Flint Powers hires former pro Greg Burks as new boys basketball coach

FLINT, Michigan  --  Basketball players have benefited from Greg Burks’ basketball knowledge for years, but now Flint Powers trusts him to lead its boys varsity hoops program.

Burks was named head coach of Powers’ varsity boys basketball team on Friday, Aug. 15.

It’s safe to say that the 33-year-old knows the game well.

He spent seven seasons playing professionally in Germany before retiring in 2011 and is already a member of the Prairie View A&M Sports Hall of Fame.

For his college career, Burks averaged 17.1 points, 4.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds, led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in scoring the 1999-00 season and was twice named to the First Team All-SWAC squad. 

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In the FCS Huddle: 2014 SWAC Preview

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania  -- The safest prediction in the Southwestern Athletic Conference is that there are no safe predictions. 

Quite simply, you just don't know what to expect with the SWAC, the only FCS conference to play to a championship game. 

The last five champions have come out of the West Division and each has been a different program (Texas Southern later vacated its 2010 title). None of those games were decided by more than seven points, and that came in overtime last season with Southern topping Jackson State. 

Speaking of Jackson State, it's been in the championship game each of the last two seasons ... and then it fired coach Rick Comegy last December. 

Comegy wound up staying in the same state to take over at Mississippi Valley State, which, like Alcorn State, has never played in the SWAC Championship Game since it was started in 1999. 

And Alcorn State just may have the best team in the conference this season. Or it could finish third in the East. 

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Business as usual: SWAC features 4 new coaches

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama— Mississippi Valley’s Rick Comegy joked with his new players during Southwestern Athletic Conference Media Days earlier this summer, seemingly oblivious that his previous employer and players were sitting just a few feet away.

It didn’t take long for the former Jackson State coach, who was scooped up by the Delta Devils during the offseason after the Tigers fired him, to get comfortable in his new surroundings.

The scene could have been a little awkward. But in the turbulent world of SWAC football, it really didn’t seem that strange.

Four of the SWAC’s 10 coaches are new this season and Alabama State’s Reggie Barlow — who is entering just his eighth season with the Hornets — is now the league’s longest tenured.

“I feel accepted and at home and revitalized,” the 60-year-old Comegy said about his new job at Mississippi Valley. “New challenges do that for me. It always seems likes God’s putting me somewhere I’ve got to build. I guess that’s what I’m meant to do.”

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ASU marching band to star in A&E reality show

MONTGOMERY, Alabama --Today is the last day of "pre-drill camp" for members of theAlabama State University Mighty Marching Hornets Band.

Now, they prepare for national fame.

The band has been selected to star in a reality television show, "Bama State Style," on the popular A&E Network. Cameras arrive on campus Monday and will continue to follow the lives of band members and staff through January — around the same time the show is scheduled to premiere.

ASU Band director James Oliver said the TV show will be family-based, following students as they navigate through the music program.

Last year, Oliver got an email from Tremendous! Entertainment, the production company behind "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern" and several other reality shows. The company was planning a college band-themed show, and the Marching Hornets was one of five it was considering. Representatives visited ASU.

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Hopson has Alcorn State eyeing SWAC title in third season

LORMAN, Mississippi  -- It didn't take long for coach Jay Hopson to turn Alcorn State around.

In just his second season last fall, Hopson led the Braves to a 9-3 record and a 48-33 victory over rival Jackson State in the season finale, giving the program plenty of momentum heading into 2014.

Hopson inherited a roster in disarray after the firing of Melvin Spears in 2012, but he quickly reloaded. Now he says the team's depth is "getting much closer to where we want it to be."

Hopson recently signed a three-year contract extension.

The Braves return one of the league's best quarterbacks in junior John Gibbs Jr. The 6-foot-6, 220-pounder threw for 2,567 yards and 21 touchdowns last season. Alcorn State also had four defensive backs named to the All-SWAC preseason teams.

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Running Backs Out To Build On Last Year's Breakout Season

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas  -- Running backs coach Clyde Edwards weighs in on his unit after a productive 2013 season.  Edwards, a former standout at Grambling State, also discusses his path to the NFL and breaks down the running styles of the 2014 backs.



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Experienced Rams have their sights set high

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina --Defensive lineman Casey Davenport of Winston-Salem State marked his 26th birthday Wednesday with a hard 2½-hour practice instead of a celebration.

“It’s my birthday, sure, but there’s no time to celebrate because it’s time to get back to work,” said Davenport, a fifth-year senior who is expected to play a key role this season.

Defensive lineman Casey Davenport of Winston-Salem State marked his 26th birthday Wednesday with a hard 2½-hour practice instead of a celebration.

“It’s my birthday, sure, but there’s no time to celebrate because it’s time to get back to work,” said Davenport, a fifth-year senior who is expected to play a key role this season.

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Hampton U. makes defensive strides as difficult opener versus ODU looms

HAMPTON, Virginia  -- Progress is evident though not as rapid as he would like, Connell Maynor said, as Hampton University's football team approaches the midpoint of preseason camp.

The Pirates' new head coach likes the energy and effort from his players so far as the staff installs new schemes on offense and defense.

"We've got to start making more plays and making less mistakes and get it cleaned up," Maynor said. "If you make mistakes, don't come back and make the same mistake the next day. If you make another mistake, we can correct it. Now, it ain't OK if you're making a different mistake every day, but if you do, we can get it corrected. Just don't make the same mistake."

Among Hampton's priorities in the final two-plus weeks before the opener at Old Dominion are identifying a starting quarterback and developing depth among the front seven on defense.



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Alabama A&M Fan Day to showcase football team, marching band, cheerleaders

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama  --  Alabama A & M University will offer a first-look at the football team, marching band and cheerleaders with the annual - free - Fan Day on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014, at Louis Crews Stadium.

 

Gates will open at 3 p.m. for an afternoon filled with games and activities for both children and adults. Fans will also have the chance to meet members of the A & M Bulldog teams.

 

At 6 p.m., the Marching Maroon and White band will take the field, along with the A & M cheerleaders before the scrimmage among the A & M players. Both fans and players look forward to the day every year, said Bryan Hicks, director of athletics.

 

"Fan Day is a meet and greet for fans, family and athletes," Hicks said.

 

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Samuels Rolls Out Men's Basketball Coaching Staff

MARTIN, HOLMES & ANDERSON
Photo Courtesy FAMU Sports Information

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (August 8) --  Florida A&M University head men’s basketball coach Byron Samuels formally announced the appointments of Bruce M. Martin, Donald L. Anderson and Aaron Holmes to his coaching staff.

This seasoned coaching trio, lauded Thursday by Samuels for their superb blend of work experience, basketball teaching ability and strong work ethic, will immediately  join forces with the new FAMU head coach in his Rattler Basketball renaissance efforts.

Martin, who has served as a head coach both on the collegiate level at Davis & Elkins College in Ohio (2009-13), and in the European League with the Ockelbo (Sweden) Basketball Club (2004-05), comes to FAMU from the University of Wyoming, where he spent the past school year as an academic advisement coordinator for Men’s Basketball and Swimming and Diving.

His resume includes assistant coaching tours at the University of Texas-Pan American (2007-09); at his alma mater, Clemson University (1998-2003); at the University of Wyoming (1997-98); and Francis Marion University (1995-97).

Martin assisted on two National Invitational Tournament coaching staffs, the 1998 Wyoming club, and the Clemson squad which reached the NIT title game in 1999.

A 1995 graduate of Clemson University, Martin will be reunited with Samuels, for whom he worked as an assistant coach at Radford (Va.) University (2006-07).

Anderson, comes to FAMU from Jacksonville (Fla.) University, where he had been the Dolphins’ Director of Basketball Operations since July of 2012.

He served as head coach at Gettysburg College from 1985 to 1989, before moving to Mount Saint Mary’s College as senior assistant head coach  from 1989 to 2002, where he helped them reached the NCAA Tournament in 1995 and 1999, as well as the National Invitational Tournament in 1996.

A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College (1982), Anderson also served a stint in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), as the senior associate head coach  at Coppin (Md.) State University under legendary firebrand Ron “Fang” Mitchell, from 2002 to 2006. He helped guide the Eagles to the 2003-04 MEAC regular season title and a berth in the 2004 MEAC Tournament finals against FAMU.

Prior to landing at Jacksonville, Anderson turned in a five-year run as an assistant coach at Binghamton University (2007-2012), helping lead them to the 2009 NCAA Tournament. He also worked one season as an assistant coach at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (2006-07).

Holmes, is a St. Petersburg, Florida native, who comes to FAMU his high school alma mater, Catholic High School, where he had served as boys head coach this past school year (2013-14).

A Tulane University graduate (2011), who began his collegiate playing career at Florida State (2006-07), Holmes’ resume includes a brief stint as an assistant basketball coach at Tampa’s Berkley Preparatory High School (2011-12); three years as founder and director of the Aaron Holmes Elite Basketball Academy (2011-14).

He also served as the director and head coach of the Team Marreese Speights AAU team in Tampa (2011-14), and worked as a high school teacher at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg (2013-14).

BYRON SAMUELS’ QUOTES ON ASSISTANT COACHES

Bruce Martin

“I love Bruce’s enthusiasm for life, and his appreciation for the little things around us. His outlook is uplifting. Twice a head coach, Bruce did a phenomenal job for me at Radford University. He adds value to our program because he has worked in a variety of roles in our profession. He is a good teacher of the game, a good recruiter and he cares about young people.”

Donald Anderson

“Coach Anderson is a 30-year coaching veteran who I’ve known for over twenty years. I have always admired his intelligence, patience and understanding of our profession. Don will relate well with our players, administration, faculty and staff. His ability to connect with people will serve our program and the FAMU community well. Another good teacher and recruiter, Don has ties along the eastern seaboard that are very important to us.”

Aaron Holmes

“Aaron was one of the hardest workers and most astute players I have ever coached. He is well thought of among high school coaches in the State of Florida, as well as by AAU Coaches regionally and nationally. He is an excellent skill development guy, and brings an unbelievable amount of energy and passion to our staff.  His knowledge of the game, his work ethic and wealth of contacts are very important to our program.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

ASU Hornets Fighting the Dog Days of Summer

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Just like every football team that is hitting the field during the dog days of summer, Alabama State University's football Hornets are fighting the heat and humidity and with the Hornets practicing on a turf surface at each practice that heat usually reaches triple digits.

"It is what we say, we have to find comfort in our discomfort," Head Coach Reggie Barlow said.  "I wish I could say it's not like this everywhere else but it is.  It's hot everywhere and you signed up for this game and if you say you want to be a football player here is what it is.  You have to find a way to fight through it and the one's (players) that are encouraging themselves and their teammates are the ones that are going to get through it.

"It's hot and it's tough, but you have to eat.  You have to stay hydrated and you just have to continue to get better."

While practicing in the heat is what each team needs to help them get into shape, sometimes that same heat does enough damage that players are unable to build up the tolerance and to get in better shape without getting sick.  That calls for the coaching staffs to think outside the box and so some different drills to help get into shape.

"Obviously we are not where we need to be at," Barlow said.  "We started out doing four plays in a row and getting them off, and now we are doing six plays in a row so that will help condition them even more and then we will step it up next week and take it up to eight plays.  Hopefully over the next five to eight days this will help the guys get into better shape and we will be able to hit the ground running when the games begin."

ASU has changed their practice plans for the next couple of days as they will only practice once on Wednesday at 7 p.m. while taking Thursday off.

COURTESY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Albany State opens practice riding last year's momentum

ALBANY, Georgia   — The Albany State football team had already jogged to the locker room as the sun beat down on the Rams’ practice field late Monday morning.

##The field was empty following the season’s first practice, and the coaching staff was beginning to disperse.

##But on a small, steep hill beside the end zone, Albany State quarterback Frank Rivers hadn’t stopped working.

##“I’m excited to get out here and fight and lead,” Rivers said after finishing a series of sprints up and down the hill, “and I know these guys behind me are going to fight with me every day and every snap.”

##Rivers and the Rams kicked off the 2014 season Monday morning with a two-hour practice with helmets and no shoulder pads, and the team stepped onto campus this fall with a little extra excitement and momentum following last year’s SIAC championship and season-ending, five-game winning streak.

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After limbo, SCSU hoops focus forward

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  -- “It was an interesting summer, to say the least.”

If ever a quote qualified as an “understatement,” the one just expressed recently by South Carolina State men’s basketball coach Murray Garvin more than fits the definition. Over the past five months, it’s debatable to find a Division I head coach in any sport whose job and program’s existence was in greater limbo.

After waiting into late March for a four-year contract extension, Garvin next had to endure weeks of uncertainty about the future of Bulldog men’s basketball. At one point, the prospect of discontinuing the longstanding program as a measure for school officials to deal with its ongoing financial issues was very much on the table.

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Humphries might just be the answer for FAMU

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Frederick Humphries really didn't need to offer up a disclaimer. But he did anyway before making his first comments on the state of athletics at Florida A&M University.

"I'm retired," Humphries, the still popular former president emphatically stated.

Laughter broke out in the small banquet room inside New Times Country Buffet, where the 220 Quarterback Club had the 78-year-old former president as its weekly luncheon speaker.

The noise soon subsided and Humphries, who was president at FAMU for 16 years, continued on to make sure his audience knew he was about to speak just like any other citizen would.

"I holds no official position (at FAMU)," he said. "I used to be the president (1985-2001) and I used to work at the law school.

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Florida A&M's Earl Holmes on the Rattlers' fall camp

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Questions outnumber answers as Florida A&M football begins fall camp. The Rattlers have a quarterback battle, reduced practice time due to NCAA penalties, and one less assistant coach on the sidelines (George Small was let go by the University as part of Athletic Director Kellen Winslow's plan to cut costs).

Watch Rattler head coach Earl Holmes speak to the media at FAMU's first practice of the fall.



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A&M Bulldogs Football Kickoff Luncheon Set for Aug. 13

NORMAL, Alabama  -- Alabama A&M University is set to host its inaugural Alabama A&M Bulldogs Football Kickoff Luncheon on August 13.

The luncheon will feature head coach James Spady.  Fans attending the luncheon will have the opportunity to meet and interact with Alabama A&M football personnel and student-athletes.

The luncheon is scheduled to be held Wednesday, Aug. 13, at 12 p.m. at the Knight Center on the campus in Normal, Alabama. This event serves as the first major event of Alabama A&M football for the fall season.

The doors will open at 11:15 a.m., and general admission tickets are $10 each. A reserved table is $80. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Bulldogs ticket office at 256-372-4700 and can be picked up ONLY on Wednesday-Friday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. or online at aamutix.com.

AAMU opens the 2014 season against North Carolina A&T State University.  The game, slated to be televised on ESPN Sunday, Aug. 31, at 11:45 a.m. ET, and will be played for the first time at Bright House Networks Stadium on the campus of the University of Central Florida (UCF), while the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium undergoes renovations.

COURTESY ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS 

Grambling-Prairie View A&M football game poised to remain a State Fair tradition through 2025

DALLAS, Texas  -- The Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic, the annual football game between Prairie View A&M University and Grambling State University, is poised to stay at the Cotton Bowl through 2025.

The Dallas Park and Recreation Board on Thursday will consider a five-year extension to the city’s agreement with the two historically black universities. The current deal runs through 2020.

Under the proposed extension, there would be no changes to the financial terms. The city pays each school $75,000 a year to participate in the game, which is played during the State Fair of Texas.

This year’s State Fair Classic kicks off at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 27.

The Prairie View A&M-Grambling game is one of two marquee gridiron battles during the State Fair. The other, of course, is the Red River Showdown between the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma.

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Mississippi Valley Delta Devils practice in full pads

ITTA BENA, Mississippi -- The Mississippi Valley State football team suited up in full gear for the first time of training camp during Friday's three-hour practice.

During Friday's practice, position players battled each other for starting spots as the Delta Devils prepare for the 2014 season.

"That's why we got this recruiting class in because this spring there was no competition, but the competition's on now," said first-year MVSU head coach Rick Comegy. "And I'm happy to see these guys going at it real good because they all want to get on the bus. You can only take 63 on away games and regardless of how they get on the bus -- special teams, offense, defense -- they have to earn a job to get on that bus."



At quarterback, a crop of newcomers -- Dontrinell Scott, Marcus Key and Quantavius Peterson -- along with returning seniors Patrick Ivy and Carl Davis are all currenlty battling for the starting job. Ivy is the most experienced of the group, passing for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

But nothing is promised.

"Right now, it's up for grabs. Pat has to compete like everyone else," said Comegy. "And we're not going to give him anything....If he wants that job he has to earn it."

The Delta Devils will be back on the practice field Saturday from 8-11 a.m. and on Sunday from 8-10:30 a.m. and 3:30-6 p.m.

To view a photo gallery from Friday's practice, click here.

COURTESY MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Ram Ramblings: Football practice is almost here

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- I spoke briefly with Kienus Boulware, who is getting ready for his first season as a head coach. He was well aware that next week will be "go time" for he and the WSSU Rams.

The team's first practice will be Wednesday at 9 a.m., and he said he's looking forward to getting into a weekly routine.

"I think it's easier when the guys and the coaches all know what's in front of them," Boulware said. "And next week we'll get it going and I think everybody is excited."

The Rams, who have already been picked as the No. 13 team in the country in Division II by one preseason poll, have a lot of good players coming back. They were picked to win the CIAA for the third straight season in the coaches power poll that came out in late July at the conference's media day.

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Prairie View A&M Football Training Camp Central 2014

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- Prairie View A&M had an intense practice which featured big plays on both sides of the ball on Thursday night. Interview conducted by Michael Prince.

Day Three Photo Gallery

COURTESY PVAMU PANTHERS ATHLETICS

Dawson Odums OK with Southern scrimmage

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern tried to simulate a football game as best it could for its first scrimmage of preseason camp Saturday morning.

A modest-sized crowd turned out, providing the largest group of spectators during the first nine days of practice.

The coaches tried to give their headsets a dry run, though the reception didn’t work as well at the Jaguars practice field as it does next door inside A.W. Mumford Stadium.

An officiating crew was on hand, helping the players get closer to being game ready three weeks before their season opener at Louisiana-Lafayette.

And football-wise, things pretty much went according to plan. The Jaguars ran about 120 plays in stifling heat and humidity and appeared to escape any serious injuries, though a few players did leave after being nicked up.

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Frontier Communications Kanawha Classic Pits WVSU Against University of Charleston

CHARLESTON, West Virginia -- The annual football rivalry game between the University of Charleston and West Virginia State University has been jazzed up a bit for this season.

The game at University of Charleston Stadium has been switched from its original date of Saturday, Oct. 18, to Thursday, Oct. 16 and has been dubbed the Frontier Communications Kanawha Classic.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The teams will vie for local bragging rights and a trophy.

“That’s exciting,’’ said Jon Anderson, the Yellow Jackets’ second-year coach. “We’ve worked together with Frontier to make it a big event. We’re looking forward to that game for sure."

The game between the neighboring rivals, separated by less than 12 miles, is also a league contest in the second-year Mountain East Conference.

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Pough prefers S.C. State meet goals in one practice a day

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- When it comes to relying on “two-a-day” practices preparing college football players for the regular season, South Carolina State head coach Buddy Pough is a contrarian.

While many of his coaching peers hold as many sessions as possible during the “dog days” of August, Pough sees them as valuable only when necessary.

“My philosophy is that you do them as you need to,” he said. “This is a situation here where if we can go to one-a-days, if we can do most of our work in one attempt and if we seem to be gathering the information the right way, then we can maybe cut it back to less two-a-days. But at the same time, if we have days where we’re still struggling to get lined up and have issues, of course, you’ve got to come out to do two.”

After what Pough saw was a ...




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Despite weather, SCSU manages to hold Media Day

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  -- The morning hours Saturday for the South Carolina State football began with rainfall, which pushed back the starting time for Media and Picture Day at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

Lightning flashes accompanied by more rain also delayed the team’s first scrimmage for about 40 minutes. In both cases, the Bulldogs persevered to remain on schedule for the preseason.

“We practiced hard, which is what really makes the difference,” S.C. State head football coach Buddy Pough said. “It’s not necessarily the weather, but it’s whether you get enough reps and enough hard reps at it and we do seem to be getting that. So, the fact that we’re getting enough work is what really probably is the most important part of the whole deal.”

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Former Texas A&M linebacker Darian Claiborne to enroll at Texas Southern

HOUSTON, Texas  -- Darian Claiborne, dismissed from Texas A&M on June 3, will enroll at Texas Southern and be immediately eligible to play football.

The former Port Allen star and SEC All-Freshman Team linebacker will receive a second college chance at the SWAC school after running into off-field issues on multiple occasion, Port Allen Coach Guy Blanchard said.

"He ended up at Texas Southern, and we're excited about it, about him getting a chance to go and show people he's not a terrible -- he just made some silly mistakes," Blanchard said. "We're excited he's getting the opportunity to show he can overcome those things. It's a fresh start. It's a clean start and a second chance to show he's a good person, and that's what we're excited about."

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