head coaching stop.

In his only other head coaching stint at Miami (Ohio), Haywood followed up a 1-11 2009 campaign with a 9-4 record and the Mid-American Conference championship in 2010.

Introduced as Texas Southern's new coach in December, the Houston native and former Notre Dame cornerback takes over a program coming off of academic sanctions.



Six starters return from an offense which rated fifth in the SWAC in scoring (25.6 points per game), seventh in rushing (137.6 yards per game), eighth in passing (179 ypg) and ninth in total offense (316.6 ypg).

Quarterback Averion Hurts is coming off of a solid freshman season after completing 74-of-139 passes for 991 yards and 14 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Hurts, who shared the position with senior Johnathan Bowen, was also the team's third-leading rusher with 81 carries for 195 yards and three scores in nine games.

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Jackson State releases 2016 fall camp schedule

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Tony Hughes' first training camp at Jackson State will officially kick off 10 days from now.

JSU released its practice schedule on Friday afternoon, and training camp will feature 26 practices, which begin on Aug. 2.

In 2015, the Tigers held six two-a-day practices. That number will dip this year. JSU is only scheduled to hold three days of two-a-day practices.

The first three practices of camp are open to the public and media. Each of those practices begins at 5 a.m. and will be held at Jackson State's practice field.

he Tigers won't go into full pads until the fifth day of practice on Aug. 6. A "Meet the Tigers" event will also be held that day at 2 p.m. at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The first scrimmage of camp is slated for Aug.18 at 3:30 p.m. There will be a mock game on Aug. 26 at 6:15 p.m, which will be closed to the public and media.

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Most important Tigers: No. 1 LaMontiez Ivy

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Seven months have passed since Jackson State ended its 2015 season against in-state rival Alcorn State.

The Tigers kick off the regular season in less than two months, and JSU will open training camp in less than two weeks.

Not to mention, SWAC Media Day has come and gone.

In preparation for that, The Clarion-Ledger has counted down the 10 most important Tigers in 2016.

This list isn't ranking JSU's best players, most talented or productive, but the importance of the role they'll play this fall.

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Alcorn State on mission to threepeat

LORMAN, Mississippi -- Pursuing its third straight SWAC championship, the Alcorn State Braves go into preseason camp with a new head coach and 13 returning starters.

Former Alcorn quarterback Fred McNair was promoted from assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach to head coach following Jay Hopson's departure for Southern Mississippi. Hopson didn't leave Fred McNair, the older brother of Alcorn legendary QB Steve McNair, with a bare cupboard.



Five starters returns from an offense which was third in the SWAC in scoring (39.6 points per game), first in rushing (293.4 yards per game), ninth in passing (162.8 ypg) and second in total offense (456 ypg).

Pressed into service as a sophomore, Lenorris Footman proved to a more-than-adequate replacement for the injured John Gibbs Jr. Appearing in 11 games, the Monticello, Florida product product threw for 1,106 yards with 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions.Fitting into the offense seamlessly, The dual threat Footman averaged a stellar 7.4 yards per carry while finishing second on the team in rushing with 1,023 yards and 11 TDs. McNair would like to see Footman improve upon his 43.5 completion percentage, but that should come with experience.

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Jackson State a potential sleeper

JACKSON, Mississippi -- If one team in the SWAC has the capability of emerging as a sleeper, it would appear to be the Jackson State Tigers.

Despite coming off consecutive losing seasons, the pieces are in place for immediate improvement under first-year head coach Tony Hughes.

Hughes spent 31 years as an assistant before accepting his first head coaching position in December. At JSU, he inherits nine starters on both sides of the ball.

Hughes is looking for more production from an offense which ranked seventh in the conference in scoring (22.9 points per game), ninth in rushing (101.1 yards per game), second in passing (273.2 ypg) and fifth in total offense (374.3 ypg). Closing out the season on a four-game losing streak, the Tigers (3-8, 3-6) were the league's most heavily-penalized team with 86.6 yards per game in markoffs.

A healthy LaMontiez Ivy would be a major step toward upgrading the offense. Despite missing three games with an ankle injury, the senior quarterback completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 2,199 yards with 15 touchdown and eight interceptions last year.

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Male's Townsend commits to North Carolina A&T

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky -- Male High School product Taliyah Townsend, who won a trio of sprints at the Class 3-A state track and field meet in May, has committed to North Carolina A&T.

Townsend won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes in helping Male capture the state team title and had scholarship offers from Baylor, Florida State, Michigan State, Ohio State and several others.

“Everybody thinks I’m crazy for choosing a smaller school over the big schools, but I don’t think it’s about the school you go to,” Townsend said. “It’s about how you progress as an individual and an athlete on your own.”

Townsend said she didn’t visit North Carolina A&T until the middle of June and was impressed with Aggies head coach Duane Ross, who was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team in 2004.

“I really liked that he’d be the one working with me,” Townsend said. “A lot of the other schools, it wouldn’t have been the head coach working with me. It would have been the sprints coach.”

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Winston-Salem State Announces Inaugural Winston-Salem Football Classic

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- The Winston-Salem State University football team has an exciting season coming to the city of Winston-Salem with five home games and the inauguration of the Winston-Salem Football Classic. The three-day community-centered event is one of the strongest community partnerships in WSSU athletic history with the Rams joining strengths with the City of Winston-Salem and Winston-Salem Forsyth County School System.

We are excited about the launch of the inaugural Winston-Salem Classic. Lots of planning has gone on behind the scenes to ensure the weekend is a memorable one. It's more than just a game for us - it's an opportunity for partner with the city of Winston-Salem and heightened the exposure about WSSU and celebrate our value within the city, stated Tonia Walker, WSSU Director of Athletics.

The Winston-Salem Football Classic kicks on Thursday, Sept. 15 with the "Youth tRAMSformation Tour." Beginning at 9 a.m., over 700 seventh graders from across the county to learn academic concepts. The event will include sessions with WSSU professors, staff and students-athletes. Students will also tour the campus radio station and grasp mass communication techniques beneficial with speech. Science concepts will be introduced through a tour of the school of Health Science's virtual hospital housed at the Enterprise Center where they will witness various demonstrations. Additionally exercise science faculty will provide lessons on how student-athletes overcome injuries through interactive activities. Students will tour the Diggs Gallery and several other key areas of campus.

"We are excited about the opportunity for our middle school students to engage in activities that focus on academic life on the college campus. We are well aware of the positive impact that athletics plays in the classroom and are grateful to the WSSU athletes and staff who are willing to serve in mentors roles to help our young people understand that commitment and dedication are the keys to success on and off the field", stated Carol Montague Davis, Assistant Superintendent of Middle and High School Administration for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.

The Winston-Salem Classic continues on Friday, Sept. 16 with the WSSU football team and the Panthers of Virginia Union visiting area middle schools, and volunteering throughout selected schools.

The day will conclude with Winston-Salem Classic Banquet. The banquet is open to the public and will honor one of the most decorated men in college athletics – Coach William "Bill Hayes. Both WSSU and VUU will be present at the banquet with keynote speakers. Tickets to the banquet are $75, which includes general admission to the game on Saturday. Tickets will be available for purchase through the WSSU Athletics website – www.wssurams.com or in-person from the WSSU Bowman Gray Fieldhouse. Select students from the Youth tRAMSformation Tour will be invited back to attend to the banquet.

Mayor Allen Joines stated, "Winston-Salem is very pleased to host the first annual Winston-Salem Classic. We hope all of the participants, both locally and from out of the City, have a memorable time."

On Saturday, Sept. 17 the real festivities begin, with the We See Red Block Party, the six-hour RAMtastic day will feature games, vendors, exhibition booths, community group performances, radio personalities and food trucks. At 5 p.m. the world-renowned Red Sea of Sound will lead the group from main campus to Bowman Gray Stadium for the 6 p.m. helmet-to-helmet matchup with the Rams and the Panthers. (All youth from Thursday's Youth tRAMSformation Tour are welcomed as special guests and will be invited to take place in pre-game and in-game activities.)

According to Chancellor Elwood Robinson, "The Winston-Salem State University Football Classic is about more than football. The game is just one part of a great weekend that gives some of the best and brightest students from our local public schools exposure to a slice of college life, honors the legacy of former Athletic Director and Coach Bill Hayes, and sets the stage for the Classic to become an annual tradition for the university and the city."

Tickets for the 2016 Winston-Salem State University football season are still available for purchase through the ticket office (336) 750-3220. General admission is $75, general parking is $75, the All-Access card is $150 (provides admission to home football, basketball, baseball and the ACE Awards; this card is not valid for championship games or the CIAA Tournament), All-Access card with reserved seating is $200.

COURTESY WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS