Clark Atlanta University hires Heritage coach Mike Davis

Just a year into its existence, Heritage High School (Palm Bay, Florida) is looking for a new leader for its football program. Mike Davis, who came to coach the Panthers from Bayside High, has taken an assistant coaching job at Clark Atlanta University, Heritage athletic director Greg McGrew said. Heritage has less than a month to find a replacement before football workouts begin. Phone messages left for Davis went unreturned Tuesday night.

"We're looking for a head coach with some experience. If anybody is interested, they should call me," McGrew said. "We want to go ahead and get the process going and see if somebody is interested in the county." McGrew was the athletics director at Bayside and brought Davis with him to begin the Panthers' program. In five years at Bayside, Davis led three teams to winning seasons. His 2006 and 2008 teams became the first in the school's history to make the playoffs.

Heritage went 0-9 in its first season, but the team consisted of only ninth- and 10th graders. In the coming season, the older of those will be 11th-graders, and there will be three classes available for the roster.

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Arrest made in Alabama A&M football player shooting

An arrest was made in the shooting death of an Alabama A&M football player.

According to the Birmingham News, police arrested and charged Terry Towns with murder and attempted murder. He's accused of shooting Alabama A&M football standout Maurice Thomas and injuring two others. The shooting happened last Friday inside a night club in Bessemer. Police say it started as a fight.

Towns, a 34 year old black male booked on July 3, was being held Friday night on bonds totaling $195,000, according to the Jefferson County (AL) Sheriff's Office. The shootings occurred on July 2, 2010.

Family and friends held a candlelight vigil outside Thomas' visitation Friday night. They leaned on each other for support while remembering the life of Thomas. His cousin said Thomas was more like a brother to her. She remembered when she learned about his death.

The funeral for the 23 year old Thomas will be held at Roosevelt City Church of Christ in Bessemer. Saturday morning.

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Ammons wants FAMU athletic facilities upgraded

FAMU officially launched a campaign on July 8, 2010, to raise $750,000 to add artificial turf to Bragg Stadium in time for the Rattlers' first home game Oct. 2. The immediate goal is for 1,454 supporters to donate $516 each. Head football coach Joe Taylor (left) and vice president Carla Willis is leading the fundraising.

After running non-stop through a long list of new constructions or renovations projects that will take place on the campus of Florida A&M, university president James Ammons finally took a breath. Then, he went on with another list that's just as important. The swimming pool, baseball field, tennis courts and Bragg Stadium. All of them need upgrading, and Ammons doesn't want it to be patchwork. The multimillion-dollar Lawson Center, where FAMU's basketball and volleyball teams play is his benchmark.

"All of those facilities need attention," Ammons said during an interview with the Democrat. "As we look at where we're going in athletics, that next mountain to climb is the facility mountain. We've got to bring all of the other facilities up to the Lawson Center." Improving the facilities is a must-do project because they could translate into championships in the long run, Ammons said. "We want to make sure that every program leader has a chance to win," he said.




Links:

The FAMU Foundation - Florida Agricultural and Mechanical ...

thelawsound.com

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2010 MEAC/SWAC Challenge Tickets Now On Sale

ESPN Regional Television (ERT) has announced that tickets for the 2010 MEAC/SWAC Challenge football contest between Delaware State University and Southern University (La.) on Sep. 5 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, are now on sale through Ticketmaster and Anthony Travel.

Individual game tickets are $20 (plus tax and fees), and can be ordered by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or logging on to www.ticketmaster.com. Fans can also purchase travel packages through Anthony Travel's web page at www.anthonytravel.com or by calling 1-800-736-6377.

Delaware State University is also working with Anthony Travel on MEAC/SWAC Challenge packages for students, alumni and other Hornet fans. Information on the DSU packages can be obtained by logging onto http://www.desu.edu/meacswac-challenge or www.DSUHornets.com. The DSU travel packages include admission to Disney attractions.

The MEAC/SWAC weekend will include step shows, a career fair, parade and battle of the bands. Delaware State University will also host a tailgate and "fan center" in Orlando.

This will be Delaware State's first appearance in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, which pits a top team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference against one from the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Southern will be making its second appearance in the challenge. The Jaguars defeated the MEAC's Florida A&M 33-27 in 2007 in Birmingham, Alabama.



Delaware State is 2-0 all-time vs. Southern. The Hornets, led by first-year head coach Bill Collick and All-American John Taylor, defeated the Jaguars 46-8 in 1985 in Baton Rouge, La. The teams met again the following year in Shreveport, La., with the Hornets coming out of top, 21-14.

The 2010 MEAC/SWAC Challenge will air on ESPN/ESPN HD and ESPN3.com. This will mark the first time this event will be televised on ESPN.

For more information about the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and for access to its Facebook page, please visit the official website: www.meacswacchallenge.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the event via Twitter: www.twitter.com/MEAC_SWAC.

Alabama A&M signs former Anniston standout Hutchison

Quintarius Hutchison (right) was a starter on Anniston High School Class 4A state-title team from 2008/09.

Former Anniston High basketball standout Quintarius Hutchison didn’t look at all like a man who had any intentions of resting on the laurels of his impressive resume Friday morning. Instead, the 6-foot-5, 190-pounder appeared primed to press on at the signing ceremony held at his alma mater’s media center, where he signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville.

Hutchison was named The Star’s Class 4A-6A Calhoun County Player of the Year during his senior season. He averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds in leading the Bulldogs to a 24-10 record and a trip to the state semifinals, just a year after they captured the Class 4A title. A&M began recruiting Hutchison after seeing him play in a Thanksgiving tournament in the Rocket City. The A&M coaches told Hutchison’s coaches they were “really interested” in him.

However, talks between Hutchison and the school fell off for months. He became a first-team all-state selection and was one of only 12 players in the state chosen to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic in Pelham. When A&M, which shares a mascot and color scheme with Anniston, came calling again long after the season ended, everything seemed to come together. Hutchison chose A&M over an offer from Faulkner University and interest from Miles, Lane College (Tenn.) and Lawson State Community College.

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LeMoyne-Owen mulls revival of football program

On its athletic website it reads, "LeMoyne-Owen College ... Undefeated since 1951," along with a picture of the Magicians' 1950 football team. That streak could be in jeopardy. LOC has formed a committee charged with studying the viability of reinstituting a football program that has been absent from the historically black college since 1951.

"What they're doing right now is looking at the feasibility," said Robert Lipscomb, chairman of the school's Board of Trustees. "No decisions have been made. We've got to get some data first. They're still doing their investigation."

The committee chairman and other members have not been announced. William Anderson, the school's athletic director, said LOC president Johnnie B. Watson could have an announcement regarding football in the near future. There are indications the startup costs for football could be in the $2 million to $3 million range. It is believed the team would initially play as a non-scholarship club sport, before eventually growing into a Division 2 scholarship team that would participate in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, of which it already is a member for its other sports.

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Run game, defense key to success in SWAC

For all the things that made Southwestern Athletic Conference football fans shake their heads over the years — suspect leadership, lack of direction, noticeable drops in talent — die-hards could always take heart in one thing: On the field, their teams were innovators. You remember the 1980s and early ’90s, don’t you? Long before the explosion of the spread offense and five-receiver sets, SWAC schools put on a pretty good show.

Willie Totten. Fred McNair. Steve McNair. Eric Randall. They all aired it out.

Five years ago, Grambling’s Bruce Eugene threw 50 touchdowns in one season.But take a deeper look at the league today, and you’ll come to a startling conclusion. The trend has reversed. Everything old is new again. In the modern SWAC, championship-caliber teams play old-fashioned football. They establish the run, and they play good defense. This from a league that gave us Sammy White and Harold Carmichael and Jerry Rice? Believe it.



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