Former Big Ten head coach and NBA assistant coach to lead Tuskegee University's basketball program

COACH JERRY M. DUNN
COURTESY TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

TUSKEGEE, Alabama  -- Tuskegee University has announced the hiring of its new men's basketball coach. President Brian Johnson, Ph.D. and Athletic Director Curtis Campbell, have selected former New York Knicks assistant coach, Jerry M. Dunn, to lead the Golden Tigers basketball team. Dunn replaces Leon Douglas, who resigned in July.
 
Dunn has more than 30 years  of combined experience as a men's basketball head coach, associate head coach and assistant coach of NBA and Division I men's basketball programs. He has a successful track record of recruiting, scouting and developing young talent. He is committed to the academic success of his players. He achieved an average 98 percent graduation rate per season, with several students continuing a career in both U.S. and international professional basketball leagues.
 
"We are excited about the new addition of Coach Dunn to the Tuskegee University family. He is a coach with influence beyond basketball," Tuskegee University president, Dr. Brian L. Johnson said. "His accomplishments within the Big Ten Conference as well as the NBA are the types of achievement and success that we look forward to as Tuskegee's well-known tradition is propelled into its new trajectory."
 
Dunn has served the New York Knicks since 2012 and was instrumental in the team advancing to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Dunn created and implemented individual workouts for on court skill development. He also was an instructor for the Tim Grgurich NBA Skills Development Camp.
 
From 2007 to 2010, he served as the associate head men's basketball coach for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he helped lead the men's basketball team to an appearance in the 2009 NCAA tournament after an 11-year absence.
 
From 2003 to 2007, he served as an assistant men's basketball coach at West Virginia University in Morgantown and helped the team win the 2007 National Invitational Tournament (NIT). In 2006, the team placed 3rd in the Big East Regular Season, and advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.  In 2005, the team was runner up in the Big East Tournament, and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.
 
From 1995 to 2003, he was the head men's basketball coach at Penn State University. Coach Dunn led his team to its first Top Ten ranking and an NCAA tournament appearance in his first season. In 2001 he led Penn State to the Big Ten Tournament semi-finals and to a number 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament; Penn State beat number 2 seed, North Carolina, to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in over half a century. Coach Dunn reached 50 wins and 100 wins faster than any other head men's basketball coach in Penn State history.
 
"I am very excited to have the opportunity to be Tuskegee University's head basketball coach," Dunn said. "My staff and family look forward to doing special things at a very special place. I am proud to represent the great Tuskegee brand and tradition."
 
Dunn has a bachelor's degree in science and education from George Mason University. 

COURTESY TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Alcorn State Hires Derek Horne as Director of Athletics

DEREK HORNE
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY
(PHOTO COURTESY: FAMU ATHLETICS)

LORMAN, Mississippi -- Alcorn State University President Dr. Alfred Rankins Jr. named Derek Horne as the University's new intercollegiate athletic director during a news conference Friday, August 8, at the Vicksburg Expansion Center.

Horne previously served as director of athletics at Florida A&M where he negotiated the largest guaranteed football contract ($900,000) for a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Prior to that post, he had an impressive 15-year tenure at his alma mater, the University of Mississippi, in athletics administration.

As a student athlete at the University of Mississippi, Horne earned Academic All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) accolades as a senior and led his squad as team captain.

President Rankins stressed the importance of identifying final candidates who would balance academic and athletic success—be a champion for the student athlete.

"Horne's background and accomplishments as an athletic director also demonstrates his strong leadership abilities and his commitment to develop leaders in-and-out of the classroom," said President Rankins.

For Horne, returning to Mississippi is like coming home and being named Alcorn's new intercollegiate athletic director is an opportunity he couldn't resist.

"I am grateful to the search committee and President Rankins for entrusting me with this great honor," said Horne. "I will give you my best and expect the same in return. Our focus will be working together to do what is best for Alcorn."

Search committee member Dr. John Walls Jr. of Vicksburg said he is excited about the future of Alcorn's athletics program under the direction of Horne.

"His reputation as a leader and motivator coupled with his strategic planning and fundraising abilities made him stand out," said Dr. Walls.

Horne will report to Alcorn later this month and begin to provide administrative direction and oversight for Alcorn's 17-sport athletic programs and activities and supervise the control and compliance with applicable National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), and University rules and regulations governing all facets of intercollegiate athletics.

Horne is a 1987 graduate of the University of Mississippi. He is a native of Quitman, Ga. Horne is married to the former Sheila Mosley of New Albany, Miss., and they have one son, Christopher. 

COURTESY ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

ASU's Hopson Signed to Three-Year Contract Extension

COACH JAY HOPSON

ALCORN  Mississippi (August 7, 2014) – It didn't take Alcorn President Alfred Rankins Jr. long to award Braves head football coach Jay Hopson for his exceptional leadership of the University's football program.

"We really appreciate what Coach Hopson has done in elevating our football program to the next level. It feels good to be recognized as one of the top teams in the SWAC," said President Rankins.

Hopson signed a three-year contract extension Thursday that will keep him in charge of leading the Braves to prominence for the next three seasons.

Hopson is in his 3^rd season as the Braves head football coach. Since his arrival at Alcorn, Hopson has led the Braves to a 13-10 record over a two-year span (11-7 in SWAC games), which included a 9-3 (first time winning nine games since 1974) record in 2013. He was nominated for the Eddie Robinson Award (best head coach in the FCS) and has coached more than 10 players who have earned All-SWAC honors (the most in school history).

Hopson expressed his pleasure with the contract extension:

"This is truly an honor. We have a lot of work that we have to do in order to bring this school a championship. My coaches and I plan to put in our best effort to get our players in championship form," said Hopson.

The Braves will kick off the 2014 season at home, which will be the first of seven this season, against Virginia University at Lynchburg Saturday, August 30 at 4 p.m.

COURTESY ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS 

Freshman receiver turning heads at FAMU

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Almost every day during volunteer 7-on-7 workouts, someone was asking who that guy is making big catches with the FAMU receiving corps.

Pre-season camp has started and the onlooker are just as curious about Brandon Norwood. He is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound receiver out of Atlanta's Cedar Grove High School.

He didn't get a single inquiry for a scholarship offer.

During signing day, he watched as some of his teammates signed letters to play for schools like South Carolina.

"Everybody was getting offers and I was still trying to figure what I would do after high school," said Norwood, who was one of coach Earl Holmes' last signees.

The offer puts him in a place that he didn't think was possible. He sees it as an opportunity that he can't squander.

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Humphries says FAMU's cash woes could be fixed

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida A&M could begin to put a dent into its nagging athletic budget deficit in a short time if the Marching 100 band and the football program are given top priority, Frederick Humphries said Friday at the 220 Quarterback Club's luncheon.

But Humphries, president at FAMU from 1985 to 2001, said such a strategy would only work if alumni return to supporting the university the way they did during the 16 years that he served.

Their support helped his administration turn around an athletic department that was also struggling with a financial shortfall when he became president, he said.

Humphries left FAMU with a $3 million surplus in its athletic budget.

"The best indicators for black colleges; two things give the greatest visibility that they have," he said. "It's the athletic program and the marching band.

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Southern passing game crowded

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  The Southern passing game has featured a large cast of characters so far in preseason camp.

Even though three top receivers are sidelined, the permutations are nearly countless.

The Jaguars are trying to give four quarterbacks — Deonte Shorts, Francis Kanneh, Austin Howard and Jarrad Hayes — a fair opportunity to see what each can do before choosing a starter for the season opener at Louisiana-Lafayette on Aug. 30. So the reps are being divided four ways, and the quarterbacks are floating up and down the depth chart in the early days of preseason camp.

Wide receiver is arguably the deepest position on the team and that depth has been on display during the first eight days of practice. The sidelined veterans are Willie Quinn, who has yet to practice because of a jaw injury, Randall Menard (foot) and Justin Morgan (ankle), who were hurt earlier in camp.

“You just have to make sure you have the timing down because you get used to guys, then they get hurt,” Shorts said. “The new guys are stepping up. We just have to get used to them.”

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S.C. State men’s basketball to play only 10 home games

Orangeburg, South Carolina --  The South Carolina State University men’s basketball program has released its 2014-15 schedule, a slate that includes 10 home games and 19 road contests.

“We are excited to announce this year’s schedule. It’s one of the most challenging schedules in recent years for the Bulldogs,” S.C. State head coach Murray Garvin said. “We open the season on a Northwest/West Coast swing against University of Washington (Nov. 14) and San Francisco (Nov. 16) before cutting back across the country to face ACC Champion the Virginia Cavaliers (Nov. 18).”

The Bulldogs open up at home against Columbia International on Nov. 25, before heading to Statesboro, Ga., to take on Georgia Southern on Nov. 29.

SCSU then returns to the Palmetto State to battle defending Big South Champion Coastal Carolina on Dec. 2 in Conway. Garvin and the Bulldogs made their mark last season sweeping the Chanticleers in a home-and-home series for the first time in school history.

The Bulldogs have early MEAC battles with Florida A&M on Dec. 6 and Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 8 at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. SC State takes on College of Charleston in Charleston on Dec. 11 before, closing out their home-and-home series with Coastal Carolina on Dec. 14.

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Saint Augustine's University Brings Back Men's Golf

COACH ROBERT HINTON
SAU MEN'S GOLF

RALEIGH, North Carolina  --  Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) announced on Thursday, August 7, 2014 that it will re-institute the men’s golf program, beginning with the 2014-2015 season. The head coach will be Robert Hinton.

“I am very happy we have golf back,” said George Williams, the SAU Athletic Director and iconic Track & Field Head Coach. “I would like to give thanks to our [Interim] President Dr. [Everett] Ward for bringing back the sport. I think we have a young man [Hinton] who can get the job done for us.”

With the addition of men’s golf, Saint Augustine’s University increased its number of varsity sports to 14. The other sports are baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s bowling, men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field, softball and women’s volleyball.

“I want to thank [Interim President] Dr. Ward and Coach Williams for allowing me to lead this program,” Hinton said. “I am very excited about the opportunity to help our student-athletes be successful in the classroom as well as on the golf course.”

The men’s golf program was started in the 1960s by Earl Curry, a coach at then Saint Augustine’s College. The sport was a staple in the athletic department before it was put on hiatus in 2013.

Men’s golf rose to prominence under Head Coach Lawrence Coleman. He guided the Falcons to five PGA National Minority Golf Championships and six CIAA conference titles. The long-time coach retired in 2009 and was inducted into CIAA Hall of Fame in 2014. It was the second hall of fame honor for Coleman, who was inducted in the National Black Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

Hinton is now in charge of coaching the historically successful program. The Garner, N.C., native is a familiar sports figure in Raleigh, N.C. and surrounding areas. He was a wide receiver on the legendary 1987 state championship football team at Garner High School and played football at N.C. State University. After an outstanding collegiate career, Hinton’s NFL career was cut short due to injuries.

After his football playing days ended, Hinton excelled at another sport – golf. He was an assistant golf pro in Raleigh, N.C. for five years and a pro golfer on the Hooters Tour for another two years. Hinton is currently the general manager of Meadowbrook Country Club, a position he has held since 2011. Meadowbrook, located in Garner, N.C., is owned by Saint Augustine’s University.

Hinton says he plans to seek advice as he prepares for his first season as Falcons’ golf coach.

“I’ll lean heavily on Coach Coleman’s expertise as I move the program forward,” Hinton said. “I want to continue the tradition of excellence that he built.”

Saint Augustine’s University athletics on www.saintaugfalcons.com

COURTESY SAINT AUGUSTINE'S UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

Hall of Fame to induct XU's "Sweetwater" Clifton 1940s standout is the first from Xavier to receive this honor

XU men's basketball team members in 1942-43 included, from left, David
Henderson, James Savery, Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton, Irving Ward and
Leon Wright. That team was 15-3 and runner-up in the SIAC Tournament.
Clifton is a 2014 inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

NEW ORLEANS — Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton, a Xavier University of Louisiana standout in the 1940s and an NBA pioneer nearly 60 years ago, will be inducted Friday into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield, Mass.
    
Clifton, selected as a contributor to the sport, is the first from Xavier to earn induction. He is one of 10 inductees this year.
    
A right-handed power forward listed from 6-feet-6 to 6-9 on various online sites, Clifton was one of a handful of African-Americans to integrate the NBA in the 1950-51 season. Clifton scored 16 points for the New York Knicks in his NBA debut on Nov. 4, 1950 — he was 28 years old at the time — and played eight seasons in the league, all but one with the Knicks.
    
In 544 NBA games, Clifton averaged 10.0 points and 8.2 rebounds. He averaged a double-double in his second and third seasons — 10.6 points and 11.8 rebounds in 1951-52, 10.6 and 11.3 rebounds in 1952-53 — and averaged a career-best 13.1 points in 1954-55. He was a member of NBA runner-up teams each of his first three seasons.
    
Clifton's lone NBA All-Star Game appearance was in 1957. He scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 23 minutes and still holds the record for the oldest first-time participant: 34 years and 94 days.
    
"He was still a showman when I got to the league," said Richie Guerin, a 2013 Hall of Fame inductee and a rookie teammate of Clifton in 1956-57. "Sweets did everything with a flair. He had a nice outside shot for a big man. He was a good rebounder. He was a terrific guy and a friend. Sweets and other veterans like Carl Braun and Dick McGuire went out of their way to make me feel welcome."


    
Clifton was a standout player in Chicago at DuSable High School and enrolled at Xavier in the fall of 1942. He spent just one academic year at Xavier before enrolling in the Army during World War II. But his basketball impact at XU was great. Clifton led the Gold Rush in 1942-43 to a 15-3 record, including 11 double-digit victories, and a berth in the championship game of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, where Xavier lost 43-42 to South Carolina State. His Xavier statistics are spotty, but the school newspaper, the Xavier Herald, said Clifton scored 42 points against Benedict and 24 in another game. His 21 made field goals against Benedict still are a school record.
    
"I taught him everything he knew about basketball," said Leon Wright, a DuSable and Xavier teammate and still living in Chicago at age 91. "He didn't know what a ball looked like when he started high school. He and I would stay at the gym after practice to work out. I had to show him where to go on the court, how to lead people with the pass.
    
"He was a good teammate. He was easy going, sort of quiet. He definitely wasn't a loud person."
    
After the war, Clifton played with two all-black professional touring teams, the New York Rens and the Harlem Globetrotters. He scored 52 points for the Globetrotters in a 64-63 victory against a college all-star team on April 11, 1950, in San Francisco. The next month — on May 24, 1950 — Clifton became the second African-American to sign an NBA contract. The first to sign was Harold Hunter, Xavier's men's basketball coach for three seasons in the mid-1970s.
    
Clifton also played professional baseball in the Negro League and for a Cleveland Indians farm team. After his final NBA season, with the Detroit Pistons in 1957-58, he played for the Harlem Stars touring team and the Chicago Monarchs in the American Basketball League. Clifton triumphantly returned to New Orleans on Jan. 24, 1960, scoring a game-high 24 points in the Stars' 82-72 victory against the New York Celtics before 5,300 fans at Loyola Field House.
    
His honors are many. Clifton is a member of the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame, the Black Athletes Hall of Fame and the Chicago 16 Inch Softball Hall of Fame. The Associated Black Charities of New York City named one of its "Black History Maker Awards" the "Nathaniel 'Sweetwater' Clifton Award," and in 2005 the Knicks renamed their monthly "City Spirit Award" in his honor In 1993, longtime NBA referee Earl Strom listed Clifton as one of his 10 toughest players of all time (also listed: Louisiana natives Willis Reed and Karl Malone).
    
Clifton was born Oct. 13, 1922, in Little Rock, Ark. — he earned his nickname as a child because he loved soft drinks — and died Aug. 31, 1990, in Chicago. Wright, one of two known living players from the 1942-43 Xavier team — Irving Ward is the other — was a pallbearer at Clifton's funeral.
    
Meadowlark Lemon, the longtime "Clown Prince" of the Globetrotters and a 2003 Hall of Fame inductee, will be Clifton's presenter at Friday's ceremony at Springfield Symphony Hall. Clifton's daughter, JaTuan, will accept the honor on behalf of her father.
    
Clifton's arrival in the NBA will be portrayed in the cinema in "Sweetwater," with Wood Harris in the title role. The movie is scheduled for release in 2015.

XU men's basketball team members in 1942-43 included, from left, David Henderson, James Savery, Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton, Irving Ward and Leon Wright. That team was 15-3 and runner-up in the SIAC Tournament. Clifton is a 2014 inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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Coaches Keep SSU Tigers Keyed On Being Focused This Season

SAVANNAH, Georgia  -- After the first week of camp, more than 90 players are on the field getting valuable instruction from the veteran Savannah State coaching staff.

There are five quarterbacks vying for the starting position this year. Quarterbacks coach David Banks took over the job of fine tuning that position this past March. It is his first season here at Savannah State University after being at Hampton University, the past two seasons.

Banks paid close attention to each quarterbacks foot settings, position of the ball in the players' hands prior to execution and their throwing motions. His main goal was to make sure they were focused and assertive in calls being made from the offensive coordinator from the sideline and how those plays were understood and executed.

New defensive coordinator Michael Wallace is in his second tour of duty with the Tigers. Last season he served as linebackers coach and special team's coordinator. He has been focused in on the defensive back core; which is made up of a very strong veteran group of players.

Defensive line coach Jonas Jackson feels as though the defensive line is developing quickly, even though they are learning entirely new defensive schemes. He feels both sides of the line (offensive and defense) are equal right now.

During the drills, head coach Earnest Wilson, III keeps an eagle's eye look over what is going on in each segment of the team. If 100 percent effort wasn't being applied in every situation, it was addressed immediately by him.

"Every play, even if we drop a pass or fumble a hand-off, must be done in full sprint," said Wilson. "We are in a conditioning phase and we (coaches) want everything done at full speed."

A new item was placed on the 50-yard line marker for all to see. It is a blue and orange painted gold firemen's bell. The significance of the item is simple. If you can't "cut the mustard" just ring the bell. It means you have quit the football team. So far, nobody has rung it.

The Tigers will practice in full gear all week with their first scrimmage to take place on August 9 at 8 a.m. at Ted Wright Stadium.

The Tigers open the season, August 30, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium at 6 p.m. central time.

The team's first home is September 13 at 6 p.m. The opponent will be Fort Valley State University.

View Photo Practice Gallery from August 5, 2014 (Here)

Get to Know #47 Robert Smith
Question and answer session with newcomer defensive back Robert Smith who transferred to SSU after receiving his undergraduate degree from Georgia State.

Question: How do you define who you are?
Answer: "I feel that I have been an underdog my whole life. I was told that I was too small and too short to play Division I football. I know that hard work and being a good student has its own rewards. That is my definition of who I am and what I am about."
Smith added that he learned how to be the man of his house, because his mother was a single-parent.
"I was the first person in my family to get a college degree this past May. I wanted my sister, who is 18, to have a male role model in her life. I am proud of her also, as she just got a scholarship to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.

Question: You seem to be athletically gifted, so what do you do mentally to get your mind and body on the same page?
Answer: "I prepare for games by stretching and relaxing so that I don't think about too much. I don't like to think too much during the game, because if I have done my homework, I typically know what is going to happen. I have to be able to play fast and react even faster."

Question: Most receivers are taller than you, how do you make a difference on defense?
Answer: "I try to neutralize my opponent by being a whole lot more physical on every play. If they catch the ball, I want them to know that they will be getting a hard hit along with that catch."

Question: You said this year's team is like an Army of One. What did you mean by that?
Answer: "Everyone is really trying to help each other out on offense and defense. I have four fingers and one thumb, but when I ball up my first they become strong."

Question: What goals have you set for yourself this year?
Answer: "My main goal is to help turn this program around. We have scholarship players, who are trying to get an education and I want to help them. I also want SSU to be successful in the MEAC. My coach at Georgia State University and Coach Wilson coached together in Indianapolis and he told me that I would enjoy playing for him. I love playing football and it only comes around one time."

Question: You stayed here this summer and you were one of the 40 who did that. What motivated you and the others to sacrifice yours summer?
Answer: "We have a common goal to stick together and to sacrifice whatever is necessary to turn things around down here."

COURTESY SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Xavier's Horn announces hiring of four employees

From left: new XU athletics employees Jimmie Walker, Hilary Lobenstein,
Joe Fawcett and Allie Wood.

NEW ORLEANS — Jason Horn, Xavier University of Louisiana's director of athletics and recreation, announced Wednesday the hiring of four employees.
    
Joining the staff are Allie Wood and Joe Fawcett as athletic trainers, Hilary Lobenstein as assistant women's volleyball coach and Jimmie Walker as administrative specialist.
    
Wood's and Fawcett's positions are funded through an agreement between Xavier and Ochsner Health System's sports medicine division.
    
Wood and Fawcett are certified by the National Athletic Trainers' Association.
    
Wood will work primarily with XU teams in women's volleyball, women's basketball and men's and women's tennis, plus the spirit groups. Fawcett will cover men's basketball, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's track and field.
    
Wood, a native of southern California, joined Xavier in April after seven years of training experience with youth, amateur, high school, collegiate and professional teams. Most recently, Wood was a graduate assistant athletic trainer at Warner University in Lake Wales, Fla., where she received a master's degree. She received her bachelor's degree from BYU in 2008 and was a student athletic trainer there.
    
Fawcett, a native of Zanesfield, Ohio, arrived at Xavier in June after two years as a graduate assistant athletic trainer at the University of Detroit Mercy, where he earned a master's degree. He was a student athletic trainer at Wright State University, where he received his bachelor's degree, and the University of Dayton.
    
Lobenstein worked her first day at Xavier on July 28. She was a graduate assistant volleyball coach at the University of West Alabama the previous two seasons. Lobenstein earned bachelor's and master's degrees from UWA and played volleyball there. She helped UWA go 51-19 in her two seasons and win the Gulf States Conference East Division championship in 2009.
   
Lobenstein, a native of Deerfield, Wis., will be the Gold Nuggets' recruiting coordinator.
    
Walker, a native New Orleanian, joined the XU staff on Monday. He will manage all procurement and purchasing services of the athletics department, coordinate social media efforts and create video content for the department website and news media.
    
Walker interned for the past year with the New Orleans Saints and the New Orleans Pelicans and edited and produced video content for both teams' websites. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from Northwestern State University, where he gained experience in digital media, radio, television, newspaper and the yearbook.
    
Wood and Fawcett replace Melvin Wallis, who worked at Xavier for seven years, and Tiffany Gary, who worked for two. Lobenstein replaces Kenneth Marroccoli, who worked at Xavier in 2013, and Walker succeeds Alma Henderson, who retired on June 30 after 25 years at Xavier.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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Alabama State's 'Ghost' slims down to 353 pounds

MONTGOMERY, Alabama  -- He has lost 29 pounds from last season, "slimming down" to 353 pounds, if that's the right terminology for an oversized defensive tackle.

And his nickname, "Ghost," may be the definitive use of antiphrasis in acknowledging the largest guy on Alabama State's team.

Roderick Henderson was always a dominant player, from his days at G.W. Carver to a year at Southern Mississippi to last season at Alabama State. But after fighting all summer to get in better shape, he is at the front of the group of defensive tackles in almost every post-practice sprint, a testimony to his dedication in becoming the "slimmer" Henderson.

" 'Ghost' is probably in the best shape he's ever been in his life," Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow said. "He's doing a good job for us. He's strong. Just getting last year under his belt and playing with some consistency and being able to dominate, that gave him the confidence. And he's got a low center of gravity, so he's a hard guy to block."

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In the FCS Huddle: Year of the SWAC quarterbacks

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania  -- A team that wins a conference championship generally has something the competition is lacking.

In the year of the quarterback in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, that isn't such a good thing for reigning champ Southern.

The Jaguars have a need at quarterback because they must replace Dray Joseph, who shared 2013 SWAC offensive player of the year honors as a senior.

Veteran quarterbacks are widespread in the 10-team conference that on Friday installed Southern as the favorite in the West Division as well as Alabama State atop the East Division.

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NSU Spartan Men's Basketball Announces 2014-15 Schedule

NORFOLK, Virginia  -- The Norfolk State men's basketball program finalized its 2014-15 schedule, highlighted by 13 home games as well as a spot in the Barclays Center Classic.

The Spartans will host the usual eight MEAC contests at an upgraded Joseph Echols Hall in addition to home games against Boston University, Texas Southern and Northern Arizona. NSU will also welcome non-Division I opponents Pfeiffer and U.Va.-Wise to Norfolk. All-in-all, the Spartans will play four games against BCS-level teams and nine against programs that made the postseason last year.

"With a young team, we know there are always going to be growing pains. We really wanted to play a challenging schedule early on to throw them into the fire right away," said head coach Robert Jones. "We also wanted to have a better ratio of home-to-away games, and we feel we accomplished both of those goals.

"This is probably the toughest schedule we've played in the eight years I have been here."

The Spartans will compete against St. Francis Brooklyn and then either St. Peter's or Tennessee State in a four-team tournament at St. Peter's over the Thanksgiving weekend as part of the Barclays Center Classic. Away games at Virginia and Vanderbilt will also count toward NSU's participation in the tournament.

NSU begins the year against Pfeiffer at home on Nov. 14 at 8 p.m., part of a doubleheader with the women's team. From there, the Spartans head to Virginia on Nov. 16 before returning home to host Boston University at 7 p.m. on Nov. 19 and Texas Southern on Nov. 22 at 5 p.m.

The Thanksgiving week will be a busy one for NSU, beginning with a Tuesday night contest at Vanderbilt on Nov. 25. The Spartans will then take on St. Francis Brooklyn on Nov. 28 and either St. Peter's or Tennessee State the following day in the second bracket of the tournament.

"It is an honor to be invited to participate in the Barclays Center Classic," said Jones. "It will serve as a great opportunity for some of our players, including a couple seniors, to compete close to home."

After another road contest at Hofstra on Dec. 2, NSU will battle MEAC foes Morgan State on Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. and Coppin State on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. The latter contest against the Eagles will be a single game as opposed to the usual MEAC doubleheader, with the NSU and Coppin State women's teams playing on a separate date.

The Spartan men make a trip to Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 13 and then come back to Echols Hall again to face U.Va.-Wise on Dec. 15 and Northern Arizona on Dec. 19, both at 7 p.m. NSU plays one last time before the Christmas holiday at James Madison on Dec. 22.

Following the break, NSU flies out to Texas to face Baylor on Dec. 30, followed by roads contests at Georgia on Jan. 3 and at Princeton on Jan. 6. After those last non-conference games of the year, NSU then dives back into MEAC play with a trip to Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 10 and 12, respectively.

The Spartans will host North Carolina Central on Jan. 17 (6 p.m.) and North Carolina A&T on Jan. 19 (8 p.m.), followed by another long conference trip for the third straight year to South Carolina State  on Jan. 24 and Savannah State on Jan. 26. NSU caps off the month of January with the Battle of the Bay against Hampton at Echols Hall on Jan. 31 at 6 p.m.

Norfolk State will get the added benefit of staying home for another week when the Spartans host Howard on Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. and UMES on Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. They then close out the regular season with four of five games on the road, including two trips to Baltimore to play at Morgan State on Feb. 14 and at Coppin State on Feb. 21.

After an 8 p.m. home game against Delaware State on Feb. 23, NSU will play at Howard on March 2 and at Hampton on March 5. The MEAC tournament will take place at the Norfolk Scope for the third year in a row from March 9-14.

NSU returns seven players who competed last year and welcomes seven newcomers to the 2014-15 team. The Spartans saw seven seniors finish their careers last season, with nearly 80 percent of the team's scoring from a year ago now gone.

2014-15 Norfolk State Men's Basketball Schedule

Mike Bello, Asst. SID
COURTESY NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

SSU’s Smith Signs Professional Basketball Contract

SAVANNAH, Georgia -- Former Savannah State men’s basketball player Jyles Smith has signed a professional contract to play with the Copenhagen Wolkpack in the Demark Ligaen.

During his senior season with SSU, Smith led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in rebounds and blocks, averaging 8.2 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. The 6-9 Fairburn, Georgia native also averaged 8.4 points per game while shooting 54 percent from the field. Smith was named to the All-MEAC Third Team.



“I am very excited to start my pro career for the Wolfpack inCopenhagen,” said Smith. “I will do anything the team asks of me to help us get wins. I can’t wait to get to Denmark.”

“I am delighted Jyles will be joining the Copenhagen Wolfpack this season, he brings energy and a defensive presence that is going to be key for our team this year. He is extremely athletic and his ability to run the floor and finish around the rim will fit perfectly into my system,” said Gavin Love, Copenhagen Wolfpack Head Coach. “Although a rookie, I fully expect Jyles to be one of the top rebounders and shot blockers in the Ligaen this year.”

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Two Norfolk State Univ. football games to be televised

COURTESY NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
(MSutton Photography)

NORFOLK, Virginia  -- Norfolk State’s football games against Hampton and Bethune-Cookman will be televised as part of the MEAC’s TV package with ESPNU, the conference announced Thursday.

NSU’s home game against Bethune-Cookman, originally scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 8, has been moved to Thursday, Nov. 6, to accommodate a live ESPNU telecast from Dick Price Stadium. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and also will be streamed live on ESPN3.com.

The annual Battle of the Bay game between the Spartans and Hampton on Saturday, Oct. 18, will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com and tape-delayed on ESPNU. The game will kick off at 1 p.m., as originally scheduled, at HU’s Armstrong Stadium, with the tape-delayed time to be announced.

The two ESPNU games are NSU’s first since Sept. 15, 2012, when the Spartans fell to Howard 37-36 in overtime at home. NSU is 4-8 in games carried on the ESPN family of networks and 0-2 in Thursday night games.

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Maynor: Hampton won’t finish seventh in MEAC football

NORFOLK, Virginia  -- New Hampton coach Connell Maynor was more subdued than at his previous media luncheons as Winston-Salem State’s coach in the CIAA.

Nevertheless, Maynor did give one guarantee. “You picked me to finish seventh (in the MEAC), that’s not going to happen,” he said at last week’s MEAC Football Luncheon.

Maynor led the Rams to three straight CIAA championships in four seasons, including a runner-up finish in the 2012 NCAA Division II championship. He replaces Donovan Rose, who spent 23 years on the Pirates sideline, but was released last season.

Rose has since returned to the university as an assistant athletic director for development.

“All y’all think I’m cocky. I’m not cocky, I just know what my God can do,” Maynor continued.

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Gold Nuggets, 3-time defending GCAC champion, sign 5

Jada Broussard

Ralitsa Hadzhistoyanova

Kayla Jones

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana — a three-time defending champion in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament — announced Friday its 2014 women's volleyball recruiting class.
     
Second-year coach Hannah Lawing said five have been signed to scholarships:
     
• Jada Broussard, a 5-foot-10 middle blocker and right-side hitter from Breaux Bridge, La., and Breaux Bridge High School.
     
• Ralitsa Hadzhistoyanova, a 5-9 setter from Razlog, Bulgaria, and Kanazirevi secondary school and a transfer from Chicago State University.
     
• Kayla Jones, a 5-3 libero and defensive specialist from Kansas City, Kan., and Piper High School.
     
• Kaelan Temple, a 5-7 outside hitter and defensive specialist from Houston, Texas, and Lamar High School.
     
• Jelena Vujicic, a 5-8 outside hitter and setter from Belgrade, Serbia, and Beogradska Gimnazija school.
     
Broussard, Jones, Temple and Vujicic will be freshmen on the Gold Nuggets' roster. Hadzhistoyanova will be a sophomore.
     
Broussard was a four-year varsity starter and was all-district three times. As a senior she was named academic all-state by the Louisiana Volleyball Coaches Association. Broussard helped Breaux Bridge qualify for the state playoffs in Division II (Class 4A) four times, reach the semifinals in 2012 and the quarterfinals in 2013.
     
Hadzhistoyanova transfers to XU after playing in 14 matches for Chicago State a year ago. Twice she recorded seven assists in a match, and she was cited as a CSU Scholar Athlete and made the dean's list. Hadzhistoyanova was a member of the third-place team at the 2012 Bulgarian high school championship.
     
This will be the second year at XU for Jones, who joined the program during the spring semester and was a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta honor society for freshmen. Jones was a two-year volleyball starter at Piper, and in track and field she ran the leadoff leg on the Lady Pirates' 400-meter relay team which won the Class 4A state championship in 2011.
        
Temple was a starter as a junior and a senior at Lamar and competed two years in track and field in the 200 and 400. She made the honor roll multiple times. Temple is a cousin of former LSU men's basketball standouts Collis Temple Jr., Collis Temple III and Garrett Temple. Another cousin, Meghan Temple, plays women's basketball for XU city rival Loyola.
     
Vujicic competed on a pair of bronze-medal winning teams in the Serbian junior national championship.

Jones is a psychology major at Xavier. Broussard and Vujicic will be pre-law majors, Hadzhistoyanova will major in accounting, and Temple is undeclared.
     
"We are thrilled to have such talented and bright young ladies join our Xavier family," Lawing said. "I'm really looking forward to their arrivals. I believe the elements and experience they will bring from their respective origins will add more variety and depth to our team."
     
Xavier was 26-8 in 2013 and qualfied for the NAIA National Championship for the third consecutive year. The Gold Nuggets will open the 2014 season at 2 p.m. on Aug. 23 against Faulkner at XU's Convocation Center.

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

Jelena Vujicic

College basketball countdown: No. 68 Texas Southern

HOUSTON, Texas -- THE FIRST WORD: More than a decade removed from coaching in a national championship game, Mike Davis is content with being the furthest thing from it now.

"I love it here, I love Houston," Davis said of his new home, entering his third season as the head coach of Texas Southern.

STARTING FIVE: Previewing the 2014-15 season

Davis' challenge is getting a similar buy-in from his recruits given that Texas Southern plays in one of college basketball's worst conferences — with the SWAC's tournament winner almost an automatic for a play-in game in the NCAAs. That was the case last year, when Davis piloted the Tigers to the Dance before they fell to Cal Poly in the tournament's "first four." Nevertheless, Texas Southern reached the NCAA tournament, largely due to the play of West Virginia transfer Aaric Murray, who was the SWAC Player of the Year after averaging 21.2 points and 7.7 rebounds a game.

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With new coaching staff, Morgan State looks to road to reverse fortunes

Bears scheduled to play only four of 12 games at Hughes Stadium this season

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- Morgan State senior linebacker Cody Acker expects students on campus to know plenty about the Bears from their play, even before the team takes the field at Hughes Stadium for the first time this season.

"Home or away, football is football, the crowd behind you or not," said Acker, who led the team with 97 tackles last season, at the team's media day Sunday. "The team expectation is a [Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference] championship, you can't look at anything else."

The Bears, who will play Sept. 13 against Bowie State in their home opener, start the season with two road games against Eastern Michigan (Aug. 30) and Holy Cross (Sept. 6). After hosting Bowie State, Morgan State enters a seven-game stretch during which it plays just one game in Baltimore.

The New York Urban League Football Classic against Howard on Sept. 20 is technically a home game for the Bears, but it will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., home to the New York Giants and New York Jets.

"We're going to be the road warriors," first-year coach Lee Hull said at media day. "My reaction [when seeing the schedule] was just 'Wow.'

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SCSU Bulldogs’ 2014 season promises much to look for

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  -- The preparation for the 107th season of South Carolina State football is well underway.

Coming off a record 15th Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title shared with Bethune-Cookman last season, the Bulldogs head into this season with enhanced expectations. Not only are the players more focused on repeating, this time as solo champions, but also becoming the first MEAC team in 15 years to win a Football Championship Subdivision playoff game.

From head coach Buddy Pough approaching 100 career college wins to another conference showdown with the Wildcats, the 2014 season promises to produce a bevy of storylines:

1. Kollack takes the helm at quarterback

Adrian Kollack emerged as a ...

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