Cooper prepares for presidency of S.C. State

Photo: Tallahassee, Florida native George Everett Cooper, Ph.D., earned his Bachelor’s degree from Florida A&M University; master’s degree, Tuskegee University; doctorate, University of Illinois, Urbana.

Dr. George E. Cooper will officially cement his name as South Carolina State University’s 10th president later this month. “I’m really excited about coming in. It’s just going to be an honor to serve,” Cooper said by phone Monday.

Cooper, the deputy administrator for science and education resources development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, emerged from a field of more than 40 applicants to be named the next president of S.C. State. He will officially take his position on July 16.

Cooper also touched on S.C. State’s athletic tradition, particularly in football. “I would hope we would be conference champs,” he said. But Cooper said the first mission of the institution is to provide students with a strong academic background and mold them into outstanding citizens.

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Former ASU coach hopes to get NCAA charges dropped

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Former Alabama State University coach L.C. Cole says he hopes to have alleged NCAA rules violations against him dropped or reduced to minor charges.

"I'm happy that it's coming to an end, but I'm anxious over how it's going to play out," said Cole, who was fired by ASU in 2003 and now coaches in the Canadian Football League.

The Montgomery Advertiser reported Monday that Cole might benefit financially if the charges are reduced to minor status. When fired, Cole had two years left on a contract that paid him about $125,000 annually and stipulated it could be terminated only if he was found to commit major NCAA violations, the newspaper said.

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Florida A&M University is Back!

AAMU players propose statue for Crews

The late Louis Crews is the all-time winningest football coach at Alabama A&M University. The stadium is named after him and the entrance leading to the luxury boxes is filled with his memorabilia. Now, a group of his former players, spearheaded by former split end Tom Jones and former quarterback Onree Jackson, are trying to raise money to erect a statue and a plaza in his honor outside of the stadium.

"This is our way to honor Coach Crews and his legacy," said Jackson, who played for Crews from 1965-69. "We're talking about a man that was larger than life. We're talking about the man that put Alabama A&M football on the map."

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FAMU golf team records ace with latest recruit

So much was at stake on a day when Shepherd Archie III was playing one of his worst rounds of golf. He was seven strokes over par and his high school team needed just one good shot. He’d been the go-to guy for Augusta (Ga.) Richmond Academy so many times before. Even in his struggles that didn’t change.

Down to his last shot, Archie perfectly executed a 30-foot birdie to clinch the Georgia 4A championship for his team this past spring. “I had no idea that the putt that I made would have won the tournament for us,” he said. “I was playing real badly at the time but I just tried to find a way to get through the round. My driver was off but I just had to find a way.”

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Former SU Jaguar leaps his way onto US Olympic Team

Brian Johnson earns US Olympic Team Spot in Long Jump

Willie Davenport, Rodney Milburn, and now, Brian Johnson -- SU Olympians. Brian Johnson solidified his name in Southern athletic lore forever, as he finished second in the long jump today at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR.

Johnson had the leading jump on the trials heading into today's long jump finals. On Friday, Brian leaped 8.09m (26-06.50 ft), outdistancing eventual winner, Travell Quinley, by 3 inches.

On Sunday, Trevell Quinley lept 8.36m (27-05.25 ft) to take the win over Johnson, who had a second place jump of 8.30m (27-02.75 ft), while Miguel Pate finished third.

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SCSU's newest coach no stranger to Bulldogs

John L. Williams does not need much schooling about South Carolina State University. A former player and assistant coach at North Carolina A&T during the 1990s, the Greenville, N.C. native got first hand view of the Bulldogs’ football tradition. As a senior, he lined up against the Bulldogs’ team which went 10-2 and won both the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and Heritage Bowl.

Starting today, Williams will try to help add to SCSU’s history as the new strength and conditioning coach. He replaces Thomas Stallworth, who resigned to take a similar job at Grambling State.

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Jackson State's Shasta Averyhardt gets taste of big time

Former JSU star Shasta Averyhardt played in her first USGA championship last week at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links. She made the cut of 64 and won her first match before losing the second 3 and 2. "It was different... it was fun," said Averyhardt, who was meet medalist for the 2008 SWAC champion Lady Tigers. "They treated me like a queen. I can definitely get used to it."

The atmosphere was a little different playing on the pristine Erin Hills Golf course in Erin, Wisc. - the scheduled host of the 2011 U.S. Amateur. From the strict pace of play to the locker rooms to the length of the course, the event was a taste of big-time professional golf.




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The 6-1, 22 year old Averyhardt is from Flint, Michigan and is scheduled to complete her degree requirements in accounting at JSU in December 2008. She has exhausted all four years of her eligibility in collegiate golf.

ASU responds to NCAA allegations: L.C. Cole hopes to clear his name

Photo: Texas Southern University first year head coach Johnnie Cole.

After nearly five years, Alabama State's NCAA rules infraction case is winding down. On Friday, school officials sent in their final response to numerous alleged rules violations -- many of which the school self-reported -- and former head football coach L.C. Cole said his attorney plans to send in his response on Monday to the four charges he's facing.

In addition, there were several indications late in the week that former ASU assistant coach Johnnie Cole, L.C.'s brother, had been cleared of all major violations in the case. Contacted on Friday, Johnnie Cole, now the head coach at Texas Southern University, said the NCAA had told him that he couldn't discuss the situation. Johnnie had been charged with three major violations when he was suspended in 2003 from his job as offensive coordinator.

L.C. Cole, in the meantime, is set to argue his innocence once more.

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The beat goes on for former Landstown coach Chris Beatty

Photo: FAMU's Joe Taylor, the former Hampton University coach made a surprising move in 2006, hiring Chris Beatty out of the high school ranks to run his offense. “Chris has this great ability to evaluate talent and then find a way to get the football to that talent. To me, to hire a guy like that, it wasn’t a risk. It was a no-brainer.” (Mark's Digital Photography)

MORGANTOWN, WV - Here in the war room at West Virginia University, the newly assembled football staff is building its offense, but the braintrust has hit a snag. Offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen, who helped Wake Forest to an ACC title in 2006, is stumped. So is associate head coach Doc Holliday, who helped Florida win a national championship in 2007. Receivers coach Lonnie Galloway, who came from an Appalachian State staff that won the past three I-AA national titles, has no answers.

The group turns to the youngest, least-experienced coach in the room. He offers simple advice, his career-long mantra. “I know one thing,” Chris Beatty says. “You don’t take the ball out of your best player’s hands. You just don’t. Let’s start there.”

Everyone nods. Basic, but brilliant.

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2008-09 Alabama A&M Basketball Preview: #143

Alabama A&M Bulldogs
Overall Rank: #143
Conference Rank: #1 SWAC
2007-08: 14-15, 11-7, 3rd
2007-08 postseason: none

If Alabama A&M could only beat Arkansas Pine Bluff, their season would have ended much differently. As it was, the Bulldogs finished third in the conference and had a first round conference tournament exit at the hands of the Golden Lions. With a whole slew of talent returning, the Bulldogs will have the best back court in the SWAC and that should be enough for Coach Vann Pettaway’s squad to think about a conference championship.

Who’s Out: However, there is a huge, literally and figuratively, hole to fill in the front court. The 6-11 Mickell Gladness tallied 10.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Having a big guy like that...

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Small, three other Rattlers to be honored at awards banquet

The 2003 football season had come to this: two friends and veteran football coaches clashing in a game that would decide the MEAC championship. On the home sideline stood George Small and his North Carolina A&T Aggies. Joe Taylor had his slightly favored Hampton Pirates ready on the opposing side.

The Aggies scored first, twice in the opening quarter for a one-touchdown lead. The lead swelled to 17 points, then Hampton punched back twice. Just a field goal separated them at halftime. Small went into his playbook and found just the right schemes to win and secure the sixth league title for the Aggies.

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Choose Jackson State University

Meet JSU alumna Dr. Linda Johnson, a Mississippi Optometrist.

Former HU Denique Graves named assistant women's basketball coach

VESTAL, N.Y. -- The Binghamton University women's basketball team has announced the hiring of former Howard University Bison player, Denique Graves as an assistant coach to first-year head coach Nicole Scholl.

Graves is a three-year veteran of the WNBA and has seven years of international playing experience. She was drafted 15th overall in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Monarchs and played for two seasons. In 2001, she signed as a free agent with the Orlando Miracle.

Around the globe, Graves played in Brazil (1997), Greece (1998), Turkey (1999) and Bulgaria (2001). In addition, she was both a professional player and a coach in Sweden (2000), Switzerland (2002), Austria (2003-04) and China (2004).

"I am very excited for Denique to join our coaching staff here at Binghamton," Scholl said. "She brings a wealth of playing experience and will be instrumental in the development of our post players. Her ties to the east coast and internationally will also benefit our program. Denique and I have the same philosophy when it comes to teaching and providing a positive experience for the young women in our program."

A 2008 graduate of Howard University, Graves starred for the Bison from 1993-97 before launching her professional career. She was a three-year All-MEAC selection and was the first player from a historically black college or university to be drafted by the WNBA.

Since 2004, Graves has been a coach at seven different basketball camps. Most recently, she was the Girls Basketball Director and Coach for the Headfirst Camp in Washington D.C.

Binghamton University, a SUNY doctoral research university for 13,000 students in beautiful upstate New York, plays Division I Women's Basketball in the American East Conference. Each of the nine institutions - University at Albany, Binghamton University, Boston University, University of Hartford, University of Maine, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University, and University of Vermont - offer a unique blend of academic and athletic tradition.

SSU's Jackson gets AD job at Lincoln Univ. in Missouri

Paula Jackson announced Friday that she has resigned as Savannah State University's assistant athletic director of compliance/senior woman administrator to accept the position as AD at Lincoln University, an NCAA Division II school in Jefferson City, Mo. Jackson, who joined SSU's athletic staff in May of 2005, also served as the school's interim AD from Oct. 2007 to May 2008.

"I want to thank Paula for all her hard work and dedicated service in a variety of roles at SSU," said new SSU AD Bart Bellairs. "She is going to be a big asset at Lincoln University and will be missed by many people at SSU. I appreciate what she has done during my brief time as athletics director."

Jackson came to SSU from Kentucky's Morehead State University, where she served as assistant AD and senior woman administrator. Prior to that, she held the same positions at Clark Atlanta University.

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New SCSU women’s basketball coach keeping busy, staying quiet

Since accepting the head women’s basketball job at South Carolina State in April, Doug Robertson has seemingly kept a low profile. The relative silence from his office should not be construed as inactivity, however. Over the past 2½ months, Robertson has worked feverishly to put the Lady Bulldogs’ program back on the winning track.

Step one was the formation of a coaching staff who could best maximize the talents of the current players while demonstrating an ability to recruit new talent from throughout the country. To that end, Robertson has hired Marcell Harrison and La’Nette Dillard, while retaining the services of Antonio Davis.

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ASU sends response to NCAA on alleged rules violations

Alabama State University sent to the NCAA on Friday its response to 668 alleged rules violations, according to a university spokesperson.

Janel Bell-Haynes, the now part-time director of university relations, said the school met the deadline of Friday imposed by the NCAA to submit its response. A request by the Montgomery Advertiser for copies of that response couldn’t be immediately met, Bell said, because it will "take some time to redact students' names and personal info from the document."

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ODU Football schedules SSU and NCCU in 2009

Norfolk, VA - Old Dominion University has opted out of its ontract to play William and Mary in its second football game of the 2009 season. The Monarchs found a substitute opponent rather than paying the $75,000 to buy out of that game. They will pay Central Connecticut State a $50,000 guarantee to visit William and Mary on September 12, 2009.

Old Dominion also added to its schedule three games for 2009. The Monarchs will host North Carolina Central in a homecoming game October 3, will visit Savannah State on October 24 and will visit VMI on November 21.

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Former Pirates Adams focuses on hoops for the moment

Maybe next summer at this time, Tommy Adams will decide he’s ready for a change and switch his loyalties from basketball to soccer once and for all. There are days when he thinks about it and wonders if he could step back out on the field and resume playing a sport he essentially gave up after a successful high school career at Hylton, where he earned all-state honors and scored 28 goals in leading the Bulldogs to a state and national championship.

He even considered talking with a minor-league professional soccer team near his home in Raleigh, N.C that included former Hylton teammate David Stokes on its roster and seeing where that might lead. But then a call came from his agent. The Indiana Pacers wanted Adams to attend a free-agent workout. And like that, Adams put a hold on any more soccer talk. Basketball still had the upper hand.

The NBA, a league that Adams had tried out for with at least four different teams since graduating from Hampton University in 2002, was beckoning again. “I can’t pass up on that,” Adams said.

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Tuttle shines for DSU Hornets

Frayser Tuttle has just completed her freshman year at Delaware State University in Dover Delaware. She is attending this predominately black university on a full scholarship. Those two facts do not make this 2007 Powhatan High School graduate’s situation in higher education particularly unique, however the activity which pays her tuition, books, food and housing most certainly is. Tuttle is a star on the Hornets’ equestrian team.

In just its second season competing in NCAA equestrian events, this small (3,800 students) university has gone head to head and hoof to hoof with some of the largest universities in the country and more than held its own. Competing against teams from the Universities of Georgia, South Carolina, Baylor, Auburn, TCU, Oklahoma State, Texas A and M and SMU freshman Tuttle helped to propel the Delaware State riders to a top ten national ranking and an invitation to the National Championships. “She never gets frazzled,” said her first year Head Coach Jennifer Ridgely. “Frayser rides consistently and does so against the best in the country.”

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