TSU's Aristocrat of Bands part of Dent's Hall of Fame weekend

Ed Graves and the TSU band will perform at the Hall of Fame.

Nashville, TN - Richard Dent did not wait to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame to ask Tennessee State marching band director Ed Graves for a favor. Not long after the former TSU defensive end retired from the NFL in 1997, he informed Graves he wanted the band to be a part of his enshrinement weekend.

“He always said, ‘If I ever get that call I want the band to be there,’” Graves said.

So when Graves saw that Dent was voted into this year’s class, he put a trip to the Aug. 6 ceremony in Canton, Ohio, on the schedule for the 200-member Aristocrat of Bands. TSU’s summer commencement was originally scheduled for next weekend, but the administration delayed it until Aug. 13 so that alumni, students and fans may attend the Hall of Fame festivities.



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Dallas Cowboys signs Grambling State's RB Frank Warren

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- The Cowboys announced on Friday that they had signed running back Frank Warren (5-9, 206) from Grambling State University. Warren was the 2010 SWAC Football Offensive Player of the Year and is Grambling State's all-time leading rusher with 3,910 yards. He ranked third in the NCAA last season with 1,592 rushing yards.



Also, signed to undrafted NFL free agent contracts from HBCU Colleges and Universities were:

Atlanta Falcons: Philip Sylvester, RB, Florida A&M University

Baltimore Ravens: Michael Ricks, DB, Stillman College; Eugene Clifford, S, Tennessee State; Walter Sanders, RB, Saint Augustine's College

Chicago Bears: Jordan Miller, Southern University

Cincinnati Bengals: Steven Robinson, HB, Hampton University

Cleveland Browns: Andre Carroll, DL, Delaware State; Sidney Tarver, LB, Tennessee State; Calton Ford, OL, Norfolk State University

Detroit Lions: Brandon Bufford, DB, Howard; DeJuan Fulghum, LB, Texas Southern; Ricardo Silva, DB, Hampton; Narada Williams, DE, Fort Valley State.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Jalil Jackson, CB, Jackson State University

Kansas City Chiefs: David Mims, OL, Virginia Union University

Indianapolis Colts: Larrone Moore, WR/KR, Delaware State

Miami Dolphins: Quinton Spears, DL, Prairie View A&M

Minnesota Vikings: Chris Adingupu, Safety, Prairie View A&M

New England Patriots: Richard Medlin, RB, Fayetteville State University

New York Giants: Ibrahim Abdulai, DT, Arkansas at Pine Bluff; Darnell Burks, DB, Fort Valley State

Philadelphia Eagles: Brandon Peguese, LB, Hampton University

Pittsburgh Steelers: Joshua Harrison, OT, South Carolina State University

Seattle Seahawks: Ricardo Lockette, WR, Fort Valley State

Saint Louis Rams: Dionte Dinkins, CB, Fort Valley State; Arthur Thomas, DT, Arkansas at Pine Bluff; and Teryl White, DT, North Carolina Central University

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Raymond Webber, WR, Arkansas at Pine Bluff;

Tennessee Titans: Joseph Hills, WR, Tennessee State; Anquez Jackson, G, Alabama A&M University

Washington Redskins: Dante Barnes, CB, Norfolk State;

Updated: August 3, 2011, (beepbeep)

ASU promotes Joyner to O-C, hires veteran coach Livingston to oversee offensive line

ALBANY, GA — It’s official — Uyl Joyner will be the offensive coordinator for the Albany State football team. Head coach Mike White, speaking at Friday’s 12th annual Quarterback Club Kickoff Football Reception, confirmed the rumors that have been floating around for weeks when he announced Joyner as such.

2010 SIAC MVP QB Stanley Jennings

“He is a good, intelligent football coach,” White said of Joyner. “This will be 28 seasons for me coaching, and the guys who I can call out who I have met who are football smart like that, I can count them on one hand and cut a few fingers off. He is one of those guys who can see and recognize what is happening on the field very quickly.”

The Herald first reported Wednesday that Joyner had been named the Rams’ new O-C after seeing Joyner’s name listed as such in ASU’s information packet at the SIAC Kick-Off luncheon in Atlanta. But White said the listing was made in error and that no final decision had been made, although he added Joyner was “the leading candidate.”

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HU coach Rose more comfortable heading into third season

NORFOLK, VA —— Donovan Rose feels more comfortable going into his third season as head coach at Hampton University. He knows, though, that there's an even greater impetus to get things done.

That point was driven home at the Pirates' end-of-the-year athletic banquet as Rose talked with women's basketball coach David Six and men's basketball coach Ed "Buck" Joyner. Six, who has won back-to-back Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament titles in his two seasons as the Lady Pirates' coach, and Joyner, whose Pirates won the MEAC tournament championship this past season in his second year at the helm, were each rewarded with three-year contract extensions in April.



"All three of us came in at the same time," said Rose, a 17-year HU assistant before taking the head job in 2009. "Six won (the conference championship) his first year. Buck won it his second. It's on me now."

Rose's Pirates, who went 6-5 in 2010 after a 5-6 finish in 2009, were picked to finish fourth in the MEAC in 2011 in voting Friday by league coaches and sports information directors.

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Fayetteville State University Champions Gridiron Gala Fundraiser

Fayetteville, N.C. - Robert E. Wilson, a 1976 graduate of Fayetteville State University and the North Carolina Assistant Secretary of State, will headline the Inaugural FSU Champions Gridiron Gala on Sept. 2.

Wilson has been in positions of increasing responsibility with the Secretary of State’s Office for the State of North Carolina since March of 1993. He has also held supervisory positions with the N.C. Department of Corrections and with the Community College system.

“It’s very exciting for me,” Wilson said. “It’s an opportunity to come back home and give back to the University after they’ve given me so much.”

Wilson was the first member of his family to attend college when he left his home town of Wilson, N.C., to enter Fayetteville State University in 1972. He graduated in 1976 with a BA in History. He has also continued his studies at North Carolina State University and Wilson County Technical Institute.

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MEAC voters show Bethune-Cookman Wildcats respect

Norfolk, VA - Bethune-Cookman got more first-place votes than any other team in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference preseason poll of head football coaches and sports information directors.

B-CU received eight first-place votes -- two more than the next highest total -- in the poll that was released Friday as part of the conference's football media day in Norfolk, Va. However, the Wildcats totaled 454 points, second to South Carolina State's 468. The Bulldogs received six first-place votes.

Florida A&M, which shared the 2010 MEAC championship with B-CU, was projected to finish third. The Rattlers had five first-place votes and 420 points.

 While a preseason No. 2 MEAC ranking might be music to the ears of Wildcats fans, it goes in one ear and out the other for B-CU head coach Brian Jenkins.

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In the FCS Huddle: Fab Five spice up the MEAC

Norfolk, VA — People across the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference must be so impressed with the job that new Savannah State football coach Steve Davenport is doing that his squad received a first-place vote in their preseason poll.

Actually, it calls into question whether all the head coaches and sports information directors are taking their vote seriously. The one vote didn't prevent Savannah State from finishing 11th and last in the poll, which seemed warranted considering the Tigers were 1-10 last season for their 13th straight losing record.

 MEAC Media Day 2011

But there's no denying Davenport is injecting life into his program. It usually happens with a first-year coach, as everybody tries to impress the new boss.

In the MEAC, multiply that scenario by five. This season, Savannah State and North Carolina Central have joined the conference, one of two in the FCS for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, so nearly half of the 11 programs have new and highly respected head coaches.

Davenport, 43, has arrived at Savannah State from ...

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