Morgan men pull out 'ugly' 42-39 win over Delaware State

Morgan State suffered through atrocious foul shooting (7-for-19), unforced turnovers (17 in all) and a 14-point second half Wednesday, but the Bears still managed to pull out a 42-39 victory over Delaware State at Hill Field House on Wednesday night.

The victory, on Senior Night, moved Morgan (10-3) within a half-game of first-place Bethune-Cookman (11-3) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with three games to play. It was the Bears' fifth straight win in February and the 100th of the Todd Bozeman era at Morgan.

"You want to do it more efficiently, like we practice it, but I'll take the win," Bozeman said.

Hornets missed their shot

BALTIMORE -- Delaware State missed two potential game-tying 3-point shots in the last eight seconds, falling 42-39 to Morgan State in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action on Wednesday night.

Desi Washington fired off a 3-point shot that rattled inside the rim before coming out with eight seconds left to play.

Morgan State rebounded the miss, and the Hornets fouled Justin Black with 6.7 seconds remaining. Black missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving DSU another chance with 3.8 seconds left. Washington took the inbounds pass, but misfired on a long 3-point try as time expired.

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Blount's task: Repair DSU football program

DOVER, DE -- When Delaware State University athletics director Derek Carter introduced Kermit Blount as the Hornets' new head football coach on Friday morning, he referred to him as an "automotive repair wizard."

Blount will definitely have to rely on some of his tune-up skills if he wants to get Delaware State's sagging football program running smoothly again.

Just after his introduction as the Hornets' coach, Blount immediately faced a challenging question from the crowd gathered at Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center -- when is Delaware State going to be able to beat the University of Delaware?



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Everyone wins with Doug Williams' hire

GRAMBLING, La. — Grambling State University was thought to have pulled off some sort of coup by luring back Doug Williams for a second stint as the Tigers' head football coach.

After all, how often does a school lose a coach the caliber of Rod Broadway, after signing day, and manage to take a monumental leap forward?

Hardly ever, as you could tell by the visible and audible jubilation pouring from Grambling alums, athletes and supporters — many who made lengthy journeys to mark the occasion Wednesday.

Williams: 'Coming home is about family"

Doug Williams sat intently as Grambling president Frank Pogue and athletics director Lin Dawson talked about him, but as the Tigers' new head football coach stood, held his black and gold baseball cap and began to address the room, he couldn't help but crack a wide smile.

"Wow," he said. "We are Grambling."

About 200 people tried to pile into a room with about 100 chairs for the press conference Wednesday morning at the Eddie Robinson Museum to officially announce the old news that Robinson was returning for a second stint as the head coach.

The coach is home again

When Thomas Wolfe penned, "You Can't Go Home Again," it's obvious Doug Williams didn't get the memo. Maybe he skipped that class when he was a student at Grambling State University.

But today, the Grambling community is quite happy Doug Williams doesn't know you can't go home again. And if he did indeed dash out on literature, it hasn't shown up on his permanent record.

Doug Williams criticizes NFL 'fraternity,' returns to Grambling State to coach son

Doug Williams acknowledges that coaching his son in his second stint at Grambling State may be a challenge, but it has to be easier than navigating what he calls the NFL's good ol' boys "fraternity."

Williams resigned over the weekend as general manager of the Virginia Destroyers of the UFL in order to return to Grambling State and criticized front-office opportunities for minorities in the NFL. He spent six seasons in the Tampa Bay Bucs' scouting department (from 2004 until last May) and hoped to become an NFL GM.

"The good ol' boy network is alive and well,'' Williams said in an interview with tampabay.com. "But it's changed from the good ol' boy network to the fraternity. I always find a way to overcome and just keep going forward. I look at it this way, you've got guys sitting in the front office that never coached.

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Culpepper leaving Tampa Bay Tech for GSU

TAMPA, FL - As he looked out at the faces of his football players gathered in the Tampa Bay Tech auditorium early Wednesday afternoon, C.C. Culpepper couldn't hold back the tears.

Culpepper was overcome with emotion as he revealed he was leaving TBT as head coach to accept a job as defensive backs and special teams coach at Grambling State University.

"If it wasn't for your hard work, practicing and playing, listening to me scream and cuss, I would not have this opportunity," Culpepper told his players. "It's the young men of Tampa Bay Tech who have given me this chance."

And despite how much work he put into TBT to change it from a perennial loser to one that reached the region semifinals the past three seasons, Culpepper said coaching at Grambling was just an opportunity that doesn't come around often.

Culpepper steps down at TBT

The most prosperous era in Tampa Bay Tech football history concluded earlier today, when Titans coach C.C. Culpepper informed his players he is stepping down to join Doug Williams' staff at Grambling State University.

TBT principal Scott Brooks confirmed Culpepper, also a highly respected business teacher at the school, informed him first thing this morning he was resigning. He's the fourth Hillsborough County coach to step down -- either voluntarily or by force -- this offseason.

"When Doug Williams calls and asks you, I'm not sure how you tell him no," Brooks said.

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Spears picks quarterbacks coach for ASU

LORMAN — Alcorn State University head football Melvin Spears continues to round out his coaching staff, naming New Orleans native and former Grambling State University star Bruce Eugene as his quarterbacks coach.

Eugene, a 2005 graduate of Grambling, played for newly named Grambling coach Doug Williams, and got tutelage from Spears, who was the quarterbacks coach at the time.

Eugene became one of the top players in Division 1-AA college football, breaking Grambling and SWAC records in the process. He was a three-time finalist for the Walter Payton Award.


Videographer: UrbanSportsITG

CURRENT HIRES:

Melvin Spears Jr., Head Football Coach
Vyron Brown, Offensive Coordinator
Quantas Floyd, Defensive Backs Coach
Darius Matthews, Tight End and Wide Recievers Coach
Bruce Eugene, Quarterbacks Coach

Spears Hires Matthews as Wide Receivers and Tight Ends Coach

Alcorn State University head football coach Melvin Spears announces that Grambling State graduate Darius Matthews has been added to his coaching staff In charge of the wide receivers and tight ends. Matthews worked with Spears in 2006 at Grambling State as the running backs coach.

Matthews is glad to be at Alcorn State: “It’s a chance for me to play a role in establishing a winning program. I’ll have the chance to work with a proven winner in coach Spears and to become a part of the Alcorn State family.”

Matthews comes to ASU from East Feliciana High in Jackson, Louisiana where he served as offensive coordinator. He was offensive coordinator at Clinton High in Clinton from 2007 thru 2010 and running backs coach at Grambling from 2006 thru 2007.

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Jackson State to play six at home in 2011

Jackson, MS - A three-game homestand comprises half of the six that Jackson State football will play at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium during its 11-game schedule this season.

Jackson State will kick off the season on Sept. 3 against Division III Concordia College in the fourth annual W.C. Gorden Classic. The Tigers will play one other non-conference game, Sept. 10 against Ohio Valley Conference member Tennessee State in the Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis.

The Tigers' remaining five home games are against Southwestern Athletic Conference opponents, including...

2011 Jackson State University Football Schedule
Date    Opponent            Site      Time
September
3    Concordia College “Hornets” (Selma, AL)     Jackson, MS    1:30 PM
(4th Annual W.C. Gorden Classic)  
10    Tennessee State “Tigers”        Memphis, TN    6:00 PM
(Southern Heritage Classic)
17    Southern “Jaguars”          Baton Rouge, LA TBA 
24    Alabama State “Hornets”        Jackson, MS    4:00 PM

October
1    Texas Southern “Tigers”        Jackson, MS    4:00 PM
8    Arkansas‐Pine Bluff “Golden Lions”      Jackson, MS    4:00 PM
(Homecoming)
15    Mississippi Valley State” Delta Devils”    Itta Bena, MS    TBA
22    OPEN
29    Prairie View A&M “Panthers”       Prairie View, TX TBA

November
5    Grambling State “Tigers”        Jackson, MS    2:00 PM
12    Alabama A&M “Bulldogs”        Huntsville, AL    TBA
19    Alcorn State “Braves”         Jackson, MS    1:00 PM
(Capital City Classic)

December
10    SWAC Championship Game        Birmingham, AL TBA

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Virgin Islands athletes have strong outings at MEAC Track Championships

Five Virgin Islanders from five different colleges competed at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference indoor track and field championships last weekend in Landover, Md.

Delaware State University junior Leslie Murray and Florida A&M senior Leon Hunt walked away with first-place medals around their necks, and Murray was a member of a record-setting relay team.

"It was a great experience. All of us have come from different programs and it was cool to have us all under the same roof going up against the best from our conference," said Leon Hunt, who is ranked 14th among the nation's best long jumpers. "It was like we were going against rival schools and friends. It was very competitive."

Hunt set a personal best in the long jump earlier this month at the Niswonger Invitational track meet, when he leaped 7.75 meters (25 feet, 4 inches). Hunt was ranked among the conference's elite for most of the indoor season and finished with 7.69 on Saturday.

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