Brent reflects on Jackson State's 5-0 SWAC start

JACKSON, Mississippi -- After a grueling start against Texas Southern, coach Wayne Brent and the Jackson State Tigers are 5-0 in the SWAC. Even though the Tigers are missing a few key starters, they are still getting the job done.

"I think the biggest thing for us is anytime you come into a game and you got Paris Collins out of the game, you got Chace Franklin out of the game, you got Dontellus Ross out of the game, the character that our guys showed," Brent said. "You talking about guys at the beginning of the season were not counted in the scouting report, were not counted to give very much. They're just showing so much character and so much heart and will to win, I'm just so proud of them."

So why the sudden burst in wins? Well Coach Brent says the X factor in the past couple of games has been one player.

CONTINUE READING

Kentucky State football: Thorobreds to play Central State at home this year

FRANKFORT, Kentucky -- Kentucky State University President M. Christopher Brown II held several call-ins with university stakeholders informing them of the decision to exercise the Thorobreds’ home game status for this year’s football contest against Central State University.

The regularly scheduled SIAC game between Kentucky State University and Central State University will be played Sept. 22 in Alumni Stadium.

In years past, the two teams met in the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis.

“As an HBCU alum and now administrator, I know firsthand the importance of hosting prospective students and high school athletes on campus to allow them to see the quality of the facilities,” Brown said.

“Kentucky State has a beautiful campus with a lot of capital improvements that never get showcased by playing annually in Indianapolis. It is time for this game to come home. It is more beneficial to player morale, fan support and finances to rotate the game between the two campuses.”

Brown detailed the two-year process that led to his prior decision to discontinue the Circle City Classic.

“The City of Indianapolis and the Indiana Black Expo provide important cultural benefit to the residents by bringing in HBCU gridiron matches,” he said. “Recent records show a clear decline in both ticket sales and turnstile attendance.

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Morgan State alum 'fixed' H&M ad — just one example of his uplifting works

"I felt like I could say something with my artwork that would shift the narrative from negative to positive." -- Kyle Kow Yearwood

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- Freelance visual artist Kyle Yearwood grew up fixated on magic.

He was entranced with the Harry Potter novels and inspired by mystical and adventurous films like “Forrest Gump,” “ Big Fish” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” that challenged the depths of reality and imagination. But when it came to cultural figures that looked like him — an African-American male in Baltimore — the images weren’t as endearing, he said. It affected his self-esteem, he said.

“When we grow up, we're fed so many visions of what happiness is, and I think a lot of people when they become an adult, they wake up one day and it's not how they envisioned as a kid, especially being African-American. You get to a point where you live out all the things you heard about in terms of discrimination, lack of resources in your community, or just not feeling equal,” he said.

“The music I was listening to, the images of black people that I was shown, it wasn't empowering. It wasn't anything that made me feel good about myself, so I was really conditioned to not love myself.”

The Morgan State University alumnus has gone on to make a career of uplifting imagery, some of which has made a significant impact in social media: Last month, his piece “I heard the Black girls in Baltimore can fly,” which pictures three young African-American girls holding hands as they slowly propel higher and higher in the air within a Northeast Baltimore neighborhood, went viral.

This week, Yearwood went viral again after transforming a controversial H&M ad that depicted a young black boy in a sweatshirt that said “coolest monkey in the jungle.”

CONTINUE READING

UAPB comeback complete with 78-76 OT victory over Southern to advance to a perfect 4-0 in SWAC play

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- After trailing nearly the entire game, junior guard Martaveous McKnight missed a jump shot that would have tied the game as his team trailed by just two points at home in overtime; subsequently, after a Travon Harper rebound and a quick pass from Joe'Randle Toliver, McKnight hit the biggest shot of his short-lived Golden Lion career, a game-winning 3-pointer with just 12 seconds remaining in overtime as he catapulted his team to a 78-76 (OT) victory over Southern University on Greek Night in Southwestern Athletic Conference action at H.O. Clemmons Arena. The mighty Golden Lions advance to a perfect 4-0 in SWAC play for the first time in Coach Ivory's tenure.

"I remained focused and locked in," said McKnight. "I had to forget about all of the easy shots I missed earlier in the game. After I shot the first jumper, my teammates hustled for the rebound and dished it back out to me, so I had to reward them by sticking the shot," said McKnight, who was just named two-time SWAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week following his sensational performances in a two-game road trip in Alabama which resulted in two victories for UAPB.

The Golden Lions (4-14, 4-0 SWAC) scored the first bucket of the game which was a 3-pointer from McKnight. That was the only time that UAPB led all game until overtime. Toliver finished with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field to go along with 5-of-8 three pointers, but none bigger than the 3-pointer he drilled with just over one minute in regulation to bring his team within two points right after Southern (5-13, 1-4 SWAC) big man Sidney Umude dunked the ball to give his team a five point lead which at the time seemed to be the dagger.

McKnight scored 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from downtown. He also dished out 11 assists and grabbed four steals in the victory while fellow Golden Lion Trent Steen also scored 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and grabbed nine rebounds to go along with three blocks. Travon Harper and Terrance Banyard both chipped in with 11 points apiece.

Umude finished with a game-high 21 points and grabbed 12 boards in the loss for Southern while Jared Sam produced 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jamar Sandifer chipped in with 11 points on just 2-of-11 shooting from the field. With the loss, the Jaguars drop to 1-4 in conference play.

As a team the Golden Lions were outrebounded 46-38 but distributed 23 assists to just 13 for Southern. UAPB trailed 40-33 at the half but outscored the Jaguars 35-28 in the second half to force overtime. In the extra period, UAPB outscored Southern 10-8.

The Golden Lions basketball team returns to action on Monday, January 15 for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Special as it hosts Alcorn State University in SWAC play. The theme is "Take a Kid to the Game" Day as kids are allowed free entrance to the doubleheader if accompanied with an adult. Due to the possibility of inclement weather, tip-off for the doubleheader has been moved up to 2 p.m. for the Lady Lions and 4 p.m. for the Golden Lions.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT PINE BLUFF ATHLETIC MEDIA CO,MMUNICATIONS

Gold Rush roll at Tougaloo for 7th straight victory

TOUGALOO, Mississippi — Jalen David, one of six from Xavier University of Louisiana in double figures, scored a season-high-tying 15 points Saturday in an 83-72 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory against Tougaloo.

The Gold Rush (13-4, 2-0) have won seven straight, the GCAC's longest streak this season. XULA will visit Talladega at 7:30 p.m. Monday, with the winner taking sole possession of first place in the conference.

All five XULA starters scored in double figures. Joseph Williams, Rayshawn Mart and Jeff Dixon had 13 points apiece and Khalil McCoy scored 11. Reserve Mike Williams had 10 points. Mart and Dixon scored 11 points apiece in the second half, and Dixon had a game-high seven assists.

Anferee Parker scored 18 points, Carlo McDonald 14 and Tonzell Handy 11 for the Bulldogs (8-4, 1-1). Handy grabbed nine rebounds, and Parker had six assists.

McCoy made three 3-pointers to lead XULA to a 41-25 halftime advantage. It was the fourth straight game and the sixth time in the last seven games that the Gold Rush held a double-digit lead at the break.

Tougaloo cut XULA's lead to 55-53 on a Courey Davis 3-pointer with 8:39 remaining, but two McCoy free throws capped a 16-5 run that gave the Gold Rush a 71-58 advantage with 3:30 remaining.

XULA outshot the Bulldogs 50.8 to 41 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 35-29. Williams and Mart grabbed eight rebounds apiece.

The win streak is XULA's longest since winning eight in a row Jan. 10-Feb. 5, 2015.

Talladega improved to 3-0 in the GCAC with an 82-80 home victory against Philander Smith. The Panthers tied the score at 76 after trailing by 18, but Devonte Dixon's 3-pointer with 1:54 remaining put Talladega ahead to stay, 79-76.

BOX SCORE

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Late run carries Tougaloo to double-OT win vs. Nuggets

TOUGALOO, Mississippi — Montoria Atkinson scored a career-high 26 points Saturday, and Chesha Lewis led a rally in the second overtime that carried Tougaloo to an 81-76 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana.

The Gold Nuggets (7-7, 0-2) got career highs from Maya Trench with 23 points, Essence Wells with 20 points and nine rebounds and Mikayla Bates with 11 rebounds and eight steals.

Trench's 3-pointer gave XULA its largest lead of the game, 74-69, at 3:25 of the second overtime. But the Lady Bulldogs (7-7, 2-0) answered with 12 straight points, six by Lewis, to snap their 14-game losing streak against XULA.

The Gold Nuggets outscored Tougaloo 12-1 in the final 3:49 of regulation to tie the score at 63 and send the game into overtime. But XULA missed 17 free throws for the second straight game — four in a row to open the first overtime.

Tougaloo did not attempt a 3-pointer but went to the line 45 times and made 31. The Lady Bulldogs outshot XULA 42.4 to 30.3 percent from the floor. XULA was plus-11 in turnovers, committing 24 and gaining a season-high 35.

Atkinson, 8-of-12 from the floor and 10-of-13 from the line, also grabbed a season-best 17 rebounds. Debraia Bell had 21 points, a season high, and 10 rebounds, and Rashonae Rice had 10 points and eight rebounds.

It was the fifth time the Nuggets played multiple overtimes and the first time in five years.

Tougaloo is the lone unbeaten team in the GCAC after eight league games. XULA will stay on the road and play Talladega, last season's GCAC regular-season and tournament champion, at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Talladega, Ala.

BOX SCORE

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Legendary baseball coach Billy Reed (FAMU) lived a life of courage, integrity

"He was a granddaddy first, and not a baseball coach, to his grandson," said Blanc, referring to her son, Eric Blanc II (a FAMU baseball player).

TAMPA, Florida -- As a teenager in the late 1940s, when Jim Crow remained the South’s two most notorious syllables, Billy Reed had to walk past Hillsborough High’s baseball field to get to all-black Middleton.

"Those (Hillsborough) students would hurl racial slurs, throw rocks and spit at him," recalled Dori Reed Blanc, one of Mr. Reed’s two daughters. "My father could have easily been bitter and harbored ill will. Instead, he persevered and focused on his goals."

Today, that same field is named in his honor.

"So the lesson here is if something bad happens to you … learn from it," Blanc said told a congregation of roughly 350 on Saturday at St. Lawrence Catholic Church. "Find strength from it, and one day in God’s time, there will be a positive outcome."

Blanc’s story highlighted a 90-minute "Home Run Celebration" for Mr. Reed, who died in a Tampa rehabilitation facility Dec. 30 at 86. A multisport athlete at Middleton and Florida A&M, Mr. Reed returned to his hometown and evolved into one of the most revered high school baseball coaches in bay area history.

In addition to coaching at Middleton and Hillsborough, Mr. Reed co-founded Belmont Heights Little League, which produced four World Series teams from 1973-81 and a handful of future big-league players.

Saturday’s mourners included former major-leaguers Gary Sheffield, Carl Everett and Jason Romano, all of whom played for Mr. Reed at Hillsborough, where he coached for roughly a quarter-century before retiring in 1997. Tony Saladino, whose 38-year-old Hills­borough County prep baseball tournament has earned national acclaim, also attended, as did Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

CONTINUE READING

Hill and Neal key Grambling State Lady Tigers in overtime win

GRAMBLING, Louisiana | Shakyla Hill and Monisha Neal reached double figures as the Grambling State University women's basketball team rallied to defeat Prairie View A&M, 81-79 in overtime in a Southestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday afternoon at the Fredrick C. Hobdy on Saturday afternoon.

Prairie View A&M (4-11 overall, 2-2 SWAC) led 14-13 after one quarter but Grambling State (7-9, 4-1) outscored the Lady Panthers in the second quarter, 21-17, to take a 34-31 advantage into the break. The Lady Panthers led at the end of the third quarter, 56-53, but the Lady Tigers rallied and got a 3-pointer by Ariel Williams to send the game into overtime tied at 72.

Hill paced the Lady Tigers with 24 points, on 12-of-19 shooting, with eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Neal contributed 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

Shala Dobbins registered 35 points, including 7-of-17 shooting and 21-of-27 at the free-throw line. She added nine rebounds and seven assists to pace the Lady Panthers Dominique Newman tallied 22 points, four rebounds and six steals.

Turning Point
Grambling State trailed, 54-51, heading into the final quarter, but Prairie View A&M used a 8-0 run, capped by a Newman 3-pointer to grab a 62-55 advantage with 8:24 left.

The Lady Tigers trimmed the margin to 62-61 after a bucket by Alexus Williams with 6:27 left, and tied the game at 65 after a Hill layup with 4:32 remaining.

The Lady Panthers took a 72-69 lead after a Dobbins layup with 2:06 left, but Grambling State kept fighting and with 31 seconds remaining, Ariel Williams sank a 3-pointer to tie the game at 72.

Grambling State had one final opportunity to win the game in regulation as the Lady Tigers forced a stop on the defensive end, but Neal's shot as time expired fell short to send the game into overtime.

In the extra period, the Lady Tigers raced out to a 78-73 lead after a Hill layup with 1:51 remaining, but the Lady Panthers cut the deficit to 81-79 after a Newman 3-pointer with 1:11 left.

Despite closing the gap to two points, Prairie View A&M couldn't get any closer as the Lady Tigers picked up their second consecutive conference win.

Inside The Numbers
* Grambling State shot 42.9 percent (30-of-70) from the floor and 69.2 percent (18-of-26) from the free-throw line.
* Prairie View A&M was 22-of-69 (31.9 percent) from the field and 31-of-39 (79.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
* The Lady Tigers finished with 43 rebounds, including 32 coming off the defensive glass.
* The Lady Panthers tallied 52 rebounds, with 18 coming on the offensive end.
* Grambling State finished with 29 bench points, 44 points in the paint, 27 points off turnovers and six fast break points.
* Prairie View A&M registered 26 points in the paint, six bench points, 27 points off turnovers and 14 second-chance points.
* There were 14 ties and 17 lead changes.

BOX SCORE

News & Notes
*Shakyla Hill was honored between the men's and women's basketball game for her 1,000-point plateau she reached on Dec. 10 during a loss at Alabama.
* Monisha Neal now needs just 32 points to reach 1,000 points for her career.
* Saturday's game was Military Appreciation Day at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

Up Next
The Lady Tigers will take on Texas Southern in a SWAC match up on Monday. Tip-off for the SWAC Digital Network game is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /gramblingstateathletics (Facebook), @gramblingathetics01 (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.

GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Jackson State Tigers Rally To Beat Texas Southern in O.T.

JACKSON, Mississippi — Maurice Rivers tossed in 26 points, Julian Daughtry scored a career-high 22 and Treshawn Bolden added a double-double to rally Jackson State to an 85-80 overtime victory over Texas Southern on Saturday.

Bolden finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers of Jackson State (8-10, 5-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference), who remained atop the conference standings with their fifth straight win.

Demontrae Jefferson poured in a career-best 34 points for the Tigers of Texas Southern (3-14, 3-1), who had a three-game win streak snapped. The junior guard, who added eight rebounds and seven assists, came into the game averaging 23.5 points per game. He has topped 20 points in all but one game this season. Donte Clark chipped in with 18 points and seven boards, while Trayvon Reed scored 10 and was a rebound short of a double-double.

Texas Southern led 43-31 at halftime in a game that featured 61 fouls, 71 free throws, but just 19 turnovers.

Texas Southern shot 39 percent from the floor, 23 percent from distance and hit 26 of 37 free throws. Jackson State made 41 percent from the floor, 31 percent from distance and made 19 of 34 from the foul line.

BOX SCORE

Next Up: The Tigers return to action Monday, when JSU hosts Prairie View A&M in SWAC action at the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center.

JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

XULA to host Women in Sports Forum Feb. 2

NEW ORLEANS — An accomplished group of women leaders from the sports industry will be featured Feb. 2 at Xavier University of Louisiana during the 2018 Women in Sports Forum.
     
The event — a dynamic program of keynotes, panel and roundtable discussions — is designed to empower young girls and women who are interested in pursuing a career in the sports industry.
     
XULA's Convocation Center Annex (7800 Washington Ave., New Orleans LA 70125) will be the forum venue. Event hours will be 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and will include lunch. Registration is free for high school and XULA students, $30 for college students and $50 for everyone else. Registration is available online at www.wisfnola.eventbrite.com or on the day of the forum.
     
"I am committed to creating an easily accessible space for young women to learn from the leaders in the sport industry," said XULA Associate Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator Dr. Ashley Baker, the forum founder. "The Women in Sports Forum is something I would have loved to have attended when I was younger. So I created it.
     
"Our forum theme this year is 'community over competition.' For women in a male-dominated industry, it is important for us to work together, support one another and help prepare the next generation of young women who want to do what we do."
     
Said XULA Director of Athletics & Recreation Jason Horn, "The inaugural 2016 event was a solid success, and our campus is honored that Dr. Baker asked Xavier to sponsor and host the 2018 event. Throughout my career in athletics, I have always been a proponent of professional and personal growth of careers in sports. The Xavier community is excited to host the Women in Sports forum in 2018."


   
Forum speakers will be:

     •  Dr. Kiki Baker-Barnes, Dillard University director of athletics
     •  Dr. Natasha Brison, Texas A&M University assistant professor of sport management
     •  Kirsten Elleby, University of New Orleans assistant athletics director for student-athlete enrichment and senior woman administrator
     •  Dr. Courtney Flowers, Texas Southern University assistant professor
     •  Shirelle Jackson, University of Miami senior associate athletic director for student-athlete development
     •  Monica Lebron, Tulane University deputy athletics director
     •  Dr. Becca Leopkey, University of Georgia assistant professor
     •  Dr. Joyce Olushola Ogunrinde, University of Houston assistant professor
     •  Courtnie Prather, Loyola University of New Orleans assistant director of athletics
     •  Breanna Robinson, Miami University assistant director of student-athlete academic support
     •  Dr. F. Michelle Richardson, Alabama A&M University assistant professor
     •  Shana Renee Stephenson, THE MAJORS
     
This year's forum will be held in conjunction with the 32nd annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which celebrates the extraordinary achievements of women and girls in sports.
    
 Baker hosted her first Woman in Sports Forum in April 2016 in Detroit with more than 150 young women in attendance. ESPN's Jemele Hill was the 2016 keynote speaker. Baker plans to expand the event to reach more young women.

2018 Women in Sports Forum New Orleans
Theme:  Community Over Competition
Date:  February 2, 2018
Time:  9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Location:  Xavier University of Louisiana Convocation Center Annex, 7800 Washington Ave., New Orleans LA 70125
Presented by/Hosted by:  Ash B Consulting
Event Social Media Hashtag:  #WISFNOLA
Twitter  @wsportsforum
Registration:  Free for high school and XULA students, $30 for college students, $50 for everyone else
Registration Link:  www.wisfnola.eventbrite.com
For More Information:  womeninsportsforum@gmail.com

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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XULA to offer clinics in February, March and April

PDFs:  Registration Form (2 pages)   •   Clinics Flyer 

Unique stat line propels XULA Bates to GCAC weekly award

NEW ORLEANS — It's back-to-back wins for Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week award.

Mikayla Bates, a 5-foot-7 junior guard from Baton Rouge, La., and a graduate of University Lab School, is the GCAC winner for Jan. 1-7 after producing 16 points, seven rebounds and six steals Jan. 2 in a 71-56 victory at Paul Quinn.

Bates is the only Gold Nugget in the last 14 seasons to reach 16 points, seven rebounds and six steals in the same game. Bates for the season is XULA's No. 3 scorer with 7.5 points per game, No. 2 in rebounds per game at 5.5 and the team leader with 3.1 steals per game. Bates ranks 10th in NAIA Division I in that latter category and is 16th in total steals with 40.

The GCAC award is the first for Bates. Backcourt teammate Maya Trench was the recipient for Dec. 25-31. It's the first time since the end of the 2015-16 season — Trana Hopkins, then Whitney Gathright — that the Gold Nuggets produced back-to-back winners.

Back-to-back victories on the court have been more difficult for the Gold Nuggets to achieve recently. XULA, which dropped three of its last four decisions and four of its last six, will travel to Tougaloo, Miss., for a 3 p.m. Saturday GCAC matchup against Tougaloo. The Gold Nuggets are 7-6 overall and 0-1 in the league after losing 66-62 Monday at Edward Waters.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Southern's 2018 football schedule to feature just 10 games. 'We were dealt a limited hand'

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- For the first time in more than a decade, the Southern football team will play fewer than 11 regular-season games.

The Jaguars’ 2018 schedule features 10 contests. It is the first time since 2005 Southern will not play a full 11-game schedule, the blame for which Southern athletic director Roman Banks laid with the Southwestern Athletic Conference office.

“We were dealt a limited hand,” Banks said.

A SWAC spokesman did not respond to the Advocate's request for comment Friday.

Southern 2018 football schedule
*home games in bold

Sept. 1: @ TCU
Sept. 9: @ Louisiana Tech
Sept. 15: vs. Langston
Sept. 22: vs. Alabama A&M, (at Ladd Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama)
Sept. 29: vs Alcorn State (homecoming)
Oct. 13: @ Prairie View A&M
October 20: vs Texas Southern, (State Fair Showdown, Dallas)
Oct. 27: vs. Jackson State
Nov. 10: vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff
Nov. 24: vs Grambling, (Bayou Classic, New Orleans)

CONTINUE READING

Legendary Coach Alonzo S. "Jake" Gaither Authorized Biography Published After 40-Year Delay

ORDER

Agile, Mobile, Hostile: The Biography of Alonzo S. "Jake"Gaither, is the complete untold story of the extraordinary life of Jake Gaither, the legendary coaching icon of Florida A&M University.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- When Roosevelt Wilson first decided to write a biography about Alonzo “Jake” Gaither 40 years ago, it was about setting the record straight.

At the time Gaither, Florida A&M University's legendary football coach and a College Football Hall of Famer, was upset about another book that was published about him in 1977.

Gaither, FAMU's head coach from 1945 to 1969, and Wilson discussed the book at length.

A noted black journalist George E. Curry, one of the first African Americans to work for Sports Illustrated, came to Tallahassee to interview Gaither for the book "and Jake hated it,” Wilson said. “He said it misrepresented everything, that the guy misquoted him, and it literally brought him to tears.

“I said, ‘Well somebody needs to do an accurate account of this thing.’ I kept putting it off. I decided to do it because the other book bothered him so. I just started gathering information.”

If the process got started more than four decades ago, why is the book, titled “Agile, Mobile and Hostile,” just now seeing the light of day?

“I guess you could call it a lost manuscript because I just forgot I had it,” Wilson said with a laugh. “After doing all that work, I just forgot it.”

CONTINUE READING

Virginia State Women’s Basketball: Rolling out to 15-0

ETTRICK, Virginia - “The coach is the main reason why I came here.”

Alexis Smith, who went to Division I-level Drexel University in Philadelphia for three years and then afterward sat out for a year, remembered talking to Virginia State head coach James Hill Jr. over the summer and feeling that player-coach connection before she even joined the Trojans.

“And then, once I got here - so many transfers, but we gelled and clicked so well,” she said. “Even just coming here over the summer for a visit, all three of the coaches (Hill, Chiante Wester and Anthony Mills), we all just gelled.”



It was the kind of connection, Smith said, that you can’t just find everywhere.

Endia McKinney had been with VSU all four years, but this year, the difference she noticed with the team this time around was the chemistry.

“We worked well together,” she said. “Past teams, we had a lot of talent, but we didn’t always gel the way this team gelled so quickly...we learned how each other played so well, that and we listened to our coaches.”

CONTINUE READING

Coach AnnMarie Gilbert has Virginia Union women soaring again ...Panthers at 14-1

RICHMOND, Virginia -- AnnMarie Gilbert has admittedly high standards when it comes to success for her women’s basketball team at Virginia Union.

Anything more than five losses in a season would qualify as a big disappointment for the third-year coach, and it’s a dilemma the Panthers have yet to face under Gilbert’s direction. Virginia Union lost three games in 2015-16 and registered its fifth loss of the season last year in the NCAA championship game against Ashland to finish 28-5.

But the team Gilbert is fielding this season is different.



Long gone are Kiana Johnson, who was national player of the year two seasons ago, as well as Lady Walker and Brittany Jackson, two stalwarts of last season’s national runner-up team. Gilbert said she thought, “Do you have enough to continue to perform at the national level?”

The internal fears of not having enough talent were compounded when the Panthers, ranked second nationally in the preseason, dropped their first game of the season on a neutral floor to Edinboro University. But with 14 straight wins since that loss to the now-No. 14 Fighting Scots, those fears are beginning to appear unfounded.

“(Edinboro) cracked us that first game, and you’re sitting there wondering, ‘Where is Virginia Union? What is our identity? Are we still a national contender?’ ” Gilbert said.

“For them to rattle off 14 games in a row — pretty decisively — is really impressive because it’s a totally new group.”



CONTINUE READING

Simmons' first month at FAMU a 'whirlwind'

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Willie Simmons’ fist month at Florida A&M has been the expected whirlwind.

That’s how life rolls in a new job accompanied by homecoming euphoria.

“Being from here is one thing, but actually being on campus and in a working capacity is something totally different,” the Rattlers’ head football coach said Friday.

Buoyed by characteristic optimism and unbridled faith, Simmons is determined to rebuild the Rattlers’ struggling football program and introduce a culture woven in consistency. One day and thread at a time.

Take this week, for example.

Simmons – the Tallahassee native and former Quincy Shanks star quarterback – held his first team meeting last Sunday as players returned from the holidays.

Simmons, 37, had the opportunity to meet players, put names and faces together, and talk about his philosophy that stresses accountability – academically, athletically, socially and spiritually.

CONTINUE READING

NCAA awards $3.1 million in grants to 9 schools

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- The NCAA has awarded more than $3.1 million in grants to nine Division I schools to support academic programs that help student-athletes earn their degrees.

The recipients of the Accelerating Academic Success Program Comprehensive Grants (multiyear) include Arkansas-Pine Bluff ($900,000), Morgan State (887,700) and Southern University ($900,000).

Recipients of Accelerating Academic Success Program Initiatives Grants (single year) include Alabama State ($63,600), Austin Peay State ($100,000), Coppin State ($85,000), Idaho State ($57,000), Norfolk State ($100,000) and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ($87,460).

The grants help schools improve the academic success of their student-athletes. The goal is to support the schools’ efforts to meet the requirements of the Division I Academic Performance Program, which was developed to ensure schools provide an environment that supports education while enhancing the ability of student-athletes to earn a degree.

“The impact of the Accelerating Academic Success Program has exceeded expectations and the reach has expanded far beyond the Academic Progress Rate,” said Bernard Franklin, NCAA executive vice president of education and community engagement and chief inclusion officer. “The program’s success is an illustration of the transformation that can take place when adequate resources are combined with creative and strategic planning.”

Schools eligible to apply for the program are non-Football Bowl Subdivision Division I schools in the bottom 10 percent of resources as determined by per capita institutional expenditures, athletics department funding and Pell Grant aid.

The comprehensive grants will be distributed over a three-year period and used to fund increased academic support services staffing and space; technology upgrades (software and hardware); career planning; professional development; and increased availability of summer financial aid for student-athletes.

Schools can request a maximum of $300,000 per year for three years. The participating schools are required to match grant dollars each year of the program, with direct funds and/or in-kind contributions. The school must commit a 25 percent match in the first year, 50 percent in year two and 75 percent in year three. Schools must match 20 percent of single-year grants.

“Through my research, I have been able to see the positive impact AASP has had on our previous cohorts — quantitatively and qualitatively,” said Tiese Roxbury, NCAA assistant director of research, assessment and academic success. “Based on the excellence of the proposed plans, leadership and commitment from these institutions, I fully expect to see the same gains from this new cohort.”

The announced awards mark the fifth round of Accelerating Academic Success Program funding distributed by the NCAA.

NCAA MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Ed Hardin: Rod Broadway, a giant of a coach, walks away

GREENSBORO, North Carolina  – Rod Broadway ended his own era this morning, choosing to walk away while at the top of the game and leaving the N.C. A&T football coaching job to a trusted friend.

Broadway, 62, has decided he has spent enough time on the sidelines, enough time away from his family and far too much time away from his beach house.

He left behind a case filled with trophies. He left three MEAC titles and two national championships and a lifetime of memories. Broadway left as a legend.



This is how all coaches dream of going out, telling jokes and laughing with his friends and colleagues, promising to come back sparingly and pledging to spend his fall Saturdays with a fishing rod in his hands, far from Aggie Stadium, far from football officials and a lengthening shadow that would’ve never left him.

That shadow was his own.

They’ll tell stories of what Broadway accomplished here, and they’ll compare everything from this day forward to this man who walked away, a giant of a coach in this city, this state and this country. He was one of the greatest college football coaches we’ll ever see.

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The Power of One Win at Coppin State

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- Sometimes all it takes is one. One step to create space. One pass to get an open shot. One dribble to beat a defender. One shot for the win. For Coppin State University men's basketball program, it took a lot to reach one.

Head coach Juan Dixon said, "That's where it all starts. We got that gorilla off our backs."

Added junior forward Lamar Morgan, "It's like wearing a weighted vest. And it's just that weight that you want to get off." Morgan is second in the team in scoring averaging 10.7 points per game. It's his first season at Coppin State after playing two years of JUCO in Missouri.



The Eagles are taking about one win. The first of this season. Which is also the first for head coach Juan Dixon in his first season at CSU and a head coach of a men's basketball program. It took two months time, the Eagles 18th game of the season, and a double overtime win at home Monday night against Florida A&M where Coppin State won 79-78.

"When we actually won the game I felt some emotions inside me that I must have had built up," Dixon said. "It just came out. Especially in the locker room. I told the guys it takes a lot to win. It's going to take time, but we are building something here."

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A&T plans five-stop Celebration Bowl Victory Tour

GREENSBORO, North Carolina — Fresh off the best season in the football program’s 93-year history, N.C. A&T continues to celebrate winning the Celebration Bowl for a second time in three years.

The 12-0 Aggies have five stops set on a Celebration Bowl Victory Tour where retiring coach Rod Broadway’s last team will be honored.

These Aggies have won three of the last four MEAC titles, two of the last three black college national championships, and they're the first MEAC team to finish a full season undefeated since the conference was born in 1971.

The victory tour's stops are:

• Jan. 15: The football team will serve as grand marshal of the Martin Luther King Day Parade through downtown Greensboro, which begins at 11 a.m. Monday.

• Jan. 16: The Greensboro city council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the council chambers of the Melvin Municipal Building, and the football team will be presented with a resolution honoring the season.

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Will Rod Broadway’s retirement change the Eagle-Aggie rivalry?

DURHAM, North Carolina -- Rod Broadway saw the rivalry between N.C. Central and North Carolina A&T from both sides.

Now the rivalry between Eagles and the Aggies will have a new look next season when the teams square off in Durham – both teams will have first-year coaches.

On Monday, N.C. A&T’s Broadway announced his retirement from coaching after posting a perfect 12-0 season and a victory in the Celebration Bowl for the Aggies. His retirement announcement came after NCCU lost coach Jerry Mack in December. Mack left NCCU after four seasons to become the offensive coordinator at Rice, while Broadway, who coached the Aggies for seven seasons, will serve as a special assistant to the athletics director at N.C. A&T for the next six months.

Broadway coached NCCU from 2003-06, posting a 33-11 mark over four seasons. His .750 winning percentage remains the best in NCCU history. He left NCCU for Grambling State before moving on to A&T.

When the Eagles and Aggies meet next fall, it will mark the ...

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Eau Gallie Commodores Hire Former FAMU OL As New Football Coach

MELBOURNE (Brevard County) FLORIDA — Following in the footsteps of another Brevard County head football coach, Christopher Sands has been hired by Eau Gallie High School to fill the coaching vacancy left when Tim Powers resigned in November.

Sands joins the Commodores from Central High School in Brooksville, Florida, which is located north of Tampa and in Hernando County.

During Sands’ tenure, the Bears posted a 13-26 record. The former all-conference offensive lineman helped more than two dozen players sign to play football at the college level.

Sands is a big man, standing 6-foot-9. He was a four-year starter at offensive tackle for the Florida A&M Rattlers and selected to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference All-Conference Team twice and a two-year captain while at FAMU.

Sands played high school football at Tallahassee-Leon. Central won just six games from 2009 through the 2013 season, and under Sands, would fin
ish 6-4 in 2016.

If the former Central head coach can experience any of the success the last head coach that moved from there to coach a Brevard County team has had during the past 13 years, the Commodores are in for one great ride.

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WSSU baseball entering a new era as an independent program

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Before hitting the practice field with his team, Coach Kevin Ritsche of Winston-Salem State baseball had the chance to go ice fishing.

At a nearby pond, thanks to the unseasonably cold weather, he got out his pole and tried his luck.

“I got to fish a little bit and our kids ice skated,” Ritsche said. “That was a first for us to be able to do that around here.”

Ritsche and his Rams will also be doing something different this season — playing as an independent. For the first time since its inception, the CIAA will not be sponsoring baseball.

Because they won’t compete in a conference tournament, the Rams won’t have the automatic berth into the regionals. The Rams were CIAA champions last season and have won the championship six out of the last seven years.

“It will be different in the sense that we won’t have the CIAA tournament anymore, but we generally won’t be changing much,” said Ritsche, whose Rams began practice this week at BB&T Ballpark. “We’ve always kind of focused on doing well in regional play and getting to regionals with a good record.”

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Florida A&M Releases Details on Head Football Coach Willie Simmons Contract

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida A&M has released the contract details for new head coach Willie Simmons, including incentives he stands to earn for success with the Rattlers.

As previously reported, Simmons will earn $300,000 annually, with $100,000 coming from the school's direct support organizations -- meaning the university itself is on the hook for the same amount it was paying former head coach Alex Wood.

The deal is for five years.

Simmons' incentives include:

• A $5,000 bonus for a two-year average APR of 950 or better, with each full time assistant getting a bonus of $500
• A $5,000 bonus for winning the Florida Classic; each full-time assistant gets a $1,000 bonus
• A $10,000 bonus for a MEAC title; each full-time assistant gets a $2,500 bonus
• A $25,000 bonus for winning the Celebration Bowl; each full-time assistant gets $5,000
• A $5,000 for an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs; $1,000 bonus for each assistant
• A $2,000 bonus for being named coach of the year

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