IRONDALE, Alabama - The Jackson State Lady Tigers softball team defeated the Mississippi Valley State Devilettes 6-2 in the 2011 Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game Sunday evening at Shea Brothers Field. With the win Jackson State wins its first conference championship in softball and claims the SWAC's automatic bid to the NCAA regional.
The Lady Tigers never trailed in the championship finale against Valley. Wendi Reed, the tournament MVP, opened the game with a solo home run and Farren Wright scored on an Arianna Smith single to give JSU a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Reed scored a run for JSU in the third on a Wright single. Valley scored two runs in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 3-2. Anesha McClendon helped increase JSU's lead to 4-2 when she hit a solo homer in the sixth. JSU put the game out of reach in the seventh when Reed hit a two run blast to off the left field foul pole, scoring LeEthel Guillory.
Jackson State entered the tournament as the second seed in the eight-team double-elimination field. The Lady Tigers were one game out from elimination, but came back to defeat Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alcorn State twice to stay alive.
Videographer: SupportJacksonState
Jackson State became the third team from the state of Mississippi to win the softball crown in the last three seasons. Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State were the previous two winners.
Jackson State and first year head coach Rick Fremin will now await its seeding into the NCAA Softball Tournament. The selection show airs Sunday, May 15 at 9 p.m. CST on ESPNU.
2011 SWAC All-Tournament Team
CeCe Kolesar, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Kiah Williams, Southern
Audrey Phillips, Southern
Jasmine Hubbard, Alcorn State
Bianca Armstrong, Alcorn State
Nicole Burr, Mississippi Valley State
Alex Robertson, Mississippi Valley State
Janell Plaza, Jackson State
LeEthel Guillory, Jackson State
Wendi Reed, Jackson State (MVP)
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Friday, May 13, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Florida Classic to stay in Orlando through 2015
ORLANDO, FL -- Bethune-Cookman University President Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed and Florida A&M University President Dr. James H. Ammons, in concert with the Florida Classic Consortium, announced today that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida has signed on to become the title sponsor for the annual football game between the two schools, as well as title sponsor of Battle of the Bands. The Consortium has also agreed to an extension with Florida Citrus Sports that will keep the game at Orlando’s Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium for the next five years.
The agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida is for three years with an option to renew in years four and five. During that term, the game will be known as the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Florida Classic, while the Battle will now be called Florida Blue Battle of the Bands.
Videographer: andremc69
The Florida Classic began in 1978 and has spent the last 17 years in Orlando. Since its move to Orlando in 1997, this annual clash between these two Historical Black Colleges and Universities has averaged more than 66,000 at the Citrus Bowl. The game has been a regular on national television -- the ESPN network of stations since 2005.
Due in large part to these strong attendance numbers and the number of people traveling to Orlando for the week leading up to the game, the Florida Classic generated an estimated $31 million in economic impact for Central Florida last year.
VIDEO: B-CU and FAMU renew rivalry in Orlando
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The agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida is for three years with an option to renew in years four and five. During that term, the game will be known as the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Florida Classic, while the Battle will now be called Florida Blue Battle of the Bands.
Videographer: andremc69
The Florida Classic began in 1978 and has spent the last 17 years in Orlando. Since its move to Orlando in 1997, this annual clash between these two Historical Black Colleges and Universities has averaged more than 66,000 at the Citrus Bowl. The game has been a regular on national television -- the ESPN network of stations since 2005.
Due in large part to these strong attendance numbers and the number of people traveling to Orlando for the week leading up to the game, the Florida Classic generated an estimated $31 million in economic impact for Central Florida last year.
VIDEO: B-CU and FAMU renew rivalry in Orlando
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Alabama A&M continues search for men's basketball coach
HUNTSVILLE, AL - Alabama A&M could have a new men's basketball coach by the end of next week, a source close to the search committee told The Times Tuesday.
School officials, who were slowed by the recent tornado outbreak, are expected to conduct phone interviews with potential candidates today and Thursday. Based upon the phone interviews, the finalists will be brought on campus next week for additional interviews.
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School officials, who were slowed by the recent tornado outbreak, are expected to conduct phone interviews with potential candidates today and Thursday. Based upon the phone interviews, the finalists will be brought on campus next week for additional interviews.Two potential candidates, former Butler High coach Jack Doss and Eugene Harris, who most recently served as the head coach at Florida A&M and has also coached at Auburn, Alabama and South Alabama, told The Times Tuesday afternoon they had not been contacted for phone interviews. John Douglas, who led Calhoun Community College to the junior college national championship game in ...
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Navy SEALs push CIAA athletes to get mentally tough
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — Five teams of Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association athletes hit the water and scaled walls as part of their training in April at the U.S. Navy SEALs’ Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Chowan University, Saint Paul’s College, Bowie State University, Saint Augustine’s College and Virginia State University players all got a taste of the rigors of training with the SEALs in a 12-foot-deep, Olympic-size pool and on the Naval Special Warfare Group 2 Confidence Course, a 17-station land obstacle course.
The training—part of a “Mental Toughness, Never Quit” campaign conducted by the SEALs for CIAA schools—occurred April 16-17. The event was a follow-up to on-campus seminars at the CIAA schools in February and March.
The “Mental Toughness, Never Quit” program, focusing on schools in the CIAA—the nation’s oldest black athletic conference, established in 1912—was developed as part of the Naval Special Warfare’s effort to attract top minority talent. More than 1,000 athletes from 11 schools attended the on-campus “Mental Toughness” seminars.
The goal of “Mental Toughness, Never Quit”—which includes goal-setting, visualization, positive self talk and 4x4x4 breathing skills—is to provide valuable training to athletes while making them aware of potential career opportunities within the SEAL Teams. The SEALs provided players with a unique look into how mental preparation is essential to winning.
Navy SEALs are a special breed of warrior who conduct special operations in any environment, but who are uniquely trained and equipped to operate from, around and in maritime areas. SEALs take their name from the environments in which they are trained to operate: sea, air and land. Their small highly trained teams usually work quietly at night conducting some of the nation's most important missions. SEALs are constantly deployed throughout the world to protect U.S. national interests.
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VISIT: U.S. NAVY SEALs
Chowan University, Saint Paul’s College, Bowie State University, Saint Augustine’s College and Virginia State University players all got a taste of the rigors of training with the SEALs in a 12-foot-deep, Olympic-size pool and on the Naval Special Warfare Group 2 Confidence Course, a 17-station land obstacle course.
The training—part of a “Mental Toughness, Never Quit” campaign conducted by the SEALs for CIAA schools—occurred April 16-17. The event was a follow-up to on-campus seminars at the CIAA schools in February and March.
The “Mental Toughness, Never Quit” program, focusing on schools in the CIAA—the nation’s oldest black athletic conference, established in 1912—was developed as part of the Naval Special Warfare’s effort to attract top minority talent. More than 1,000 athletes from 11 schools attended the on-campus “Mental Toughness” seminars.
The goal of “Mental Toughness, Never Quit”—which includes goal-setting, visualization, positive self talk and 4x4x4 breathing skills—is to provide valuable training to athletes while making them aware of potential career opportunities within the SEAL Teams. The SEALs provided players with a unique look into how mental preparation is essential to winning.
Navy SEALs are a special breed of warrior who conduct special operations in any environment, but who are uniquely trained and equipped to operate from, around and in maritime areas. SEALs take their name from the environments in which they are trained to operate: sea, air and land. Their small highly trained teams usually work quietly at night conducting some of the nation's most important missions. SEALs are constantly deployed throughout the world to protect U.S. national interests.
VISIT: THE CENTRAL INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
VISIT: U.S. NAVY SEALs
Alabama A&M baseball building on enthusiasm of coach Ed McCann
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| AAMU Coach Ed McCann |
"The uniforms had vanished in the middle of the night," said first-year Alabama A&M baseball coach Ed McCann of the situation he inherited. And, as for his office, "it was early-auction furniture. It looked like it came over on the Mayflower."
That Alabama A&M has a baseball team may be news to some. That is has a chance to reach the Southwest Athletic Conference tournament by winning two of three against Jackson State in the next two days may be more shocking news. Even, he will confess, to Ed McCann.
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Foreigners a net gain for Shaw Bears
RALEIGH, N.C. -- As a tennis player at Shaw, Sunday Enitan overheard students say mockingly, "We have a tennis team?"That was years ago, before Enitan became coach of the Bears and ushered the tennis program into a new era. This season, the men's team claimed its seventh consecutive Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association title. The Bears went undefeated in conference play and have a 25-1 overall record.
Last week, the Bears outlasted Bluefield State and earned the school's first berth into the NCAA Division II championships. They leave today for Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla., where they'll face Abilene Christian at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the first round of the 16-team tournament.
The Bears defeated the Big Blues 5-3 in the Atlantic Region No. 1 finals, defending their home court at Biltmore Hills Tennis Courts before a host of Shaw supporters.
Shaw Men's Tennis Begins NCAA Play Wednesday
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Shaw University men's tennis team opens NCAA Division II Championship Tournament play on Wednesday, May 11, when they take on Abilene Christian at 10:30 a.m. The NCAA Division II Championships will be contested May 11-14 at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
The Bears earned their place in the tournament by winning the NCAA Atlantic Region 1 with a 5-3 win over Bluefield State last week. The Bears finished their regular season 25-1 and ranked first in the region by the NCAA and 48 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). This is Shaw's first trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament, which includes the 16 regional pod winners.
Abilene Christian finished their season 19-9 and earned their place in the tournament by winning the NCAA South Central 2 championship. They are ranked third in that division by the NCAA and ranked sixth nationally by the ITA.
Abilene Christian is led by Hans Hach, ranked 15th in the nation by ITA. Hach and doubles partner Jake Hendrie are ranked 15th in the nation by ITA.
Shaw's number one doubles pairing of Gabriel Nicotra and Ataide Suca are ranked 39th nationally by ITA.
For more information on Shaw athletics, visit www.shawbears.com, and to follow the action live from Altamonte Springs, visit www.rollinssports.com and click on the Division II Tennis Championship banner.
By Sherri Fillingham, Sports Information Director
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CIAA Board of Directors Addresses Discontinuance of Saint Paul’s College Athletics Program
Charlotte, NC -- In a closed-door meeting of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Board of Directors, the group of thirteen presidents and chancellors received a report from Saint Paul’s College President, Dr. Robert L. Satcher, Sr. of the action taken last Thursday by the SPC Board of Trustees to discontinue its athletic program.On behalf of the CIAA Board of Directors, Chairman and Livingstone College President, Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins, Sr. “received the report with sadness, but also recognizes that since the college is no longer participating in collegiate athletics, it will not continue as a member of the CIAA. In accordance with that fact, the Board acknowledges that the CIAA’s Two-Year Transfer Rule will no longer prove relevant for Saint Paul’s College student-athletes who wish to transfer to any CIAA school.”
The Two-Year Transfer Rule is instituted when a student-athlete transfers between two conference member institutions. The discontinuance of the college’s membership cancels the effect of this rule.
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