Byron Dobson: Marching 100: celebration and challenge

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- And now, the real work begins.

 

Florida A&M University’s revered Marching 100 band will return to the field Sept. 1, it was announced Thursday in a brief news conference that was well orchestrated and deliberate in tone.

 

It had to be that way. This is a serious step in in the university’s rebuilding efforts. It’s been 21 months since the beginning of the fallout from the hazing-related death in November 2011 of Marching 100 drum major Robert Champion. Champion’s death and a subsequent extended investigation into FAMU’s operations cost then-President James Ammons his job, speeded up retirement plans for Julian White, who was director of bands and chairman of the music department at FAMU, and led to criminal charges brought against some who were listed as band members. Legal matters still remain unresolved.

 

But the cost was much deeper than that, making the Marching 100’s return that much more challenging



CONTINUE READING 

Holmes gets high praise from FAMU's interim president

Larry Robinson, Ph.D.
Interim President
Florida A&M University

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- The way FAMU interim president Larry Robinson introduced head football coach Earl Holmes on Sunday was fitting for the occasion.

He was addressing a crowd of hundreds, which came to the annual Rattlers Boosters Kickoff, where fans are supposed to get a good dose of hype. The Marching 100 even surprisingly made its first public appearance in almost two years. .

But that couldn’t overshadow the moment. It was about Holmes and the football team.

“It is his time now,” Robinson said, as Holmes began a slow walk to the stage at The Moon. “I introduce the next winningest football coach in FAMU history, Earl Holmes.”

Afterward, Robinson took it farther, saying that his decision to hire Holmes eight months ago has rejuvenated supporters of the football program and the university.

CONTINUE READING

Fort Valley State Coach: 'This is the Best Preseason Practice We've Ever Had'

FORT VALLEY, Georgia --   A year removed from an appearance in the SIAC Championship Game, the Fort Valley State Wildcats want to get right back in it.

Saturday, the Cats held a scrimmage on the FVSU campus, just two weeks away from their opening game against Valdosta State.

Last season, Fort Valley lost the SIAC Championship Game and then fell in the first round of the Division II playoffs to finish its season 8-4.  However, two years ago, they were just 2-8.

Coach Donald Pittman enters his fifth season as head man in Fort Valley, where his 2013 defense returns eight starters.

"I've been here for four seasons, and this is the best preseason practice we've had," Pittman says.  "Everything seems to be going great, and the young men are ready for it to carry over into the season.  If anybody comes to see us play, I think they will enjoy a good, good football team."

CONTINUE READING

2013 AT&T Nation's Football Classic -- Morehouse vs. Howard

Howard Coach To Appear on Weekly Coach's Show

COACH RAY PETTY
(Courtesy Howard University Athletics)

WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  Howard University head football coach Ray Petty will make his debut on his weekly coach's show on Sunday. The show will air every Sunday at 11:45 am on In and Out of Sports on WOL1450 am or on the worldwide web at www.wol1450am.com.

The show will be hosted by The Coach, Butch McAdams. Coach Petty will discuss the upcoming opponent, and will analyze the previous game each week through the 12-game season. The final show will air on November 24 following the regular season finale.

In other related media notes, Coach Petty is scheduled to appear on Let's Talk Sports on NewsChannel 8, Wednesday at 9 pm with HU alum and host, Glenn Harris.

The Howard University season opener at Eastern Michigan University will be carried on ESPN3. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 pm. The Bison will play before a national audience when play rival North Carolina A&T on ESPNU, Thursday, September 26 at 7 pm.

COURTESY HOWARD UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Ram Ramblings: And one more thing about the WSSU-A&T rivalry

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- During the dog-days of preseason football practice there’s nothing like talking about rivalries. But in the case of Winston-Salem State and N.C. A&T there can’t be rivalry if the schools don’t actually play each other.

There was plenty of Internet banter – and still is – about why the schools don’t play in football.

While watching the WSSU scrimmage on Saturday afternoon there were plenty of folks still talking about the game that isn’t on the Rams’ schedule.

It’s interesting that fan bases at N.C. A&T and WSSU are riding high these days because for the first time since 1999 both schools have a chance to win its conference championship. It hasn’t happened since that season but it could happen this year.

CONTINUE READING AND LISTEN TO EACH COACH AUDIO

WSSU scrimmage has a little of everything

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  -- There were about 100 curious onlookers at Winston-Salem State’s first full-team scrimmage on Saturday.

Those expecting to see perfection were disappointed.

The Rams, who were using their main practice field for the first time this season because of all the recent rain, went two full hours of offense against defense. Coach Connell Maynor of the Rams, who lost 11 starters from last season and is coming off a 14-1 season, said afterward that there weren’t many surprises.

"We’ve got a lot of young guys on offense and that’s what I’ve been telling people — but we have a strong defense, also," Maynor said. "So I think it’s a combination of our young guys being under the lights with the referees out there and fans watching; so, I thought the scrimmage went as expected."



CONTINUE READING

Tennessee State Golf Hits the Course for First Practice

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  --  The Tennessee State men’s and women’s golf teams took to the course for the first time for the 2013-14 season. The two teams played 18-holes at the Harpeth Hills Golf Course on a calm day with temperatures reaching 88 degrees.  

Both squads paired off in two groups of three for a head-to-head matchup. The men split up as lefties versus righties, with the latter picking up the victory by a stroke. On the women’s side, the newcomers earned a six stroke win over the returners. 

“It was good to get everyone together and out on the course,” said head coach Parrish McGrath. “One of the good things on the ladies side was our newcomers were able to beat our returners. It is always good to know you brought in players who are going to help the team and it shows the program is heading in the right direction.” 

The men’s team sports a veteran team with two seniors and four juniors. Last season the Tigers finished 8th out of 11 teams at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships last year. Junior James Stepp and Cameron Scitern tied for third and were named to the All-Tournament team. Coach McGrath will look to his experienced team to fill the shoes of Scitern who spent four successful years at TSU. 

“We are a little older on the men’s side,” McGrath stated. “James needs to gain the confidence knowing he belongs at the top of the conference. A few other guys need to realize they too can play at that level. It starts sooner rather than later and we need to start to make some gains from the fall season into the spring and building towards OVC championships.” 

The Tigers open play at the Alabama State University Fall Golf Classic on Sept. 1-2 in Montgomery, Ala. 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Tennessee State reaching for another level after 8-3 mark in 2012

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  --  At one point earlier this summer, Tennessee State University football coach Rod Reed moved his team’s practice to the TSU indoor facility and asked the building manager to turn off the air conditioning to make it hot.

With early-season games scheduled in locales like Memphis and Tallahassee, Fla., Reed knew the Tigers would be facing some miserably hot weather — and since Mother Nature wasn’t providing the proper conditions for his team to prepare, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

“For a while, it seemed like the temperature was never going to get out of the 80s,” Reed said, referring to the unseasonably cool temperatures this summer in the Mid-South. “That makes players comfortable at practice, but it doesn’t get us ready for what we’re likely to face during the season. We need to be ready.”



If the past three seasons are an indicator, Reed’s team will be ready — even if it takes some extra handiwork with the thermostat.

After a 3-8 campaign his first season in 2010, the Tigers improved to 5-6 in 2011 and then started last season 7-0 on their way to a mark of 8-3.

Now as he prepares to enter his fourth season with improved depth at every position, Reed seems to be focusing on the little things in hopes of taking TSU to the next level.

CONTINUE READING

West Virginia State ready to bury recent football past

INSTITUTE, West Virginia -- It's been a year of new beginnings at West Virginia State.

New athletic facilities are popping up around the Institute campus, the school's sports teams are ready to set sail with the fledgling Mountain East Conference and the football program sports a new coach.

The Yellow Jackets just hope the changes don't stop there.

West Virginia State has posted only two winning records in football since 1992, and has gone 3-28 combined the past three seasons.

Incoming coach Jon Anderson, 36, who worked with an NAIA powerhouse program in Sioux Falls (S.D.), looks to complete the metamorphosis at State.

"The vision that was sold to me throughout the interview process,'' Anderson said, "was that what had been done here wasn't good enough, and that was obvious through the records. But there has been administrative support and significant investment not only in football, but in all athletics that made this a very attractive job for me and for my family and for the assistant coaches who have come here with us as well.''

CONTINUE READING

Janelle Monáe performs with North Carolina A&T State University Blue and Gold Marching Machine Band

GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- Special thanks to WNAA FM 90.1 of North Carolina A&T State University for coordinating this event. Be sure to support our station and check them out at http://wnaa-online.ncat.edu.

Introducing the 2013 edition of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University "Blue and Gold Marching Machine," as we perform with the wonderful Miss Janelle Monáe on her latest single, "Q.U.E.E.N."

The band not only played for her, but we got to engage in a question/answer period with her afterwards, in addition to a photo shoot. 

Be sure to Pre-Order her new album, "The Electric Lady," which releases on Sept. 10, 2013, and check out her other work, as well. She's very talented, down to earth, and a true musician.

As always, the band is always looking for dedicated members and supporters to keep the machine going. For more information, you can call (336) 334-7776 for more details on how to support the band or even become a member.

Disclaimer: The band pays ASCAP fees and there is never any copyright infringement intended. These performances are for edutainment only. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Thomas L. Jones, Jr., N.C. A&T State University





WATCH IN 1080p HD, WIDE SCREEN

N.C. A&T STATE UNIVERSITY BLUE AND GOLD MARCHING MACHINE BAND

SCSU stressing special teams skills

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  -- The offense was not the only phase of the game South Carolina State has looked to shore up for the new season.

Entering last season, special teams was considered a team strength with a pair of All-American kick returners in Darius Drummond and Stephen Murphy and the duo of placekicker/punter Nick Belcher and Will Roper providing a seamless transition from school record-holder Blake Erickson.

While Belcher apparently accomplished enough in the eyes of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference observers to earn second-team preseason honors, the Bulldogs’ overall effort on special teams was a factor in the team’s losing record. Subpar performances in losses to Bethune-Cookman and North Carolina A&T exposed the team’s weaknesses on special teams, where it finished in the middle of the pack statistically among conference teams.

Wide receivers coach Steve Bird, who will now coach special ...

CONTINUE READING

Pough ‘looking forward to seeing this team’ (SCSU) vs. Coastal

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  --  With preseason camp over, full preparation for 21st-ranked Coastal Carolina has begun for the South Carolina State football team.

Wednesday was the start of the Bulldogs’ regular season practice schedule; each session during the week will start in the early morning. The 7:10 a.m. workouts will allow the entire team to participate and still have the rest of the day for their class schedules.

The Bulldogs will hold morning practices today and Friday before having what head coach Buddy Pough called a “dress rehearsal” at 6 p.m. Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. From the pregame routine to the scripted offensive plays, S.C. State will look to fine tune its game plan for the Aug. 31 home match-up.

As opening day approaches, Pough is anxious to erase the memory of last year’s 5-6 showing – his first losing season at ...

CONTINUE READING


WATCH IN 720p HD, WIDE SCREEN

Buffalo Basketball Gains Alabama State Transfer Josh Freelove

Josh Freelove #4 transfers to 4th college -- Buffalo
(Courtesy ASU Sports Information)

BUFFALO, New York –  University at Buffalo men's basketball head coach Bobby Hurley announced on Friday that Josh Freelove has transferred to UB and will play for the Bulls. The 6-2 guard transfers to Buffalo from Alabama State and will have one year of eligibility remaining. He will be eligible for the upcoming 2013-14 season.

A native of North Lauderdale, FL, Freelove played last season at Alabama State where he led the Hornets and ranked 10th in the SWAC in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game. He scored 17 or more points nine times on the season, including a season-best 29 points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Feb. 2. Freelove led Alabama State with 44 three-pointers, shot a team-best 80.4 percent from the free throw line and ranked second on the team in field goal percentage (.443).

Freelove signed with Toledo out of high school and averaged 4.3 points in 28 games his freshman season with the Rockets. Following a coaching change, Freelove transferred to Lewis and Clark Community College in Illinois before moving on to Alabama State.

A 2009 graduate of North Broward Prep School, Freelove averaged 26.5 points, five rebounds and five assists per game as a senior. He was named to the Miami Herald All-Broward Class 1A-3A First Team.

COURTESY UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Norfolk State preview | Spartans could surprise MEAC

NORFOLK, Virginia  -- Pete Adrian looked around a hotel ballroom last month during the MEAC’s annual media day event in Norfolk and watched as his fellow head coaches sat at evenly spaced tables and fielded questions about the coming season.

Each of them said his team has a chance to contend for the league title. The plain-talking Adrian, entering his ninth year at Norfolk State, was no different – except, arguably, for the fact that he meant it.

The Spartans return 13 starters and 51 lettermen from an underachieving, snake-bitten team that went 4-7 last season. Now predicted to finish seventh in the 11-team league a year after being picked to win it all, NSU hopes to put the low expectations to good use.

Preseason platitudes aside, there is every indication the Spartans could surprise the MEAC.

“Everybody this time of year is 0-0 and full of hope and all that stuff,” Adrian said, “but we’ve got a good football team coming back. We have a chance to win the league. I feel we can be as strong as anybody in the league.”

CONTINUE READING

Bethune-Cookman football relying on strong crop of returning players

ORLANDO, Florida -- Bethune-Cookman University football coach Brian Jenkins always chooses his words carefully. He is also quick to detour any individual player accolades or personal praise of his own toward the greater good of the team environment.

That’s why it was surprising recently when Jenkins had rare occasion to slip up. In a brief momentum of unveiled passion, he let out a little personal label for his B-CU football program.

He was talking about his quarterbacks and the luxury of having experienced players like Jackie Wilson, Quentin Richardson and Brodrick Waters in a quarterback battle.



“To have guys like that around, guys who have been through the fire … they can kind of teach those young guys the lay of the land and how to survive it,” he said. “Because it’s hard here in Jenkins Land.”

There it was, the self proclamation Jenkins Land.

Perhaps it’s just his comfort level as he enters his fourth season as head coach at B-CU, but things have become expected at the Daytona Beach school and nothing less than MEAC titles, FCS playoff berths and development of young men will be accepted in the Land of Jenkins.

CONTINUE READING 

Frazier's firing puts NCCU in spotlight

DURHAM, North Carolina — N.C. Central gets to test the notion that all publicity is good publicity.

During an on-campus Thursday news conference, NCCU athletic director
Ingrid Wicker-McCree announced that Henry Frazier III had been relieved of his head coaching duties with the football team, the result of his arrest on Monday for violating the domestic violence protective order that governs his relationship with his former wife, Lanier Turner-Frazier.

Frazier initially was suspended as NCCU’s coach, as he was a year ago after police charged him with assaulting Turner-Frazier at their Morrisville home. The couple since has divorced.

Wicker-McCree explained that Frazier’s personal issues were distracting school personnel from focusing on student-athletes. Cutting ties with Frazier and establishing NCCU assistant head coach Dwayne Foster as the team’s interim head coach would allow the players to get the attention they deserve, she said.

On Saturday, NCCU will visit Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium for the Bull City Gridiron Classic, the season opener for both teams.

CONTINUE READING

DelState QB job still up for grabs

DOVER, Delaware  —  If Kermit Blount is close to naming a starting quarterback, the Delaware State football coach isn’t showing it.

“I’m the starter,” Blount laughed when asked.

Blount has lived up to his promise he gave at the beginning of camp of an open competition for the quarterback position.

The Hornets wrapped up their preseason camp with a scrimmage Saturday, one that was largely dominated by the defense as the young offense continues to go through growing pains.

All four quarterbacks saw action with redshirt freshman Esayah Obado throwing the lone touchdown pass — a 78-yard bomb to junior Milton Williams. It was one of the few times a Hornet quarterback was able to complete a pass down the field.

Obado has improved during ...

CONTINUE READING

MEAC glance | Bethune-Cookman looking for repeat

HAMPTON, Virginia -- The preseason poll, as voted on by league coaches and sports information directors, with analysis by David Hall:

1. Bethune-Cookman (8-0 MEAC, 9-3): After a perfect MEAC season, the team returns seven starters on both sides of the ball as it looks to make a deep run in the playoffs.

2. South Carolina State (4-4, 5-6): A surprise pick at No. 2, the Bulldogs got voters’ attention by returning 17 starters, including QB Richard Cue (1,819 yards, 11 TDs).

3. North Carolina A&T (5-3, 7-4): After a season under APR sanctions, the defense-minded Aggies are eligible for the postseason.

4. N.C Central (5-3, 6-5): Accurate QB Jordan Reid hopes to lead the Eagles to a second straight winning season, starting at Duke on Saturday.

5. Florida A&M (4-4, 4-7): With 15, the Rattlers led the MEAC in field goals last season. More TDs would mean more wins.

6. Howard (6-2, 7-4): Senior SS David Julien (MEAC-best 108 tackles) is an All-American candidate. He’ll be needed when the Bison visit Old Dominion on Sept. 14.

CONTINUE READING

Norfolk State still waiting for its starting quarterback

NORFOLK, Virginia  --  The quarterback Pete Adrian seeks to run his offense doesn’t have to be a star.

A careful, competent cast member will do just fine.

Adrian has spent a large chunk of his time lately vetting his candidates, splitting practice reps evenly among three sophomores and poring over film of their progress late into the night.

Adrian believes the other requisite pieces of his offense are in place, which is why he’s prepared to stretch out the process to find the right guy.

“The bottom line, and it’s real simple: The guy you’re having out there is the guy you’ve got to trust,” said Adrian, who said he doesn’t plan to name a starter before the Spartans open the season Aug. 31 against Maine. “That’s the bottom line. That covers everything.”

View all 6 photos

CONTINUE READING

Southern Jaguars’ all-stars square toe to toe

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -- This fall’s preseason camp for the Jaguar football team has been chock full of competitive battles.

Heated positional skirmishes and chirpy exchanges among those vying for coveted jobs is a daily occurrence on The Bluff.

Whether it be a positional battle in the secondary or interior linemen squaring off against each other, heated competition has been the name of the game.

Yet there is no competition more exciting than when first team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference receiver Lee Doss lines up opposite second-team All-SWAC cornerback Virgil Williams.

The defensive players on the sideline begin barking at Doss in anticipation for what is about to seen.

Two of the best at their respective crafts going one-on-one.

CONTINUE READING 

Ouachita WR Cameron Sims chooses Alabama — over Southern

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  Ouachita Parish High receiver Cameron Sims picked two-time defending national champion Alabama over Southern on Saturday.

The 6-foot-4 210-pound star had his options down to Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and Southern, the only FCS school on his list.

Sims, in front of a nationwide audience, donned an Alabama cap and gave a “roll tide.”

A member of Rivals’ Top 250 prospects, Sims’ pledge gives ...

CONTINUE READING

FAMU Holmes gives young players chance in scrimmage

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  Many of the starters sat out the final scrimmage for FAMU on Saturday afternoon, but the message that coach Earl Holmes delivered afterward was clearly addressed to every player.

Holmes vented about penalties, interceptions and dropped balls. His voice went up a notch when he told them he’d like to see improvement in the tempo they played in the first 10 minutes.

It was too sluggish for Holmes’ liking.



“You’ve got to be able to play a 60-minute football game” he said. “You can’t play for 54 minutes or 23 minutes; you’ve got to play a complete game. From whistle to whistle.”

If it were a real game instead of the 72-play scrimmage, he said, the opposing team could have taking a big early lead.

“Things like that will get you beat,” Holmes said. “You’ll find yourself far behind and the clock runs out on you.”

CONTINUE READING

2013 Preview: Former FAMU player Earl Holmes returns to lead Rattlers

HEAD FOOTBALL COACH EARL HOLMES
FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY
(Courtesy FAMU Athletics)

ORLANDO, Florida -- There is a lot to learn for a first-time head college football head coach, and sometimes the transition from assistant coach is painstaking.

For Earl Holmes, however, he has the luxury of being quite familiar with his surroundings as Florida A&M’s new leader. He played at FAMU and he was an assistant coach for the Rattlers, serving last year as the defensive coordinator before being named interim head coach for the season-ending Florida Classic against rival Bethune-Cookman following the retirement of Joe Taylor.

But the familiarity goes far beyond that for the former NFL linebacker who played 10 years as a linebacker for the Steelers, Browns and Lions before retiring in 2005. Holmes grew up in Tallahassee, and he was an all-state linebacker at FAMU High in the early ’90s.

So the first-year head coach knows a little something about Rattler football.

“It’s been a tremendous changeover from me because I’ve already been here with these kids … in fact, I recruited more than half of these kids,” Holmes said.”

CONTINUE READING

Former NSU's James Doughtie among hall of fame inductees

NORFOLK, Virginia  -- J.R. Reid, an All-American basketball player in high school and college, and NFL return specialist Mel Gray are among the six Hampton Roads athletes who will be inducted into the 2013 class of the African American Sports Hall of Fame in November.

Joining the two are athletes Leroy Jones, James Doughtie, James Flowers, and Juanita Etheridge, along with two going into the Hall of Fame as community contributors: the Rev. Dr. Michael Daniels and the late Dr. Clarence Cuffee.

The banquet is Nov. 23 at the Sheraton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotel.

But locally, he was known for his play on the basketball court at Norfolk State from 1971-73, where he was the center on three CIAA tournament basketball teams.

Doughtie was an outstanding football player and track star at Portsmouth's Woodrow Wilson High School and Norfolk State. At Norfolk State, he was a four-year starter at linebacker and team co-captain from 1974-77. He was a member of three CIAA championship teams. In track, Doughtie was an All-American in 1975, 1976 and 1977.

While starting in the Norfolk State secondary, Flowers established a reputation as one of the best defensive players ever to play in the CIAA. The Lake Taylor High grad was an All-American in 1976.

CONTINUE READING