S.C. State athletics leadership sees program ready for new glory era

S.C. State athletic director Charlene Johnson

South Carolina State University is a few weeks from reopening its doors for the student body. But for Athletics Director Charlene Johnson, it’s not too early to hold a pep talk with some of the new and returning coaches involved with the school’s 17 sports. Crowded together in the conference room of Rowe Hall, they listen to Johnson’s expectations and optimism about the upcoming school year.

“I’m still trying to learn everybody’s names,” said Johnson as she hustled back to her office to prepare for another meeting. Having replaced six head coaches over the past 15 months and having seen just one program (tennis) reach the postseason during her second tenure as AD, Johnson is ready to see a rebirth in S.C. State athletics.

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Prairie View A&M Panthers football team reports to camp

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas- The Prairie View A&M Panthers football team officially reported to camp on Sunday, August 3rd. The first two days of camp will be used primarily for the issuing of equipment as well as athletic physicals.

This season the Panthers feature a veteran unit as over fifty lettermen return to help PVAMU improve on last seasons' 7-3 mark. The Panthers will hit the field for their first day of workouts later this week.

Thursday, August 14th has been tabbed Fan Appreciation Day as PVAMU Athletics supporters will get a chance to get autographs and photos with current Prairie View A&M student-athletes. The afternoons’ festivities will culminate with a two and a half hour football practice session that will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

PVAMU Sports Slideshow


2008 PVAMU Panthers Football Schedule

Event Date Location Description

Texas Southern, 8/30/2008 07:00 PM Houston,Texas State Farm Labor Day Classic
Texas College 9/6/2008 04:00 PM Prairie View, Texas
Sam Houston State 9/13/2008 06:00 PM Huntsville, Texas
Mississippi Valley State 9/20/2008 05:00 PM Itta Bena, Miss.
Morehouse 9/27/2008 04:30 PM Los Angeles, Ca. Angel City Classic
Grambling State 10/4/2008 06:00 PM Dallas, Texas Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic
Alabama State 10/11/2008 02:00 PM Prairie View, Texas Homecoming
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 10/18/2008 04:00 PM Pine Bluff, Ark.
Southern 10/25/2008 06:00 PM Houston,Texas
Alabama A&M 11/8/2008 01:00 PM Huntsville, Ala.
Alcorn State 11/15/2008 02:00 PM Prairie View, Texas Senior Day

SCSU Bulldog intensity levels high despite soaring temperatures

S.C. State Bulldogs defensive coordinator/linebacker coach Mike Adams.

ORANGEBURG, SC – South Carolina State continued installation of its offense and defense during it second preseason workout Sunday. Bulldog head coach Buddy Pough said the enthusiasm and intensity level of the players remained high despite soaring temperatures on the field.

“Day two was pretty good,” Pough said. “Our main focus is installation on both sides of the football, getting our offensive and defensive schemes in place. We will be doing this (installation) for another five or six practices. We may try to be a little different on offense this season.

“Our players continue to show great enthusiasm overall,” he continued, “and we are excited a bit about the performance of our group of young kids, who we will be counting on to provide depth this fall. “We are not great by any stretch of imagination, but the potential is there and if we can keep our players in practice, we got a chance to be pretty good.”

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August 4 - Monday practice was cut short due to a thunder storm and lightning in the area, according to Bulldog head coach Buddy Pough. “We only got in about three-quarters of our workout before the storm hit,” Pough said. “Of the 24 periods we had scheduled, we were in period 17 when we had to leave the field (shortly before 5 p.m.). We had about eight drills left.”

TSU back, Conditioning test is no sweat

Javarris Williams (#28) hits defenders like a Mack truck but his only concern Sunday night was hitting the sack early. The annual conditioning test for Tennessee State's senior football players is at 6:30 a.m. today and Williams wanted to be rested and ready. While he has finished each of the past two seasons with more than 1,000 rushing yards, he has not started well. He has had trouble meeting the conditioning test standards.

And though by any measure Williams is an NFL prospect, his poor conditioning cost him his starting job for last year's opener. This year will be different, Williams promised during Sunday's team photo session at Hale Stadium. "As soon as we get done eating dinner I'm going straight to the room,'' he said. "No TV, just music and bed, that's it."

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JSU Tigers welcome 21 signees, wait for word on 2

The Jackson State football team reported to campus Saturday with 95 players expected to check in. All but a handful had been accounted for by 3 p.m. Of the 26 players signed on National Signing Day in February, 21 are set to play in good academic standing. Defensive end Avon Waters, offensive lineman Ivory Waters and offensive lineman Etienne Odino did not clear NCAA guidelines and will not be with the team.

Safety Antonio Wardlow and cornerback Ricardo Kemp, Tennessee transfers who committed after signing day, also did not qualify academically. Jackson State is still awaiting final word on quarterback Dominick Britt and offensive lineman Luis McLeoud from the NCAA Clearinghouse. Both Britt and McLeoud checked in on Saturday.

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Savannah State Tigers have questions about running game

SSU Tigers starting QB Jacorey Kilcrease
Sophomore, 6-0/170, Macon, Georgia; Central Macon.

Savannah State's running game was an area of concern after sputtering for only 899 yards and five touchdowns last season. It became a bigger issue when leading rusher Antwan Edwards quit the team in May. SSU's running game suffered another blow Sunday when heralded freshman Kendal Blackshear quit the team.

SSU head coach Robby Wells said Blackshear, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound Houston native, returned to Texas. Wells said Blackshear's departure was not the result of a disciplinary decision. "Kendal came in, and it's a long way from home," Wells said following the completion of a Media Day press conference at Tiger Arena. "For whatever reason, he and his parents - his parents were still here (on campus) - decided that they wanted to go back home. It happens. We wish him well."



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A&M's Atkins tries on big shoes

Replacing Kelcy Luke at QB no small challenge

Kevin Atkins has taken over for a quarterback before. Six years ago, Atkins replaced his cousin, T.J. Wilson, who was moved to wide receiver, as the starter at Southern Durham (N.C.) High School. All the 6-foot-1, 219-pounder did was win.

When Atkins left Southern Durham, he had led his team to a 38-3 record and to three consecutive conference championships. He was a three-time all-conference selection and was a 4A All-State pick as well, throwing for more than 2,000 yards as a senior, while rushing for 700 more. "I had a great high school career," Atkins said shortly after arriving at Alabama A&M three years ago. "Hopefully, I can duplicate that here."

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UAPB ready to put its newly added facilities to use

Expect to see some positively bug-eyed college football players when the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions report for their first official practice this morning at Golden Lion Stadium.

Many of them will be getting their first look at UAPB's new 27,000-square foot field house, one that features ample locker room space for home and visiting teams, a war room for the coaching staff, a new weight facility, offices for each coach and a training room complete with a hydrotherapy pool.

The team will spend the first two weeks practicing inside Golden Lion Stadium to let the grass take hold on a new practice field located behind the visitors stands. "I think some of the guys may cry, "first-year Golden Lions Coach Monte Coleman said.

J. Thomas May Field House with Golden Lion Stadium in the background. - Home of the UAPB Golden Lions Football Team.

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UAPB Golden Lions 2008 Football Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time/Result
8/30/2008 UA-Monticello Pine Bluff 6:00 pm
9/6/2008 Henderson State Arkadelphia, AR 6:00 pm
9/13/2008 Central Arkansas Little Rock, AR 6:00 pm
9/18/2008 Alcorn State Lorman, MS 6:30 pm
9/27/2008 Alabama A&M Pine Bluff 6:00 pm
10/11/2008 Jackson State Pine Bluff 4:00 pm
10/18/2008 Prairie View A&M Pine Bluff 4:00 pm
10/25/2008 Lincoln (HC) Pine Bluff 2:30 pm
11/1/2008 Southern Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 pm
11/8/2008 Grambling State Little Rock, AR 4:00 pm
11/15/2008 Mississippi Valley State Pine Bluff 2:30 pm
11/29/2008 Texas Southern Dallas, TX 2:30 pm

Monte Coleman Head Football Coach / Defensive Coordinator
Jonathan Cannon Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
Phillip Cole Tight Ends/Special Teams
Alonzo Hampton Defensive Backs (Corner)
Gary Harper Defensive Line
Henry Miller Defensive Backs (Safety)
Craig Raye Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
Keith Saine Running Backs
Winston Delane Quarterbacks Coach

S.C. State: It is time for an S.O.S.

S.O.S.? That’s State of State, and before the South Carolina State Bulldogs take the field for the 2008 season, a year in which they will face Central Florida and Clemson, as the favorites for the MEAC title what better time to look at the school’s athletic programs as a whole?

You should have been there last year. If you were a South Carolina State fan, you really should have been there. Cleve McCoy was slickly dressed, Marshall McFadden couldn’t stop smiling and the two players stood next to proud former Bulldogs head coach Willie Jeffries and current SCSU head man Oliver “Buddy” Pough in the stands at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium (see photo below).

Outside the stadium, across the road, a bus sat with its engine warming. For the first time in 100 years of football, the South Carolina State football team was going to play a College Bowl Subdivision team – Air Force. It was a highlight. The South Carolina game was a highlight to...

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SSU's Kilcrease leads QB competition

Locals DeFilippis, Wilson and Taylor in the mix

Savannah State first-year football coach Robby Wells has named JaCorey Kilcrease the Tigers' starting quarterback going into fall practice, which begins at 3:30 p.m. today. Kilcrease, a 6-foot, 170-pound junior, was SSU's starting quarterback last season. His playing time was shortened after he suffered a separated left (non-throwing) shoulder in the third game against Bethune-Cookman.

Kilcrease started five of the seven games in which he played. He was 62-for-126 passing for 490 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. His backup, freshman Greg McCrary, was 38-for-95 passing for 412 yards, three touchdowns and 13 interceptions. McCrary quit the team after last season.


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SU offensive line enjoying more depth

At one point last season, Southern University was down to six offensive linemen. So the joy of not being able to spot massive second-year offensive line coach Damon Nivens amidst a sea of 15 linemen, with another on the sideline awaiting medical clearance, was noticeable.

“Those guys from last year are like, ‘Coach, there is a God, because we’ve got depth now,’” Nivens, a former black college All-American tackle at SU, said.

Jaguars offensive line coach Damon Nivens has three offensive lines to work with this season.

Because of attrition that was heavy on academic losses, a year ago at camp, SU had to switch senior tight end Trent Thomas to left tackle. Though not built for the role and with no experience, Thomas was a second-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference pick and SU went 8-3. Said coach Pete Richardson, “We were real lucky last year, thanks to those individuals.”

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NCCU football set for preseason

Eagles report today, practice Tuesday

N.C. Central's football players will report today to begin preparation for the Eagles' second year of competing in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA). The Eagles will check in at 1 p.m., followed by a meeting with new athletic director Ingrid Wicker-McCree, dinner, physicals and a team meeting.

The team's first open practice will be Tuesday at 4 p.m. NCCU returns 44 lettermen (24 on offense, 20 on defense) from a team that went 6-4 in 2007. Second-year NCCU head coach Mose Rison has nine returning starters, and all but two are on the offensive side of the ball. Senior quarterback Stadford Brown, fifth on the Eagles' career passing yards list with 4,288 in just two seasons, leads the offense. Brown threw for 1,711 yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago.

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2008 NCCU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Date Opponent / Event Location Time / Result

08/31/08 vs. Fayetteville State Durham, NC 4:00 p.m. ET
09/06/08 at James Madison Harrisonburg, VA 6:00 p.m. ET
09/13/08 at Morgan State Baltimore, MD 4:00 p.m. ET
09/20/08 at Central Connecticut State New Britain, CT 1:00 p.m. ET
10/04/08 vs. North Carolina A&T Charlotte, NC (Memorial Stadium) 5:00 p.m. ET
10/11/08 at Presbyterian Clinton, SC 1:30 p.m. ET
10/18/08 at Coastal Carolina Conway, SC 7:00 p.m. ET
11/01/08 vs. Edward Waters (HC) Durham, NC 1:30 p.m. ET
11/08/08 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CA 4:00 p.m. PT
11/15/08 vs. Winston-Salem State Durham, NC 1:30 p.m. ET
11/22/08 vs. Savannah State Durham, NC 1:00 p.m. ET

Grambling 2008 Season Begins Now

GRAMBLING, LA – The first practice of the 2008 campaign is in the books as the Grambling State Tigers opened year two of the Rod Broadway era on Friday morning at the Robinson Stadium Support Facility Practice Field.

“Practice went well and I’ve got an early gauge of what areas we’ll need to work on right away,” said Tiger head coach Rod Broadway. “There also was an obvious difference in the conditioning level of the guys who stayed here in the summer opposed to the ones who remained at home. However, we’ll round them into shape by the first game.”

Click here to play video

Broadway and staff spent most of the practice with his 90-man squad to get used to the various drills they’ll run throughout the majority of their practices. Once the two-hour practice came to an end, the team assembled on the sidelines and wrapped practice up with several sideline-to-sideline conditioning sprints.

The Tigers return to the gridiron tomorrow morning for a single 8 a.m. workout.

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Liberia turns to B-CU coach

DAYTONA BEACH -- The position is not a prestigious one, nor does it occupy a rung on the way up the track and field coaching ladder. Garfield Ellenwood did not accept the job as head coach of the Liberian national track team to better his career. Indeed, all you need to know about the scope of this post is that Ellenwood was hired by a man whose full-time occupation is a pharmaceutical sales rep in Indianapolis.

The Liberian track team has 14 members, said Ellenwood, whose full-time job is head track coach at Bethune-Cookman University. Only three have qualified for the Beijing Olympics. They will be the only three Liberian athletes marching in Friday's opening ceremonies.

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DSU Hornets look for repeat title

DOVER -- The Delaware State University football team has shown steady improvement in each of coach Al Lavan's four seasons. And that is all Lavan asks of the Hornets. Coming off a year in which DSU won its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football title since 1991 and earned its first bid to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, Lavan is not expecting anything less as his team prepares for the 2008 season.

Delaware State University has a two-head football monster in defensive coordinator Ray Petty (former head coach at Howard University) and head coach Al Lavan. Coach Lavan has a 29-16 record in four years of resurrection of the DSU Hornets.

Delaware State's players will arrive on campus for preseason practice on Friday morning. Their MEAC title defense begins when the Hornets face Florida A&M at Alumni Stadium on Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m. Lavan knows it is in the heat of preseason camp that the foundation will be laid for his team's ultimate level of success. "Each year that we have been here, we've been able to improve our talent," Lavan said. "I think the players that are in our program have taken a step forward each year."

Improved depth helps SU in heat

Better depth trumped broiling heat during Southern’s first football practice of the season.Unlike last season, when offseason attrition sapped the offensive and defensive lines, those units worked with substantially more linemen than last season.

And though the tag team of heat and humidity was merciless, the infusion of new players, with several freshmen along with non-qualifiers from last season, catching SU coach Pete Richardson’s eye even on the first day, made a big difference.

“Numbers are keeping them fresh a little longer. But we still have a ways to go,” Richardson said. “In Louisiana, humidity is a little different animal. I don’t care how much preparation you went through. If you get another 15 pounds on you, it takes its toll.”

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McFadden breezes through SCSU's beginning sessions

Marshall McFadden breezed through his early-morning gassers as South Carolina State opened its football camp Saturday. The redshirt junior’s relative ease in completing the physical test was a result of the work he put in in the S.C. State weight room over the summer. The guys who were not at SCSU for the summer didn’t find the 7 a.m., pre-first practice tests as easy.

SCSU's Marshall McFadden

“I was here during the whole summer,” McFadden said. “I was training the whole time I was here. We had a week off, and before we left we had a test where we had to run six 300-yard gassers in a certain time period. If we passed that test when we got back (Saturday), we had an easier test for gassers.

“I knocked it out without a problem...but the guys who couldn’t make it (during the summer) had a little harder test. It was tough for some of those guys, but the main thing was we got it over and done with.”

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SWAC coaches passed over by I-A schools

JSU head football coach Rick Comegy

Coaches at HBCUs have trouble attracting attention to their skills

In the hunt for qualified black coaches at the NCAA Division I-A level, a seemingly logical place to begin looking would be the Southwestern Athletic Conference, a Division I-AA league that is home to 10 historically black universities. But Floyd Keith, the president of the Black Coaches and Administrators, said that hasn't been the case.

"I don't think the guys in the SWAC or any other historically black conferences get a fair look," Keith said. "A lot of it is a lack of awareness. People who hire simply aren't paying attention to HBCUs. They battle that stigma that there's not good coaching at those schools."

Jackson State coach Rick Comegy needed just two years to turn the Tigers around from a doormat to champions. He was also a big winner for years at Tuskegee before coming to Jackson, but the 54-year-old has gone largely ignored by Division I-A schools.

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Very timely and partially true article. The issue here is how you measure success in the eyes of mainstream America. Until the SWAC participates in the NCAA FCS playoffs, beating up on other SWAC teams will never be a total gauge for measuring coaching success.

Last season, James Green, former head basketball coach at Mississippi Valley State University left the Delta Devils to become the head coach at Jacksonville State University Gamecocks of the Ohio Valley Conference. This move was made after a sub-par overall season record of 17-16, but MVSU won the SWAC tournament and got stomped by UCLA 70-29 at the big dance. Green's potential for success at Jacksonville State is equal to what he had at Division I Mississippi Valley State.

Can Green and Comegy coach? Obviously they can--but why do we need PWCU administrators to validate this fact by hiring away our best and brightest from HBCU institutions. The solution here is developing a realistic 10-15 year plan to migrate the strongest SWAC and MEAC schools to the NCAA Division I Football level.

From my view point, the SWAC and MEAC institutions are nearly equal to lower mid-majors and others like the MAC in football. With strong planning and fundraising, there are no reasons that the SWAC cannot be a 1-A or Football Bowl Championship Conference. Eddie Robinson never made excuses about the lack of--so why should SWAC coaches today, complain. The glass is not half empty--it's half full and opportunity is there for the taking with our OWN programs.

I would like to see our coaches focus on building butt kicking programs at HBCUs that win consistently in the NCAA playoffs and that can win a national championship like University of Maryland - Eastern Shore did this past season in bowling. No one gave the Hawks a chance, but an unknown black female coach, Sharon Brummell, believed that it could be done and built the top competitive bowling program in the MEAC and NCAA Division I, in spite of "lack of." No one now questions the capability of MEAC Bowling programs and the only validation needed is the 2008 National Championship trophy held by UMES.

I see the greater opportunity for black coaches advancement at HBCUs, not at directional state PWCUs with no winning history or traditions. If you open your eyes, you will see a migration of some black assistant coaches leaving the Division I ranks of PWCU to take top positions at HBCUs to gain head coaching career experience. The doors are not completely open at the NCAA Division I level for black coaches.

This is a good thing for us as some of our potentially future best coaches are now at: Alcorn State--Earnest Jones, head football coach, Larry Smith, men basketball and Tonya Edwards, head women basketball coach; Mississippi Valley State, Sean Woods, head men basketball coach; Rod Broadway, head football coach, Donnita Drain, women basketball coach and Rick Duckett, men basketball coach, Grambling State University; Henry Frazier III, head football coach and Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, head women basketball coach, Prairie View A&M University; and Monte Coleman, head football coach, University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, just to name a few of the new rising stars of SWAC major sports teams.

However, the road is a two-way street with an HBCU like Savannah State University hiring a somewhat poorly-qualified head football coach in Robert "Robby" Wells, who happened to be white. The question run both ways--Are HBCUs prepared to lose critical sports leadership positions in the SWAC, MEAC and HBCU Independents, to perceived lesser qualified candidates of the white race?

Perception appears to be the greatest obstacle facing the SWAC and HBCU sports, not the talent level of our coaches seeking Division I positions at PWCU. I think Floyd Keith misses the point-- I-A are not seeking black coaching talent no more that HBCUs are seeking white coaching talent.

I just wonder if Mississippi Valley State University would have hired Coach James Green, coming from a Jacksonville State of the Ohio Valley Conference, with the same record and credentials he had at MVSU?

I am sure this article could have been written regarding any mid-major, 1-AA, Division II or Division III conference coaching plight in moving up to glorified 1-A programs. The SWAC and MEAC does not have exclusivity with this problem.

-beepbeep

Florida A&M Rattlers Lend a Hand

FAMU, church helps kids with school supplies

Excerpt:

FAMU strength and conditioning coach Antonio Wallace, who initiated the players' involvement, said he could relate to Maxwell's need. "I grew up in a poor area in Mississippi myself, but there was always somebody there helping along the way," he said. "I just wanted to support these kids by encouraging them and giving them some hope. It's awesome when it comes full circle. I just can't put it into words."

The opportunity to get involved in community service is just another phase of new head coach Joe Taylor's blueprint for building character, Taylor said. "This is more about trying to create the well-rounded man, to get involved with community service," he said. "We always say that the good Lord didn't put you here just to be a uniform rat.

A group of young kids that just received their free backpacks pose with several members of the Florida A & M University Football Team at the “Wham! Bam! School Jam!” on Saturday, August 2nd, 2008, from 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 noon, at Clifford Brown Memorial Park in Monticello, FL.

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Longtime Hoya Niki Reid Geckeler Named Head Coach at Howard University

Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University women's basketball coaching staff will look a little bit different in 2008-09. Former Hoya standout athlete and 10-year assistant coach Niki Reid Geckeler has recently been named the head coach at Howard University.

Reid Geckeler spent a total of 10 years on the Blue and Gray sidelines, the last four under Terri Williams-Flournoy, after spending the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons as an associate head coach at Fordham.

"Niki has been an important part of the Georgetown family for a long time and she will be missed," said Coach Williams-Flournoy. "With that said, she has worked hard and certainly deserves her first head coaching opportunity. Howard is getting a great coach."

Reid Geckeler served seven seasons with the Hoyas as an assistant coach under Pat Knapp, as the team's recruiting coordinator and academic advisor. During her first go-round at Georgetown Reid Geckeler focused on the team's defensive play and guard coach, helping the Hoyas to three WNIT appearances, while having four guards earn postseason honors in the BIG EAST. She also had eight players earn All-BIG EAST All-Academic accolades.

As a player, Reid Geckeler was tri-captain of Georgetown's 1992-93 team that advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament and finished the season with a 23-7 record and a Top-25 ranking. The Hoyas were 15-3 in the BIG EAST to win the regular-season conference championship. Reid Geckeler was a four-year starter at point guard and upon graduating in 1993 with a degree in psychology, she left Georgetown as the school's leader in assists and three-point field goal percentage.

During her four seasons as a student-athlete, Reid Geckeler was honored with the Coaches' Award as the team's Most Valuable Player in the 1991-92 season, was the recipient of the team's Best Defensive Player award for the 1990-91 campaign and was the winner of the Hustle Award in both 1989-90 and 1990-91.