FAMU's Overton making staff changes, former interim AD Robinson fired

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- FAMU Athletic Director Milton Overton Jr. on Wednesday confirmed he is reorganizing the university's athletic department. That reorganization includes the firing of former interim AD Earl D'Wayne Robinson.

Robinson served as interim AD from Jan. 13 until Overton was hired. Before that, he was FAMU's Director of NCAA Compliance.

In a Wednesday phone interview with the Tallahassee Democrat, Overton wouldn't go into specifics, but said some administrative assistants and grounds crew members were also fired. He added the decision to let Robinson go was not made "lightly."

"In an effort to build a championship culture in the Department of Athletics, transformational changes must occur," Overton said an in an email to the Democrat.

"As we work toward enhancing our programs and enabling success on and off the field, it is important that we reduce risk and liability in regards to preventing NCAA violations and increase revenue and reduce athletics debt obligations. In order to successfully accomplish these crucial tasks, a restructure of the athletics enterprise was required.

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Rick Cleveland: Pairing of Alcorn State, Hopson was a blessing

HEAD COACH JAY HOPSON
ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL
COURTESY: ASU ATHLETICS

JACKSON, Mississippi -- When Alcorn State first offered its head football coaching job to Jay Hopson in April of 2012, he turned it down. What has happened since should be a book and then a movie.

Problem is, even Hollywood might consider the story a bit inconceivable.

The Alcorn football program was a train wreck. The previous year’s team had won just one conference game. Seven or eight of the top returning players had decided not to return. Fan support? Fewer than 500 fans had shown up for Alcorn’s final home game in 2011.

Hopson, a two-time cancer survivor who had grown up in nearby Vicksburg, wanted to be a head coach, but this wasn’t, he first thought, the right fit. The facilities were poor. The recruiting budget was worse. The salary pool for assistant coaches was worse still. And then there was this: If he took the job, Hopson would be the first white coach in history of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Hopson, only a year removed from the defensive coordinator’s job at Michigan, turned the job down and began to contemplate a life outside football. Weeks later, Alcorn called him back. The negotiations resumed. Alcorn gave some. Hopson gave some. This will make a really long story short: He took the job on May 31, 2012. Says Hopson, “I just decided that I was supposed to do this.”

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College football is rigged against black head coaches

Fewer than 8 percent of top coaches in the biggest football programs are black.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It’s the holiday season, and in college football, that’s also the season for hiring and firing head football coaches.

Except if you’re a black college football coach hoping to be a head coach, it’s mostly just the season for firing.

Last week, one of the few black head football coaches in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision, Ruffin McNeill at East Carolina University, was fired. His record was 42-34, along with a 30-18 conference record. The winning percentages, respectively, are 55 percent and 63 percent.

Around the same time, college football writers were praising the University of Iowa for its patience with head coach Kirk Ferentz, who is being lauded for his performance this year. Ferentz has an overall winning percentage of 60 percent, and a conference winning percentage of 56 percent. Ferentz is in his 17th season at Iowa. Before this current 12-1 season, his overall winning percentage was 58 percent — comparable to McNeill’s.

Iowa, however, had to endure seasons where Ferentz won one, three and four games. McNeill never won fewer than five. As any knowledgeable college football fan knows, East Carolina’s budget is not even half of Iowa’s. McNeill’s salary at East Carolina wasn’t even within the top 60 in the country, while Ferentz has perennially been one of college football’s highest paid coaches.

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READ RELATED:
Ruffin McNeill Was Offered A Contract Extension By ECU, But Turned It Down Because It Low-Balled His Assistant Coaches

FSU Head Football Coach Lawrence Kershaw Relieved of Duties

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina -- The Fayetteville State University department of athletics has announced that head football coach Lawrence Kershaw has been relieved of his coaching duties, effective immediately.

Kershaw recently completed his third year at the helm of the Broncos football program following a 24-22 loss to Winston-Salem State (Nov. 7) that concluded a 4-6 regular season finish. He has an overall coaching record of 15-15 (.500) at FSU.

Kershaw was officially introduced as the 15th head coach on Jan. 22, 2013 after serving as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, FL for five years.

We are tremendously grateful for the hard work, dedication and contributions Coach Kershaw and his staff have made to both Fayetteville State University and our community; however, after conducting a detailed evaluation of our football program, I have made a decision to move in a different direction," said Director of Athletics Anthony Bennett.

Defensive coordinator David Bowser has been named the interim head coach. Bowser has been a member of the FSU football coaching staff since the 2000 season. In addition to serving as the current defensive coordinator, he has been the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. Bowser is the longest tenured assistant coach at Fayetteville State.

"Our goal will be to move expeditiously in our search for an individual to lead our football program,” added Bennett. “We believe that we will be able to attract strong candidates who have the skills and desire to lead our program to greater heights.”

COURTESY FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

John L. Smith announced as KSU's head football coach

FRANKFORT, Kentucky -- President Raymond M. Burse and Kentucky State University are pleased to announce John L. Smith as the new head football coach of the Thorobreds. Smith, who has been a high-profile staple in Kentucky as a former head coach at the University of Louisville from 1998 to 2002, was introduced in a press conference Monday in the Exum Center.

Smith comes to Kentucky State with more than 40 years of college coaching experience and more than 20 years as a head coach. He has posted a 150-113 record at six schools as a head coach, including, most notably, stops at Louisville, Michigan State University, and the University of Arkansas. Most recently, Smith has spent three seasons at Division II Fort Lewis College, where he inherited a team that had been 0-10 in 2012 and posted a 7-4 record this year, equaling the program's best record in 40 years.

"I have the utmost respect for Coach Smith," Burse said. "I have followed his career for a long time, and he has proven that he knows how to win. I trust that he will transform our football program. He is a proven leader and will be a role model for our students."

Upon accepting the position, Smith is looking forward to returning to Kentucky and looking forward to making a positive impact on the Kentucky State football program.

"I'm excited, excited, excited," Smith said. "It's a great opportunity, and Kentucky State is a football program with huge upside. It's a program I look at and think there's a lot we can do. A big part of that is being able to talk to President Burse and knowing he will support the program 100 percent. I think Kentucky State is a great fit for me, and I think I'll be a great fit for Kentucky State. I want to make sure of two things when a young man comes to play football at Kentucky State, that he leaves with a degree and that he leaves as a winner."

Prior to his time at Fort Lewis, Smith served as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Arkansas from 2009-11 before serving as the team's head coach for one season in 2012. He also spent four seasons at Michigan State, where he went 22-26 from 2003-06 and won Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 2003.

In addition to the Big Ten Coach of the Year award, Smith was a national finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award in 2000. He has made 12 postseason bowl or playoff appearances, and he is one of just 19 coaches in collegiate football history to take three different schools to bowl games.

Before his time at Michigan State, Smith went 41-21 at Louisville from 1998-2002, a stretch that included five straight winning seasons, five straight bowl appearances, and two conference championships. Smith also has head coaching stops at Utah State University as well as the University of Idaho, where he went 53-21 from 1989-94 and left as the school's winningest head coach.

An Idaho Falls native, Smith holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Mathematics from Weber State University, where he was a linebacker and quarterback in his collegiate playing days. He also holds a Master of Science in Physical Education from the University of Montana.

In addition to his head coaching experience, Smith has served in various assistant coaching roles at Idaho, Weber State, and Montana, as well as with the University of Nevada, University of Wyoming, Washington State University, and the St. Louis Rams.

COURTESY KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

WVSU Tops UVA-Wise to Give Poore Milestone Win

INSTITUTE, West Virginia -- It was one of the biggest milestones of West Virginia State men’s basketball coach Bryan Poore’s career, and his jacket and tie didn’t live to see it.

Those were long gone by the start of Monday night’s second half between the Yellow Jackets and the University of Virginia College at Wise. Poore said the jacket often comes off because it gets so hot on the court. The tie normally doesn’t. He shed that at halftime because State’s early play had him hot under the collar.

By the end of the game, Poore had cooled off. And he was the winningest coach in program history.

The Yellow Jackets’ 85-65 win Monday night against UVa-Wise gave Poore, in his 17th season at the helm, his 289th win as State’s head coach, breaking his tie with Mark Cardwell for the most coaching wins in WVSU men’s hoops annals.

“It’s awesome, it really is,” said Poore after his players hoisted him on their shoulders and carried him off the court. “I was just here kind of conducting it, but the players I’ve had through the years are the guys who got me these wins. The players play. But it is special.”

Cardwell coached both football and basketball at State, graduating from the school in 1925 as a two-time football All-American. His 1948 men’s basketball team finished 30-0 and was named national champion among historically black colleges.

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Gold Nuggets reach top 10 for first time since 2013

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana reached the top 10 in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Gold Nuggets climbed from 21st to ninth in the poll, which was announced Tuesday.
     
Xavier (9-2) has won 3-of-4 games against ranked NAIA DI teams, including Shawnee State and Langston on consecutive days and Our Lady of the Lake in a fourth-quarter rally from 17 points down. Xavier was behind all three opponents in the preseason ranking but has leapfrogged all three. Our Lady of the Lake is tied for 10th, Shawnee State is 12th, and Langston is 18th.
     
The top-10 appearance is the Nuggets' first since Feb. 26, 2013, and it's their highest ranking since they were ninth on Jan. 8, 2013. The climb of 12 places is the largest in Bo Browder's 17 seasons as head coach.
     
The poll is the first of the regular season since the preseason ranking Oct. 27. The next top 25 will be announced Jan. 5.
     
The Gold Nuggets are taking fall-semester final exams this week. They'll resume their schedule Dec. 17 against Indiana Wesleyan — ranked ninth in NAIA Division II — at 11 a.m. EST in the Cruzin Classic at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The next home game will start at 3 p.m. Jan. 2 against NAIA No. 22 LSU-Shreveport at the Convocation Center.

NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Dec. 6) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Vanguard (8) 4-0 219 3 2 Westmont 8-1 209 5 3 Montana State-Northern 8-1 199 6 4 Campbellsville 8-3 193 1 5 Bethel (Tenn.) 8-3 187 4 6 Carroll (Mont.) 11-1 186 24 7 Freed-Hardeman 5-3 174 2 8 Benedictine (Kan.) 9-1 170 15 9 Xavier 9-2 157 21 10-tie MidAmerica Nazarene 5-1 156 9 10-tie Our Lady of the Lake 4-2 156 tie-7 12 Shawnee State 10-2 152 16 13 Oklahoma City 4-3 127 tie-7 14 Lyon 6-2 122 17 15 Cumberland 8-3 112 12 16 Columbia (Mo.) (1) 9-0 111 RV 17 John Brown 7-3 103 RV 18 Langston 6-2 102 18 19 The Master's 6-2 99 14 20-tie Rocky Mountain 9-2 80 NR 20-tie Martin Methodist 8-2 80 20 22 LSU-Shreveport 5-2 70 25 23 Pikeville 9-0 60 22 24 Wayland Baptist 3-3 51 10 25 Great Falls 7-3 45 11 Dropped from rankings:  No. 13 Loyola, No. 19 Lewis-Clark State, No. 23 Baker. Others receiving votes:  Baker 41, Talladega 40, Lewis-Clark State 28, Loyola 18, Wiley 16, Lindsey Wilson 10, Hope International 5, Culver-Stockton 4, Central Methodist 3 Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold

Gold Rush climb to 17th, improve poll streak to 52

NEW ORLEANS — Eight victories in the first 11 games, including a 4-0 record against NCAA Division II opponents, helped Xavier University of Louisiana climb into a tie for 17th Tuesday in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
     
The Gold Rush, 19th in the preseason, share the position with Martin Methodist. Xavier is in the top 25 for the 52nd consecutive time — the longest active streak in the division — and the 65th time in the last 66 polls.
     
Xavier defeated NCAA D2 opponents Spring Hill, Miles, LeMoyne-Owen and Clark Atlanta by an average of 11 1/2 points. All the victories were at home, where the Gold Rush are 8-0 this season.
     
Xavier is one of two Gulf Coast Athletic Conference teams in the top 25. The other is Talladega, which dropped from third to 11th. For the first time since Dec. 10, 2013, four GCAC teams received votes. Dillard and Tougaloo were among the "others receiving votes."
     
Unbeaten Pikeville received 9-of-10 first-place votes and replaced defending champion Dalton State at No. 1. There are nine top-25 teams which weren't ranked in the preseason, including No. 6 William Penn, which competed in NAIA Division II last season.
     
The rankings are the first of the regular season. The next rankings will be announced Jan. 5.
     
The XU men are taking fall-semester final exams this week. They'll resume their schedule at 7 p.m. Saturday against William Carey in Hattiesburg, Miss. The next home game will start at 5 p.m. Dec. 29 against LSU-Shreveport in the Gold Rush Holiday Classic at the Convocation Center.

NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through Dec. 6) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Pikeville (9) 10-0 250 2 2 Georgetown (Ky.) (1) 11-0 237 6 3 Freed-Hardeman 9-1 233 9 4 Arizona Christian 10-1 227 4 5 Columbia (Mo.) 10-0 219 16 6 William Penn 11-1 210 RV 7 Lewis-Clark State 10-1 196 13 8 LSU-Alexandria 8-2 185 5 9 Dalton State 6-2 184 1 10 Hope International 7-1 180 7 11 Talladega 12-3 178 3 12 Wayland Baptist 8-1 175 12 13 MidAmerica Nazarene 8-2 145 21 14 Westmont 6-2 126 17 15 Southwestern Assemblies of God 8-2 118 24 16 Carroll (Mont.) 6-2 117 RV 17-tie Xavier 8-3 113 19 17-tie Martin Methodist 7-3 113 11 19 Lindsey Wilson 9-2 109 NR 20 Texas Wesleyan 7-2 102 RV 21 Vanguard 7-0 90 RV 22 Wiley 6-2 82 NR 23 Langston 6-3 80 RV 24 Avila 8-3 61 NR 25 Montana State-Northern 8-2 54 NR Dropped from rankings:  No. 8 Evangel, No. 10 Mid-America Christian, No. 14 (tie) William Carey, No. 14 (tie) LSU-Shreveport, No. 18 Campbellsville, No. 20 Philander Smith, No. 22 Benedictine (Kan.), No. 23 Montana Western, No. 25 Our Lady of the Lake Others receiving votes:  Auburn Montgomery 41, Campbellsville 32, Mid-America Christian 26, Dillard 21, Biola 17, Mobile 15, Park 9, Tougaloo 8, William Woods 3 Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold

Xavier's Haywood chosen All-Region; honorable mention for Pirkl

NEW ORLEANS — The American Volleyball Coaches Association has recognized Xavier University of Louisiana seniors Claudia Haywood and Franziska Pirkl on the 2015 NAIA All-Southeast Region team. Haywood is a first-team selection, and Pirkl received honorable mention.
     
Haywood, a 5-foot-11 middle blocker from Memphis, Tenn., and a graduate of Cordova High School, led the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference this year with a .292 hitting percentage. She was first-team All-GCAC her final two seasons, and she was GCAC Tournament MVP this year and in 2013. Haywood finished her career with a .287 hitting percentage, 756 kills and 207 blocks, all of which rank among the top four in XU history.
     
Pirkl, a 5-9 setter from Munich, Germany, and a graduate of Theodolinden Gymnasium, led the GCAC this year with 8.97 assists per set. She was first-team All-GCAC four times, the 2015 GCAC Setter of the Year and a two-time Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete. Her 3,293 career assists are an XU record. Pirkl also produced 227 kills, 116 aces, 754 digs and 103 blocks in her career 7#8212; those latter three numbers rank in XU's top five..
     
The Gold Nuggets were 19-8 this year, and for the fifth consecutive season they won GCAC regular-season and tournament championships and qualified for the NAIA National Championship.

2015 AVCA NAIA All-Southeast Region

Name	Institution	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown
Carol Siqueira	Lindsey Wilson College	OH	SR	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rebecca Just**	St. Catharine College	OH	SR	Louisville, KY
Makenzie Montano	Lindsey Wilson College	S	SO	Louisville, KY
Jenny Howell	Georgetown College	OH	SO	Cincinnati, OH
Whitney Battoe	St. Thomas University	RS	SO	Naperville, IL
Corri Muha	Georgetown College	MB	SR	Cincinnati, OH
Jordan Strickland**	St. Catharine College	S	SR	Lexington, KY
Jana Kortas	Cambellsville University	RS	SR	Simpsonville, KY
Carolynne Silva	Lindsey Wilson College	MB	SO	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Ana Privrat	Southern Univ of New Orleans	L	SR	Belgrade, Serbia
Michelle Calderon	Webber International Univ.	L	SO	Orlando, FL
Megan Minke	Keiser University	MB	JR	Sisters, OR
Ragni Knudsen	Lindsey Wilson College	OH	FR	Myle, Norway
Claudia Haywood	Xavier University (LA)	MB	SR	Memphis, TN

Honorable Mention

Name	Institution	Pos.	YR	Hometown
Breeanna Navarro	Warner University	MB	FR	Jupiter, FL
Franziska Pirkl	Xavier University (LA)	S	SR	Munich, Germany
Victoria Truehert	Southeastern University	OH	FR	Brandon, FL
Adrienne Czaplewski	Warner University	OH	JR	Winter Park, FL
Lauren Schneidtmiller	Georgetown College	OH	SR	Louisville, KY
Megan Ganser	University of the Cumberlands	MB	JR	Waterloo, WI
Jenna Swaffer	Warner University	S	JR	Henderson, NV
Carla Novaes	Talledega College	OH	JR	Sao Paulo, Brazil

Region Coach of the Year	Andy Cavins, Linsdey Wilson College
Region Assistant Coach of the Year	Steve Benson, Warner University
Region Player of the Year	Carol Siqueira, Lindsey Wilson College
Region Freshman of the Year	Ragni Knudsen, Lindsey Wilson College
Region Libero of the Year	Ana Privrat, Southern Univ. New Orleans

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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From walk-on to hall of famer: Woodbury in CIAA's 2016 Hall of Fame class

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Tory Woodbury, one of the best quarterbacks in Winston-Salem State history, is heading to the John B. McLendon CIAA Hall of Fame.

Woodbury, 37, who is the offensive coordinator at Johnson C. Smith, will be inducted at the CIAA basketball tournament in late February in Charlotte.

“Yeah, I won’t have far to go,” said Woodbury, a Winston-Salem native who lives in Charlotte and is in his second season as an assistant coach at Johnson C. Smith.

Woodbury, who was 6-2 and around 185 pounds when he graduated from Glenn High, wound up at WSSU after other options didn’t materialize. He was going to N.C. Central or Mount Olive on partial basketball scholarships.

“When I tell people my story they don’t really believe it, but I’ve always said hard work and a good support system will get you anywhere you want to go,” said Woodbury, who went on to have a three-year NFL career.

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Celebration Bowl: Alcorn State Braves vs. North Carolina A&T Aggies

Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl: Alcorn State Braves vs. North Carolina A&T Aggies

Date: Dec. 19, Noon ET on ABC

Location: Atlanta | Georgia Dome

Alcorn State Braves

Best moment: Alcorn State won its second consecutive SWAC title when it dismantled Grambling State in the SWAC championship on Saturday. The 49-21 win healed the deep wounds that remained from a homecoming loss to Grambling State in mid-October. In the rematch, Alcorn State made sure there would be no repeat of that October performance. It turned a 28-14 halftime lead into a four-touchdown margin midway through the fourth quarter to claim a second straight conference championship.

Lowest moment: It would be that midseason loss to Grambling State, a game in which Alcorn State also led 28-14 at the half. In the first meeting, however, Alcorn State blew the lead and lost in overtime 35-34. Costly second-half fumbles allowed Grambling State to climb back into the game, but the pivotal mistake came in overtime when Alcorn State’s game-tying extra point was blocked.

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FAMU AD Overton hoping to establish Classics in Atlanta, Miami

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- If Florida A&M Athletic Director Milton Overton Jr. has his way, FAMU’s football team won’t have to play “money games” against FBS opponents.

Overton said he’s hoping to establish FAMU-owned Classic games in Atlanta and Miami. Those games would be against FCS opponents, and would eliminate the need for games against teams like Ohio State, Miami and South Florida.

FAMU was hammered by South Florida 51-3 in the Rattlers’ season opener.

In the most recent Florida Classic against Bethune-Cookman in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl, the Rattlers made “about $800,000,” Overton said. He added Classics in Atlanta and Miami are what fans asked for when he released a survey in September.

“The surveys, the data and the money all make sense,” Overton said.

“The logical move, for FAMU, is to play Classics. I’m grateful and I know FAMU is grateful for the opportunity to play some of these games that we have to play right now. But I preface it by saying we have to play them.”

Overton said FAMU’s athletics business model before he started in August didn’t include the formation of Classics owned by the university.

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