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MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Brian Jenkins won't have as much practice time as a head coach would prefer for his first season at Alabama State.
Due to poor Academic Progress Rate reports sustained under former coach Reggie Barlow, the Hornets will have just 16 hours a week to practice during the season. Schools usually have 20 hours a week to practice.
This should go into effect when ASU starts school Aug. 19. Daily and weekly practice restrictions do not apply during preseason practice prior to the first day o
f class or the first game, whichever comes first.
ASU starts practice Wednesday. So the Hornets can have normal practice time for two weeks. Then it'll be limited, which will make it more challenging to prepare for a schedule that starts off tough.
LORMAN, Mississippi -- Does anyone in the SWAC have it better than Jay Hopson these days?
The fourth-year Alcorn State coach has done wonders in his time in charge of the program, making everyone forget the storyline (when he was hired in May 2012) about being a white head coach in the historically black SWAC. Now he’s just a good coach that won a SWAC championship in 2014, and comes into August with 16 returning starters.
Of those guys returning, none is as important to the program — not just getting it to this point, but in its efforts to repeat as SWAC champs in 2015 — as quarterback John Gibbs Jr. He enters his senior season with 33 career starts, which has to be near the top of any list of returning quarterbacks nationally.
GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- North Carolina A&T, who is picked to win the MEAC football championship in 2015, will open camp 4 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 6 on the practice field behind the Aggie Stadium facility.
The football players will report to camp on Aug. 5 at noon. The Aggies are coming off a 9-3 season in which they posted a 6-2 conference record that helped them win a share of the MEAC title, their first in 11 years. The Aggies also earned their first national ranking in 10 years when they entered the STATS FCS poll at No. 24 following their 34-0 win over Savannah State on Nov. 15.
“I’m looking forward to getting started,” said fifth-year head coach Rod Broadway. “I still love this game and I still love competing. And I think we have a chance to be a pretty good football team. But this is a funny business. One injury could change everything.”
The Aggies have three two-a-days on their camp schedule, Wednesday, Aug. 12, Friday, Aug. 14 and Monday, Aug. 17. Camp breaks on Aug. 18 and classes begin on Aug. 19. A&T’s annual Fun Fest is Aug. 22 at 2 p.m.
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- While Florida A&M’s football team reported for the first day of fall football camp, Milton Overton Jr., the university’s new athletic director, settled into his new office.
Overton officially started his tenure Monday. He’ll be meeting with coaches and members of the athletic department throughout the week, and Thursday he’ll provide an update to FAMU’s Board of Trustees.
Baseball coach Jamey Shouppe, who was a member of the committee that interviewed the top three AD candidates in June, said he’ll have his one-on-one meeting with Overton on Tuesday, though he – and a few other coaches – had a couple of minutes with the new AD on Monday.
“We’re just excited,” Shouppe said.
“There’s so much room for growth and (Overton) is just a good guy. It starts with the character of a man and he just has a good aura about him. I’m looking forward to seeing where FAMU can go with him and President (Elmira) Mangum at the helm.”
NORFOLK, Virginia -- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced its 2015 football schedule featuring eight regular season matchups scheduled to be televised on ESPN, ESPNU, and ESPN Classic, as well as carried on ESPN3. The nationally televised games are a part of the MEAC's ongoing partnership with ESPN.
"We are excited about the 2015 football television schedule that offers our fans many ways to stay tuned in to their favorite MEAC football team," said MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas. "Our television partnership with ESPN continues to showcase our talented student-athletes, coaches and institutions through multiple ESPN platforms and further illustrates this tremendous partnership we have built over the years with the Worldwide Leader in Sports."
The 2015 television schedule kicks off with the 11th annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney featuring South Carolina State and the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Arkansas Pine Bluff. The game will be televised live on Sunday, September 6 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The ESPNU Thursday night lineup includes matchups featuring Florida A&M at South Carolina State on Sept. 17 and South Carolina State at Bethune-Cookman on Oct. 8th. Both games are slated to start at 7:30 p.m. and will air live on ESPNU and WatchESPN. .
A unique Friday night ESPNU telecast will feature Hampton and Howard at RFK Stadium. , as a part of the Nation's Football Game Classic, on September 18.
The Saturday slate begins with the Chicago Football Classic, featuring Morgan State and Howard on Saturday, Sept. 26 beginning at 3:30 p.m. CT. Bethune-Cookman will host North Carolina Central in Daytona Beach on Oct. 3 beginning at 4 p.m. and Delaware State will travel to North Carolina A&T State on November 14 beginning at 4 p.m. All games will air live on ESPN3 and taped delayed on ESPNU.
The 2015 MEAC schedule wraps up with the Florida Classic featuring Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M. The game will air live on ESPN Classic and ESPN3and re-air on ESPNU at a later time.
The MEAC will participate in the Inaugural Celebration Bowl this year pitting the champion of the conference against the champion of the SWAC in a post season bowl game on Saturday, December 19 in Atlanta, Georgia. The matchup will be televised live at Noon on ABC.
All games will also be available for viewing on computers, smartphones, tablets, Xbox and Apple TV via the WatchESPN application.
2015 MEAC Football Television Schedule
Date
Game
Network
Time
SUNDAY
Sept. 6
MEAC/SWAC Challenge
South Carolina State v. Arkansas Pine-Bluff
JACKSON, Mississippi -- This matchup wasn't short on emotions last year when Mississippi Valley State coach Rick Comegy, who coached at Jackson State the previous eight seasons, made his return to Jackson.
It also produced a stunning outcome, too, as the Delta Devils claimed their first victory against JSU since 1994.
It was only the sixth time MVSU had beaten the Tigers in 62 meetings between the two programs. The loss was one of the lowest points of JSU's 5-7 season, which was the first under coach Harold Jackson.
Emotions will likely be running high once again this fall, but both teams are different now. The core of JSU's team is another year older and Comegy is still trying to install a winning culture at MVSU.
The Tigers will likely keep all eyes on Delta Devils quarterback Quantavius Peterson, who showed some promise in 2014.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- As a freshman, Southern quarterback Austin Howard grew up in a hurry. The West St. John product led the Jaguars to their first SWAC victory of the 2014 season on the road at Prairie View A&M and didn’t look back from there, leading his team to an 8-1 conference record.
Now in year two, Howard is going into fall camp as the starter and is already showing signs of becoming even better.
"You can see the confidence," said head coach Dawson Odums. "That’s what I think experience breeds: confidence. You’ve been through the fire. You’ve been in that fox hole. You’ve gotten hit. You’ve been up. You’ve had to come back. You’ve been down. You’ve made comebacks. You’ve gotten beat.
"You’ve had someone to put their arm around you. You’ve had to grow up on the job. That creates confidence, especially if you have success under all that adversity. And that’s really the thing about Austin. He doesn’t have any lack of confidence."
GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- There is a little more than a month left before the North Carolina A&T football team opens the 2015 season against Shaw University at Aggie Stadium. Ahead of the 2015 MEAC season, head coach Rod Broadway sat down with ncataggies.com to discuss a wide range of topics. From Tarik Cohen’s summer-time celebrity, to the sharing of the 2014 title, to his philosophy on stopping the run, it is apparent coach Broadway is ready for the 2015 season to get underway. Broadway needs four wins to reach 100 for his career.
Ncataggies: Does the loss to N.C. Central in the last game of the season a few months ago still bother you?
Broadway: “Just when I think of. There was a lot at stake in that game. But let’s start off with giving those guys credit. They played well. I thought we had a chance to win that game, but we just weren’t good enough that day. So of course it’s painful when you look back. You’ve got a chance of winning a conference championship outright. If you win you’re probably black college national champions, and you’re going to the playoffs. There was a lot lost in that game, but that was last year, and we’re looking forward to this year to see if we can get better.”
Ncataggies: How do you, your staff and the players feel about sharing a championship that you were in position to win outright? Are they disappointed or are they proud to have at least a portion of the title?
Broadway: “It’s a little of both, really. When you’re where we were five years ago, winning one ballgame out of 11, to where we are now with nine wins, that’s a big accomplishment. Sharing a title isn’t what we wanted, but it’s better than 1-10. We definitely wanted to win it outright, but we take a lot of pride in winning nine ballgames after three years of probation (The NCAA sanctions occurred before Broadway was head coach). You have to give credit to our coaching staff, our players and everyone associated with the program. They took great pride in getting this program back on its feet. Were we disappointed in sharing the title? Yes. But we’re also pleased with where we are. When we stated four years ago, no one thought we were in the position to compete for a championship after coming off 27 straight losses. Just getting to the point where we are expected to do well is a great accomplishment by our guys and our coaches.”
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Ncataggies: What will it take for you to win the MEAC outright? Broadway: “With us, it starts with staying healthy. If we stay healthy we should have a pretty good football team. There are some things we want to try to do and need to do to get better. With the type of speed we have, we need to create more mismatches and get the ball in the hands of guys who can make plays. We also need to work on our down and distance situations a little better, so we can execute a lot better. We also have to be better mentally and physically. There are a lot of steps we need to take to improve.”
Ncataggies: Describe what it is like going into a season where not much is expected of you versus going into a season where expectations are high.
Broadway: “You go from hoping you have a chance to knowing you have a chance. That’s the difference. We know if we play well we’ve got a chance in every game. Before we had to play well and the other team had to make some mistakes for us to win. Athletically, we’ve gotten to a place now where we can compete with everyone we play as far as talent is concerned with the exception of Carolina (They play on the Division I FBS level with more scholarships and resources). We’re at the point now where we should be pretty good. We’re in year five of the program, so if everything goes as planned we should have a decent football team. But this business is funny. One injury can change everything.”
Ncataggies: How do you get the team focused on this year instead of reveling or fretting over what happened in 2014?
Broadway: “A lot goes into that. Attitude. Work Ethic. Not getting complacent. Willing to be hungry. Willing to work toward what you want and not expecting people to give you something. Just because you were decent last year doesn’t mean you’re going to be decent this year. It’s a totally different ballgame and a totally different team, so we have to prepare our guys to play well.”
Ncataggies: When was the first time you saw the Tarik Cohen perform the backflip while catching a football?
Broadway: “The first time I saw it was when (assistant coach Shawn) Gibbs showed it to me on the computer. Then a couple of days later he came back and showed me the one with him catching two footballs while coming out of a backflip. I think what makes him special is his will and his work ethic. He works as hard as anyone we’ve got. He’s probably one of our most talented players. But he’s got the heart of a champion. When you combine those things with talent and athleticism, you’re going to get a pretty good player.”
Ncataggies: Did you think when you were recruiting Tarik he would have such a positive impact on the program and the university at large? I mean those social media videos and TV appearances garnered the school a lot of publicity.
Broadway: “If you watched him in high school, the only question we ever had about him was his size. We have to give (assistant coach Trei) Oliver credit for finding him. He stayed on me and kept telling me: ‘Coach, we need this guy. We need this guy.’ Coach Oliver went down and saw him play and tried to convince me to take him. At first I was a little hesitant about his size, so I went down there to visit him so I could see him in person and see what his body looked like. Once I visited with him, my mind was set. He was a guy we wanted in our program. Of course since he’s been here, he’s been nothing but outstanding. What he has done for this football team is amazing, but not only that, what he has done for the university is tremendous. He’s gotten us publicity and coverage that we can’t afford to buy at our place. But you know what? It’s also been good for him. Not only did we benefit from it, but he benefited too, which is the way it should be.”
Ncataggies: You lost two All-Americans on the offensive line in (center) Ronald Canty and (guard) William Ray Robinson III. How hard is it going to be to replace those guys?
Broadway: “We’re going to miss those guys. That’s been one of our challenges since we’ve been here, trying to get enough offensive linemen. We’ve failed miserably at that. The guys we’ve signed have been decent, but we haven’t grown at offensive line in terms of numbers like I expected. Our goal was to have 15 offensive linemen in camp each year. We’ve never reached that goal. We have to continue to recruit guys and get them in our program, and not just in our program, but we need to develop them and keep them once they get here so that when you lose an R.J. Canty or a Wil Robinson, it’s not going to have that much of an effect on you because you’ve been training guys to replace them.”
Ncataggies: How important is it that you hired a coach to exclusively work with quarterbacks? Broadway: “Chris (Barnette) is really working on the fundamentals and technique. And that’s thing. We need to go back to the basic fundamentals. We’re going to work on them every day, 30 minutes a day. We need those fundamentals to show up on game day. Over the last few years we’ve just reverted back to too many bad habits. Good habits are what we need to see on game day. I’m anxious to see how those guys look once the season starts.”
Ncataggies: Defensively, you return eight of the 11 guys that led the nation in turnovers gained. Broadway: We should be better defensively. We have a lot of guys on the team who got to play last year on the defensive side. We’ve got some depth up front now on the defensive line, we’ve got bodies at linebacker, we just need someone to take the lead and take charge of the position. And we’ve got a good leader in (senior cornerback) Tony McRae. He comes to get the job done every day.”
Ncataggies: Your philosophy on defense has always been to stop the run. Why is that?
Broadway: “There’s not enough quarterbacks that can beat you throwing the ball. This is an athletic conference where the quarterback is going to hurt you the most by running the ball. But if you get them in a position where they have to throw, I don’t think too many quarterbacks on any level can beat you. You can get a plan to stop a one-dimensional football team. Now whether you can keep a quarterback in the pocket in this league is a different story. But if we can keep them in the pocket, I don’t think there is one out there that can beat us. There may be. We’re going to see because we’re going to make you beat us with the pass.”
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
The former Grambling State Tiger, Coach Roosevelt Richardson, Jr., will end his college coaching career with 45 seasons as a head coach.
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida -- Roosevelt Richardson Jr. whose association with Florida Memorial University and Miami Dade College goes back to the early 1970's has announced that he will retire as the head men's & women's cross country and track & field coach at the end of the 2014-15 school year. His retirement marks the end of a remarkable career that spanned a total of 45 seasons as head coach.
He started his head coaching career in the fall of 1970 with Miami Dade College track & field/cross country team and came to Florida Memorial University in the fall of 1997 and turned the program around in less than three years. At the time of his retirement, he will have logged 45 years as a head coach and he will have the longest tenure in Florida Memorial men's & women's cross country and track & field history and as the most successful head coach.
Coach Richardson closes out eighteen years at Florida Memorial University. In that period of time, 44 members of his teams have become NAIA All Americans and 15 have become NAIA Indoor / Outdoor Track National Champions. Under his direction, Ms. Brandy Dames became the first female All American and Ms. Sallie Green the first female National Champion in the history of Florida Memorial University.
Coach Richardson received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Grambling State University and his Masters of Arts Degree from the University of Northern Colorado. He has received many prestigious honors and awards during his career, some of which are:
· Selected as a starter for the Carifta Games, 1976
· Elected USA Florida Head Coach for Partners International Meets, 1982 and 1983
· Received Key to Miami for his work with Partners International Meets, 1982 and 1983
· Selected FCAA Conference/NJCAA Regional Cross Country and Track Coach of the Year six times
· Inducted into the USA Florida Track and Field Association Hall of Fame
· Chosen Distinguished Grambling State University Alumni, EOC in 1990
· Selected Florida Sun Conference Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, 1999
· Selected NAIA Men and Women's Region 13/14 Coach of the Year, 2002
· Selected The Sun Conference Women's Track Coach of the Year, 2006, 2010
· Selected NAIA Region 13 Coach of the Year, 2006, 2010, 2011
.Selected The Sun Conference Men's Co-Coach of the Year, 2011
"I was truly blessed to be here so long," said Richardson, "I have enjoyed my time here and one thing I always appreciated from the various directors of athletics was the freedom and ability to run the cross country and track & field programs in the image we wanted. Those were people who said 'work hard and get the job done' and I was happy to be able to do that."
"Coach Richardson has been a fixture at Florida Memorial for a decade and a half, and his boundless enthusiasm and passion to mentor our student-athletes will be deeply missed," said Robert Smith, director of athletics. "Coach Richardson has made a significant investment of time, talent and treasure at Florida Memorial. He has compiled an impressive resume' of success and positively impacted the lives of countless athletes and colleagues during his coaching career."
COURTESY FLORIDA MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
AJ WILLIAMS HEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH HARRIS-STOWE STATE UNIVERSITY
Saint Louis, Missouri -- Harris-Stowe State University Head Coach Alfred "AJ" Williams will be hosting the first Basketball Fundamentals Camp for High School male Athletes August 8, 2015. The Camp will be hosted at Harris-Stowe State University in the Emerson Performance Center Gymnasium.
Harris-Stowe State University Men's Basketball Elite Camp When: August 8,2015 Where: Emerson Performance Center on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University Cost: $40. Open to any and all Boys Grades 9 to 12. Time: 9am-4pm
Elite Camp Description
Harris-Stowe State University Men's Basketball Program is having an Elite Basketball Camp. The Elite Camp is to help sharpen skills and fundamentals for the upcoming basketball season and a great opportunity to get on the radar for Harris-Stowe State University Men's Basketball Program. The camp will resemble the experience of a high-level intensive collegiate basketball practice. There will be individual instruction, station work, lectures, 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 situational drills and full court game play. This experience will help potential student-athletes understand the level of commitment, dedication, and hard work required to play at the collegiate level.
To register, please send an email to: hornetsmbb@hssu.edu to reserve your spots. Sign up quickly, because spots are limited.
COURTESY HARRIS-STOWE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
TORONTO, Canada -- Jeffery Henderson produced a world-leading 8.52m in the long on Wednesday at the Pan American Games in Toronto's York University stadium.
Coming to Toronto as the world leader, Henderson took an early lead with 8.54m, assisted by a 4.1m/s tailwind. When the wind calmed down, he sealed his victory with a wind-legal world-leading 8.52m in the sixth and final round.
"I just wanted to get my performance down," said Henderson, who took USA's first title in the men's long jump at the Pan American Games since Carl Lewis' victory in 1987. "I came out with a win; that's all I wanted to do. I wasn't worried about the competition even though it was great competition. World Championships are next for me. That's my next focus."
COURTESY FLORIDA MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Court papers were filed Thursday in Hinds County Chancery Court on behalf of more than half of the members of the Jackson State University Prancing J-Settes dancing team suspended from the squad for the remainder of their academic careers at the university.
The Prancing J-Settes are a widely popular part of the Sonic Boom of the South marching band’s halftime show at JSU football games.
Jackson State University wouldn’t confirm nor deny the suspensions. “The Prancing J-Settes are and will continue to be an important student organization and an integral part of student life at Jackson State University. The university does not comment on internal disciplinary actions,” said Charles N. Smith, associate provost for Student Affairs.
Edna Jones Stringer, an attorney and mother of one of the suspended J-Settes, said the nine J-Settes were booted from the 16-member squad in June after a hazing allegation was made last year. They cannot have any role with the J-Settes during the remainder of their time at the school. The school also assessed a $300 fine against each student, Stringer said.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- The Southern football team reported to campus Sunday to get ready for the start of preseason camp. But the Jaguars will be heading off campus for the first several practices beginning Monday afternoon.
A delay in the construction of the Jaguar Park practice facility has forced Southern to practice at the Louisiana Leadership Institute on Hooper Road, just a few miles from campus.
The Jaguars practiced at Louisiana Leadership late last season after the expiration of daylight savings time caused the end of practice to occur after sunset. The existing practice field has no lights, and the current construction makes it unusable until the project is complete.
“The good thing is we’ve been over there before, so we know the plan, we know the layout,” coach Dawson Odums said. “We’re not going to a facility that we’re not comfortable being a part of. It’s a really easy transition. We load up on the busses, head over, get our work in and come back and continue to do that until we get our practice facility ready to go.”
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Alex Wood is preparing for his first fall camp as Florida A&M’s head coach and – if fall is anything like spring and summer at Bragg Memorial – fans should have plenty of reasons to cheer once the team takes the field.
Wood said he was pleased with the team’s participation in summer workouts. Wood and his coaching staff, full of new hires except for offensive line coach Edwin Pata, meet with the Rattlers today before orientation into fall camp, which begins Tuesday.
Drills without pads start Thursday, and full contact drills start Aug. 10.
“We’re looking for position battles at 66 spots,” Wood said. “Offense, defense and special teams. We’re looking for the best 11 to go into those units.”
DURHAM, North Carolina — N.C. Central surprised the MEAC last season and posted the most wins as a Division I Football Championship Subdivision program.
With an overall 7-5 record in 2014, NCCU’s solid first year under rookie head coach Jerry Mack sets up encouraging springboard for his sophomore campaign. As the team reports to camp today and gets ready for the first day of practice Wednesday, we’ve got a few questions that will need to be answered this season.
1. Will NCCU be able to separate itself from a crowd at the top of the conference?
Last year, NCCU came away from the regular season with a 6-2 conference record and a ring — but so did five other teams. The milestone was huge for the Eagles, who’ve struggled to maintain a winning program in recent years. In Mack, it looks like the team may finally have a consistent leader. The goal this year is clear: win a conference championship outright. A few years ago that goal would have been met with a laugh, but this year, a conference championship is very real possibility. Last year NCCU was one of the biggest surprises in the MEAC, but after tying for the top spot, the team will lose its element of surprise this season.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- 1. What will FAMU’s offense look like?
Damien Fleming was the engine that moved Florida A&M’s offense, ranked eighth in the MEAC last season. He accounted for every touchdown for the Rattlers on offense and when he couldn’t move the ball – either with his arm or his legs – FAMU went nowhere.
Now he’s gone.
Redshirt junior quarterback Carson Royal has earned first-year coach Alex Wood’s trust. Wood has spoken highly of Royal on several occasions, saying the young QB is a leader and a steadying force on the team.
“When Coach Wood got here we developed a great relationship,” Royal said.
“The guys are behind me 100 percent. I have the respect of my teammates and I’m just ready to play some football. The offseason felt so long because I’ve been waiting behind Damien for three years just learning and developing my craft.”
COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- It’s that time of year. As all in the South wonder when cooler weather will arrive, college football teams are preparing to put helmets and pads back on and gear up for a new season.
Players and coaches get excited and maybe even a little anxious. Fans get even more excited and plan gameday tailgating and how they are going to celebrate when their team wins.
It’s also the time when prognosticators (people who think they might know what could happen try to convince you they really do know something) announce their orders of finish in the national and conference standings.
It’s always interesting to see if people are making their predictions based on facts or just what they want to see happen as the season unfolds.
NORFOLK, Virginia -- The Latrell Scott era begins over at Norfolk State. At the MEAC football media day, NSU was picked to finish 7th in the conference this upcoming season. "I thnk it's great", Scott says. I don't think we've done anything to be ranked higher. It should motivate our kids."
Norfolk State finished last year 4-8 and lost their final three games under long tiime coach, Pete Adrian who stepped down. Despite losing key players on defense like Lyndon Trail of the Houston Texans, the Spartans return senior linebacker, Deon King. "I really want to go out with a bang and leave it all out there and have no regrets for myself and for my team."
The achillies heal for the Spartans has been the offensive side of the ball as they try to figure out who'll lead the way at quarterback. NSU ranked near...
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- As the Southern football team reports Sunday for the start of preseason camp, things are looking up around campus.
Yeah, several players are academically ineligible.
Yeah, it’s unclear who will be in the athletic director’s office when the first practice takes place Monday.
And, sure, it’s not certain where that first practice will be.
But things really are looking up when you put the start of this camp in the context of the recent past surrounding the Jaguars, who generally have responded well to adversity.
NORMAL, Alabama -- COULD THIS BE A TURNAROUND YEAR?
The Bulldogs opened fall drills Saturday as they try to build on what could have been a much better finish last season. A 4-8 record could have easily been a 7- or 8-win season. Four of the losses were by a total of 15 points, including a pair of last-minute defeats by one point and three points.
With seven starters returning on offense, including a trio of talented running backs, and nine returnees on defense, there is a sense of optimism on the campus.
This year's edition is a blend of youth and experience. There are just three seniors on defense – including All-Southwestern Athletic Conference first team defensive lineman Anthony Lanier — while the offense will lean heavy on sophomores.
SAVANNAH, Georgia -- Savannah State University head football coach Earnest Wilson III was back in his element.
That was obvious as Wilson split his time between observing and shouting out instructions and words of encouragement Saturday morning as he put the Tigers through their first preseason practice on the field adjacent to Tiger Arena.
The Tigers, who open their season on Sept. 5 at Colorado State, got in a three-hour workout starting at 7 a.m.
“We got to pick this thing up, we got to execute, we got to finish,” Wilson shouted to the 94 players in uniform from his midfield spot. “When we say ‘Get to the line,’ you got to go through the line.”
It was the first time Wilson had been able to conduct a practice since last November during the last week of the regular season. Savannah State was prohibited by the NCAA from having spring practice due to Academic Progress Rate issues.
NORFOLK, Virginia -- South Carolina State head coach Buddy Pough talks to the media about the 2015 upcoming season and his team chances at winning their 17th MEAC Championship in school history. Ten (10) Bulldogs were selected to the All-MEAC Preseason Team, while SC State was picked 2nd in the Preseason Poll for the third straight year.
JACKSON, Mississippi -- The returning players of the Jackson State women’s soccer team have proved that they are not just athletes but they are student athletes. The entire returning team enters the Fall 2015 semester with GPAs above 3.0.
“It feels amazing.” said head coach Dean Joseph. “Everyone on this team has committed to their academic success.” This is the first time in the head coach’s career that he has returned a 3.0 team.
Coach Joseph says that when he was first hired at JSU, he had three players below a 2.5. “The coaches worked hard at developing a system that was going to make the players successful. The whole team then worked hard at improving their grades and trying to be the best they could be in the classroom.”
After three years under the direction of Coach Joseph, the Lady Tigers all have 3.0s. Two of the original players with GPAs below 2.5 were able to graduate with a GPA above 3.5 and a degree.
When asked what the key to his success is, Coach Joseph stated that the coaching staff is recruiting better people that are driven to be successful. “We are looking at individuals that want to be at Jackson State for the right reasons; soccer and academics. This attitude has made a remarkable difference in the commitment to academics and the program as a whole."
Arriana Rieland, Eroncia Berry, and Courtlyn Williams are leading the charge in the classroom with perfect or near perfect GPAs. Rieland, a junior defender from Elk Grove, Calif., has maintained a 4.0 while she pursues a degree in Biology. Berry, a senior forward from Greensboro, NC, has maintained a 3.971 in Business Management and Williams, a junior defender from Carmel, IN., has maintained a 3.913 in Business Administration.
With 20 soccer players returning, a total of 11 have GPAs above 3.5.
To continue the academic success of the program, new and transfer students will be given 8 hours of study hall and have weekly meetings with the academic success counselor. The coaches will remain in constant communications with the athletes to make sure there are no class issues and if any arise, tutoring will be provided.
Below is the complete list of athletes, their GPAs, and their majors.
ITTA BENA, Mississippi -- Coach Rick Comegy and the Mississippi Valley State University football coaching staff will be hosting the inaugural Comegy's Valley Touchdown Gals on August 8.
Onsite registration will be open from 7:30-8:30 a.m. on the day of (August 8th), however to take advantage of the promotion, early registration is advised. To register, please download the packet, complete and return with payment to:
Mississippi Valley State University Football Office
Attention: Comegy's Valley Touchdown Gals Football Clinic
14000 Hwy 82 West # 7246
Itta Bena, MS 38941
The camp is an opportunity for female fans to learn the logistics and inner workings of the Delta Devils and the game of football. The camp is accessible to all women 20 years of age and older for a fee of 50.00. The first 50 women to register will receive a free ticket to the televised home (home opener) against Southern University scheduled to kickoff at 6:30 p.m. on September 10.
The camp will start at approximately 8:45 a.m. and end with lunch. All activities are expected to conclude by 3:00 p.m.
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Brian Jenkins won't have as much practice time as a head coach would prefer for his first season at Alabama State.
