XU to open 2014 with 11 of first 13 matches at home

Hannah Lawing

NEW ORLEANS — A slew of early-season home matches is one of the features of the 2014 Xavier University of Louisiana women's volleyball schedule.
     
Second-year coach Hannah Lawing announced Tuesday the schedule, which consists of 23 regular-season contests. Xavier will play a school-record-tying 13 matches at home. Eleven of the Gold Nuggets' first 13 matches will be at home, including a school-record five in a row from Sept. 20-29.
     
The Nuggets' first 13 matches of 2013 were on the road. Two years ago they played 12 of their first 14 on the road, including the first seven.
        
Xavier is the three-time defending Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champion and is 43-0 the past three seasons against GCAC opponents. Xavier is one of 17 schools to qualify for the NAIA National Championship each of the last three seasons.
     
This will be the Nuggets' second season in the Convocation Center, which opened in November 2012 and seats nearly 4,000 for volleyball or basketball. When Xavier opens against Faulkner at 2 p.m. on Aug. 23, it will be the second time in the program's seven seasons that the Nuggets begin their schedule at home.
     
Three days later, on Aug. 26, the Nuggets will play at 7 p.m. at home against Mobile. It will be the first of three matches against 2013 NAIA national tourney qualifiers.
     
Xavier will play its earliest-ever GCAC opener, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. at home against Edward Waters. The GCAC will have eight members in 2014-15 — Fisk departed after four seasons to join the NAIA's Association of Independent Institutions — and all GCAC teams will play 14 conference matches.
     
First-time opponents will be Wiley — Aug. 30 at Wiley, Sept. 9 at Xavier — and Concordia (Mich.) on Oct. 11 at Xavier.
     
The Nuggets' other matches against 2013 NAIA tourney qualifiers will be Spring Hill at home on Oct. 10 and at Mobile on Oct. 14. Spring Hill this season begins the first year of its candidacy period in NCAA Division II.
     
Xavier will play three road matches in New Orleans: SUNO on Oct. 1 and Dillard on Nov. 6 in the conference and Loyola on Nov. 3.
     
Match times and dates are subject to change.
     
Xavier was 26-8 in 2013, 9-0 at home. The Nuggets have a school-record 13-match home win streak dating to 2012.


2014 Xavier University Women's Volleyball Schedule

Aug. 23:  FAULKNER, 2 p.m.
Aug. 26:  MOBILE, 7 p.m.
Aug. 30:  at Wiley, 11 a.m.
Sept. 5:  • EDWARD WATERS, 6 p.m.
Sept. 9:  WILEY, 4 p.m.
Sept. 15:  • at Tougaloo, 5 p.m.
Sept. 20:  • PHILANDER SMITH, noon
Sept. 22:  • TALLADEGA, 7 p.m.
Sept. 26:  LOYOLA, 6 p.m.
Sept. 27:  • DILLARD, noon
Sept. 29:  • VOORHEES, 7 p.m.
 Oct. 1:  • at SUNO, 7 p.m.
Oct. 10:  SPRING HILL, 6 p.m.
Oct. 11:  CONCORDIA (MICH.), 1 p.m.
 Also Oct. 11 at Xavier: Spring Hill vs. Concordia (Mich.), 11 a.m.
Oct. 14:  at Mobile, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 18:  • TOUGALOO, 1 p.m.
Oct. 20:  • at Talladega, 7 p.m.
Oct. 25:  • at Voorhees, 11 a.m. EDT
Oct. 26:  • at Edward Waters, noon EDT
Oct. 30:  • SUNO, 7 p.m.
Nov. 1:  • at Philander Smith, noon
Nov. 3:  at Loyola, 7 p.m.
Nov. 6:  • at Dillard, 5 p.m.
TBA:  GCAC Tournament
Nov. 22:  NAIA National Championship opening round at campus sites, TBA
Dec. 2-6:  NAIA National Championship final site at Sioux City, Iowa, TBA

Home matches (in CAPITAL LETTERS) will be played at the Convocation Center (capacity 3,937), Xavier University campus, New Orleans
• Gulf Coast Athletic Conference match
TBA — To be announced
All times are Central except where noted


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

HAPPY - Alabama State University

SC State Football Players Participate In Community Blood Drive

Junior defensive end Reggie Owens was one of many Bulldog football players who
participated  in the American Red Cross Blood drive held at O.C. Dawson Stadium.

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  -- The South Carolina State University football program teamed up with the American Red Cross in a community blood drive held Wednesday, June.25 at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

This year's blood drive was held in the conference room of Dawson Stadium with over 60 participants from the community, along with the Bulldog football team.

 "This year was the first year we teamed up with the American Red Cross for a worthy cause in giving blood," said head coach Buddy Pough. "We hope to make this an annual event so we can make more people in the community aware of the importance of donating."

According to event organizers, the blood drive was a huge victory for donating in the African- American Community. Every participant that donated blood or plasma will have the ability to save three lives in the future.

African-Americans have played a vital role in the development of the American Red Cross, through pioneering blood plasma research.

The African-American community has been invaluable in this effort, whether it's assisting victims of disaster, teaching health and safety courses or providing strong insightful volunteer leadership.

For more information about how you can donate blood to help save lives, please call or visit your local Red Cross office or www.redcrossblood.org and 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

NSU Williams to Play for Houston Rockets Summer League Team

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Former Norfolk State guard Pendarvis Williams will play for the Houston Rockets' summer league team in Las Vegas in mid-July after signing a free agent contract with the Rockets organization after last week's NBA Draft.

Williams, who finished his four-year career with NSU last season, is one of at least nine players who will compete for the Rockets' team in Las Vegas from July 12-21.

It will mark the third year in a row a former NSU player participated in one of the two NBA summer leagues – the other taking place in Orlando. Former Spartan Kyle O'Quinn competed with the Orlando Magic in 2012 and '13 after the Magic selected him in the second round of the 2012 Draft.

Williams, a native of Philadelphia, earned first-team All-NABC District 15 and second-team All-MEAC honors in 2013-14 as a senior with NSU. He also garnered AP All-America honorable mention and participated in the Reese's College All-Star Game before the Final Four.

He averaged career highs of 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals last year. He ended his career 15th all-time at NSU with 1,646 points and is only one of two players to tally at least 1,600 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocks.

Mike Bello, Asst. SID

COURTESY NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Former HU's McCorory edges Richards-Ross for women's 400 title

SACRAMENTO, California — Francena McCorory had to wait for the replay to see the best race of her life. The U.S. women's 400-meter champion has a tendency to run with her eyes closed.

Not that it mattered much.

 

McCorory won Saturday in the Sanya Richards-Ross.

U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships, finishing in 49.48 seconds to edge Olympic champion

 

McCorory had her best career time and the fastest in the world this year. She did it despite running three-quarters of the race with her eyes closed, something the sprinter has done since she first took up running as a 12-year-old.

 

That McCorory somehow stays in her lane without bumping into other runners was just as impressive as her winning time.

 

"I know it's weird because I have to go around an oval and turn left, but I really don't feel anyone," McCorory said. "I've run so many 400s I can feel the track. At 300 yards, I was like, 'Yes, I'm almost home.' That's the only time I opened my eyes.

 

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New AD Marshall follows his 'passion' to Hampton University

HAMPTON, Virginia — Eugene Marshall Jr. took the plunge 30 years ago. Farewell IBM and potential long-term security and stock options. Hello college sports administration and thankless hours and inevitable job change.

He's never looked back, and Monday the well-credentialed, supremely grateful Marshall was formally introduced as Hampton University's athletic director.



"Probably not wrapped too tight," he said with a broad smile of leaving IBM. "(But) athletics has always been my life. It's one thing to have a job. It's another thing to have a passion. So for 29 years, I've had a passion, not a job. … That's why I'm here. I love what I'm doing. The hours don't matter, because it's not a 9-to-5 job."

The job at Hampton is particularly difficult, witness its rampant turnover. Marshall is the seventh person to hold the position, full-time or interim, since Dennis Thomas resigned in 2002 after 12 years to become commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

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XU's Cassiere to speak at National HBCU Media Summit

ED CASSIERE

NEW ORLEANS — Ed Cassiere, Xavier University of Louisiana's sports information director, will be one of the first-day speakers at the 2014 National HBCU Media Summit, to be held next week at Dillard University in New Orleans.
    
Cassiere — recipient of approximately 70 awards for sports information and sports
    
Cassiere joined XU athletics in July 2006. He publicizes Xavier's nine intercollegiate teams, which compete in the NAIA's Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.
    
The National HBCU Media Summit is presented by the HBCU Digest, the national news resource of record for historically black colleges and universities. The three-day event engages the national HBCU community in media literacy and development and provides best practices in media culture building for HBCU communities from around the nation.

Former AD, coach weigh in on FAMU athletic cuts

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  Florida A&M University Athletic Director Kellen Winslow is facing tough times that call for making difficult decisions in reducing costs in the department, a former FAMU football coach and athletic director said Monday.

But, at the same time, former Athletic Director Ken Riley and former head football coach Joe Taylor weren't sure that the recent firing of an assistant football coach and the suspension of two sports will make much of a dent in the $7-million deficit that Winslow must address.

"It's tough times and I do think some changes are going to have to be made," said Riley, who coached the Rattlers football team from 1986 to 1993 and later was athletic director from 1994 to 2003, during a telephone interview with the Democrat.

"Some people are going to have to make sacrifices and then you've going to have to evaluate all the way to the top. You're going to have to make some bold moves but you kind of have to do it slowly.

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Former Hylton hoops standout chooses Alabama State

BEL AIR, Maryland  --  Chidozie Omile, a 2012 Hylton High School graduate, has committed to Division I Alabama State for men's basketball.

Omile played this season for Harford Community College (Md).  He was an all-Maryland JUCO Honorable Mention selection after averaging 20.9 points along with 5.9 rebounds a game.
                                                       
Omile scored 40 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in Harford's regular-season opener.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound guard/forward spent his freshman year at Division II Lander University where he averaged 4.0 points and 1.8 rebounds a game in 25 games.

Alabama State, which plays in the SWAC, went 19-13 this season and lost in the first round of the CIT.

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SU Director of Bands Lawrence Jackson takes final bows on a 38-year musical career

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -- Drawers are empty and memories are sealed in boxes.

The Southern University Human Jukebox Marching Band’s performance in last year’s Super Bowl? A photo is somewhere in the stack, as well as photos of Director of Bands Lawrence Jackson with late director and mentor Isaac Greggs, who recommended Jackson for the job.

Now it’s time for Jackson to say goodbye. After 38 years of band directing, eight of them as Southern’s director of bands, Jackson, 60, will officially retire on July 1.

Jackson removes yet another stack of folders from his desk drawer in his office in the Tourgee A. DeBose Music Building on campus. All are a part of his record at the university, where Jackson was able to achieve so much with so little.

His retirement, he says to set the record straight, wasn’t based on how much he was getting paid or how much was allotted to the band in the university budget.

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The Struggles of Historically Black Colleges and Universities: What must they do to survive?

FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY INCOMPARABLE MARCHING 100 BAND

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Elizabeth City State University faced a brief existential crisis last month when North Carolina lawmakers toyed with the idea of closing the historically black institution. The lawmakers backed off, but the episode was just one in a series of challenges facing the country’s 40 public historically black four-year colleges and universities.

Enrollment declines, cuts to government financial aid, leadership controversies and heightened oversight are working together to threaten some HBCUs in new ways and perhaps even jeopardize their existence, according to people who study, work with, and have led HBCUs. Some private black colleges, like other tuition-dependent private institutions, are also struggling, but public HBCUs are being tugged at by a variety of forces, old and new.

Some of the problems are, of course, historic. Public black colleges were created as part of segregated higher education systems, were starved for resources for much of their history, and generally lack the academic facilities, faculty salary pools, and other features found at top public universities. In an era when state leaders are talking about degree completion and speeding up graduation times, many public HBCUs remain proud of historic missions that include taking chances on students who went to poor high schools and who may face long odds.

When Tiffany Jones, an analyst at the Southern Education Foundation, visited one public HBCU to talk about the effects of performance funding on the university, officials there told her that it was “because of race that they were being targeted by the state system of higher education and their history of limited resources had provided them with limited ammunition to fight back.”

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Southern awaits fate from NCAA

PHOTO COURTESY SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -- All Southern University can do now is wait to hear its fate from the NCAA.

Jaguars officials appeared before the NCAA Committee on Academic Performance on Wednesday in Indianapolis, making a case to have lifted a ban on all its teams from competing in the NCAA postseason.

The hearing ended at mid-day and it’s unclear just how long it will be before a decision is made. Southern Athletic Director William Broussard texted that he and the Jaguars’ eight-person delegation to the hearing “are embargoed (from commenting) for 21 days or until a decision is rendered.”

He directed all questions to NCAA spokesperson Michelle Hosick, who wouldn’t speculate on when a decision would be forthcoming. On Tuesday, Hosick responded to an email by saying APR data for all Southern teams will be made public “later this summer.”

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Delaware Lawmakers Honor DSU Softball, Baseball Teams

DOVER, Delaware  --  The successful 2014 Delaware State University softball and baseball seasons were applauded by state lawmakers during Wednesday’s General Assembly session at Legislative Hall.

The Hornet softball and baseball teams were presented resolutions in the House of Representatives and State Senate in honor of winning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Northern Division championships this season.

The resolutions were sponsored by Representative Donald Blakey and Senator Brian Bushweller in their respective chambers.

The DSU softball team was 35-17 overall (15-3 MEAC) and finished third in the MEAC Tournament during the 2014 season. Head coach Janice Savage was named MEAC Coach-of-the-Year, while outfielder Nicole Gazzola (so.), catcher Sandy Hawthorne (so.)  and outfielder Jessica Madrid (so.) were selected to the All-MEAC First Team. In addition, pitcher Tara Tursellino (fr.) was named MEAC Rookie-of-the-Year and to the All-MEAC Second Team.

The Hornet baseball team captured its third straight MEAC North title this season with a 17-7 league record (30-16 overall).

Four players - outfielder Aarron Nardone (sr.), catcher Mike Alexander (sr.), shortstop DJ Miller (sr.); and pitcher Matt McClain - were named to the 2014 All-MEAC First Team.

Delaware State was tops among all NCAA Division I baseball teams in batting average (.336) and on-base percentage (.435) during the 2014 season.  





COURTESY DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Former Bison Nicholas Askew Hired As Swimming & Diving Coach

PHOTO COURTESY HOWARD UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

WASHINGTON, D.C.  -- Howard University Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Louis "Skip" Perkins has tabbed former Bison dual-sport star Nicholas Askew ('01) to be the next Head Coach of the school's Swimming & Diving programs.

Askew, a native of Kinston, NC, was a member of the Howard Swimming & Diving and Tennis teams from 1996-2001. He served as a team captain on the swim team, set several records  and was named team Most Valuable Player four times – three in swimming and one in tennis. He graduated from Howard with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology

This will be Askew's third role in his Howard career, having also served as an assistant under current tennis head coach Larry Strickland.

"We are glad to welcome Coach Askew back to Howard and to have him take over our Swimming & Diving program here at Howard," said Perkins. "Nic has a passion for the school, first-hand knowledge of the program and the coaching background necessary to help make our student-athletes successful."

Nic is married to the former Christie Davis and the couple resides in Washington, DC.

Q&A WITH COACH NIC

What made you want to pursue the head coach position here at Howard?
NA: The same reasons I chose to attend Howard as a student-athlete. Howard is among the few HBCUs that have a swimming & diving program, all while providing superior educational opportunities.  As a student-athlete, I recognized that I was a part of a rich legacy and now I have the privilege to coach and mentor a new line of student-athletes to continue the growth of that legacy. I knew I could not pass up that opportunity then or now.

What is your vision for the program and our student-athletes moving forward?
NA: Our program can be a strong competitor in our conference and beyond.  Each student-athlete will have the opportunity to give their best and be a part of the history of those that came before them.  We currently have some excellent swimmers who are proud to represent Howard.  Moving forward we will need to improve our depth, individual, and team performances.

What do you bring to the program that will make it successful?
NA: I've been "in their fins", so to speak.  I know what it's like to train, compete, and be successful. It's not complicated, but it does require hard work, dedication, and sacrifice.  My deep respect not only for the University and the Swimming and Diving program but also for each student-athlete will undoubtedly result in many successes to come.

Any other comments you'd like to share with the Howard community?
NA: I consider it an honor to be back at "The Mecca".  I am eager to work with our student-athletes and help them achieve great heights in and out of the pool.  I am also excited to reengage our alumni in the support of our program. With their additional help, Howard Swimming and Diving can be stronger than ever before.

COURTESY HOWARD UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

CIAA Referee Charles R. Nicholson Sr. (WVSU) remembered for being ‘a model of decorum’

The family will receive friends on Sunday, June 29, 2014, from 4 to 5 p.m. at Scott's Funeral Home, 115 E. Brookland Park Blvd., where the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. Omega Service will follow at 5 p.m.

Mr. Nicholson's funeral service will be held on Monday, June 30, 2014, 12 noon at First African Baptist Church, 2700 Hanes Ave., Richmond, VA.

RICHMOND, Virginia  -- High school basketball coach George Lancaster said he knew and admired referee Charles R. Nicholson Sr. for more than 40 years. He remembers during one of his first basketball games as a coach, he confronted Mr. Nicholson about a call he made.

“I probably wanted everything my way,” said Lancaster, who coaches basketball at Highland Springs High School in Henrico County. “I said to him, ‘I can’t believe you called that,’ and he asked me, ‘Do you want me to make any other call?’ ” And Lancaster said that stopped him in his tracks. He realized he wanted the right call, not just the favorable one. “No one wants something to be that it wasn’t,” he said.

Mr. Nicholson, 89, a lifelong Richmond resident and brother in-law of former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, died Monday. He was a physical education teacher in Richmond public schools and later served as an assistant principal and assistant director of finance. He also was a basketball and football referee for the Virginia High School League and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), the oldest African-American athletic conference in the nation.

In 2001, he was inducted into the CIAA Officials Hall of Fame.

OBITUARY

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XU's Finnegan, with state's best time since '11, is All-Louisiana

Hannah Finnegan

NEW ORLEANS -- Xavier University's Hannah Finnegan, the 2014 state leader in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, earned a berth on the All-Louisiana track and field team announced late Saturday.

The top three performers in each event, based on times compiled by the NCAA and NAIA, earn All-Louisiana.

Finnegan, a sophomore from Pekin, Ill., and a graduate of Tremont High School, set an XU record of 11 minutes, 9.53 seconds in the steeplechase at the Tulane Team Challenge on March 29. Finnegan's time is the fastest by a woman from a Louisiana university since Nicholls State's Kadi Whisnant (10:47.15) in 2011.

Finnegan is the second from Xavier to be named All-Louisiana in women's or men's track and field. Catherine Fakler was All-Louisiana in 2013 in the women's steeplechase and the 5,000.

The Gold Nuggets in 2014 won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference outdoor championship for the second consecutive season and the third time in four years. They posted their highest-ever finish, 25th, at the NAIA National Championships.


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

ASU may have 9 players that are academic casualties

COURTESY ASU ATHLETICS

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Alabama State is finalizing its 2014 football roster for the upcoming Southwestern Athletic Conference Media Day on July 18 and as many as nine returning players from the 2013 roster will not make the cut because of academics.

Head coach Reggie Barlow wanted to withhold the names until every option was exhausted to extend their eligibility but the tentative list includes several of the seven players who were held out of spring practice for academic reasons.

That would include two potential secondary starters and a receiver which figured prominently in the Hornets' statistics in 2013.

Also included on that list are ...

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Alcorn names LLJuna Weir interim athletic director

LORMAN, Mississippi   --  Alcorn President Alfred Rankins Jr. announced today the appointment of LLJuna Weir, associate director of athletics/senior woman administrator, as the interim director of intercollegiate athletics, effective July 1.

Rankins describes Weir as a leader who understands the day-to-day operations of Alcorn athletics and has established positive working relationships with coaches, staff and students.

I am grateful for another opportunity to serve Alcorn, said Weir as she discussed plans to continually advocate for student-athletes and positively position the athletic program.

“I believe in Alcorn athletics,” said Weir as she highlighted the strength of collaboration. “Working together, we can and will accomplish more. I believe in the power of members of the athletic family—our athletes, coaches, employees, student workers and alumni.”

Weir began her career at Alcorn 16 years ago and currently has oversight for Alcorn’s 17-sport athletic program.

She is a member of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA). Weir earned both her Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees from Alcorn. She is married to Dante Weir and they have two children, Jonathan and Danyel.

The University is accepting applications for a permanent athletic director online until the position is filled. Candidate screening will begin immediately. For consideration, interested applicants should apply early and online at https://jobopps.alcorn.edu.

COURTESY ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS

Hampton to Introduce Marshall as Director of Athletics

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

HAMPTON,  Virginia – The Hampton University Department of Athletics will hold a press conference on Monday, June 30 at 11 a.m. in the team meeting room at Armstrong Stadium to introduce Eugene Marshall, Jr. as the new Director of Athletics.

Marshall will take over as Director of Athletics on July 1, where he will take over for Novelle Dickenson. Marshall brings well over two decades of athletic administration experience to the Pirates.

Most recently, Marshall was the interim deputy athletic director at Queens College in New York, where he reported to the Assistant Vice President of Athletics and worked in an athletic program that boasted 18 teams.

Prior to that, Marshall spent two years as the Director of Athletics at Iona College, overseeing some of the Gaels' most successful moments – including two NCAA Tournament appearances for men's basketball and the program's first-ever at-large bid.

For more information on Hampton University athletics, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

S.C. State signs six in men’s cross country, track

ORANGEBURG,  South Carolina  -- South Carolina State head men’s cross country and track and field coach Tim Langford announced Friday the signing of six athletes who will compete for the Bulldogs in the 2014-15 seasons.

Roderick Britt, Elijah Case, Demek Kemp, Moses Kennedy, Taylor Simpson and Kameron Wallace will all suit up for S.C. State starting this fall.

* Britt (Throws/Dorchester, S.C./Woodland High School) earned all-state honors in the shot put and discus during the 2013-14 outdoor seasons at Woodland High School and won the 2014 state championship title in the discus. He will team up with his brother Anthony Britt, who had the second-longest shot put in the MEAC (54’ 7½”) during the 2014 outdoor season.

Case (Middle Distance/Laurens, S.C./Laurens High School) qualified for the South Carolina AAAA state championship twice in the 400m and ran a personal record of 48.82 as a senior. He also qualified for the 800m at the 2014 state championship meet. He set another personal best, this time in the ...

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QB Fleming making fast recovery for FAMU Rattlers

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  The first day of 7-on-7 workout was all the confirmation that FAMU's quarterback Damien Fleming needed.

"We went right down the field and scored a touchdown," he said. "It felt pretty good being out here.

"The unsupervised workout that matches receivers against cornerbacks, defensive backs and safeties, was one of the first true test for Fleming since he suffered a season-ending foot injury. He went down last November with two games remaining and eventually missed spring workouts after having two surgeries.

"I feel pretty good," Fleming said. "I'm stronger than I've ever been."

While he was out during the spring, last year's backup ...

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Report: South Carolina State will not eliminate basketball program

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  -- Facing a budget crisis, South Carolina State University thought about eliminating its basketball program, but the team will continue to play for now.

According to a report from the AP, the school is in the middle of attempting to coordinate a new budget for the upcoming budget year, which begins next week. The school’s Board of Trustees could not come up with a final budget at a Wednesday meeting, but it appears basketball is safe for the time being.

Instead of getting rid of the basketball program, the school will figure out other ways to address the budget, including raising tuition for both in-state and out-of-state students. The University also recently received a $6 million loan from the state of South Carolina, according to the report.

Had South Carolina State opted to get rid of basketball, they would have owed $730,000 in fees to the NCAA and it also would have meant probation, the school’s interim athletics director told the AP.

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Florida A&M: Winslow's moves might be necessary after all

KELLEN WINSLOW
COURTESY FAMU ATHLETICS
: Florida A&M Sports Information

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- Kellen Winslow, a NFL Hall of Famer, is not the most popular man in Tallahassee right now.

Not when it comes to some of the things that he's said and the moves he's made this week, as the new athletic director at FAMU.

He's fired coaches. He's suspended the men's tennis and golf teams, reducing athletics at FAMU to the bare minimum necessary to maintain Division I status in the NCAA.

But he insisted that the changes are necessary. He's cutting cost and trying to restructure an athletic department that is in over its head financially.

It's hard to imagine that Winslow is done yet if he is going to do all that he said has to be done.

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Tennessee State Basketall Signs 6'-11" Chima Azuonwu

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  -- The Tennessee State men’s basketball program added another commitment, Thursday, as Chima Azuonwu (Nigeria) signed a letter of intent to play for the Tigers next season.

“We are very excited about the addition of Chima to our basketball program,” head coach Dana Ford announced. “Chima is a young man that is 100 percent committed to earning his degree from Tennessee State, and his outstanding size (six-foot-eleven, 285 lbs.) will be an asset on the court. He runs very well for his size and finishes well around the basket. We feel like, in due time, that Chima can make a major impact on our program.”

Azuonwu just finished his senior season at Darien HS in Darien Conn., leading the Blue Wave to an 11-11 mark – one of the best in recent history.

 

A member of maxpreps.com’s Class of 2014 Watch List, Azuonwu nearly averaged a double-double in league contests a season ago.

 

Azuonwu is the second player from Nigeria signed by Ford during his first recruiting season, joining fellow big-man Christian Mekowulu, and the 11^th commitment overall.

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

FAMU suspends golf, men's tennis teams

Men's Track & Field Head Coach Wayne Angel and Defensive Line Football Coach George Small Fired

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Athletic director Kellen Winslow continued to restructure his department Thursday, firing two FAMU coaches and suspending two teams.

Athletic director Kellen Winslow continued to restructure his department Thursday, firing two FAMU coaches and suspending two teams.

The changes come just one day after Winslow told a luncheon crowd that he'll be making cuts in the athletic department as part of his mission to restructure the athletic department, which he described as being broken.

A terse release from the university said FAMU suspended its men's golf and men's tennis programs in an effort to help reduce a deficit in the athletic department. The move also intended to address Title IX disparities.

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