N.C. A&T coach gets reprimand, will face S.C. State from pressbox

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Rod Broadway sounded like a frustrated head football coach Tuesday morning. Just three weeks ago, he had North Carolina A&T among the leaders in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in his first season at the helm. After three straight competitive road losses, the Aggies (4-5, 3-3) find themselves in danger of finishing under .500 for the eight consecutive year with a loss Saturday at South Carolina State (5-4, 4-2).

"We're getting so close, but we can't close the deal," Broadway said during the MEAC teleconference.

The news only got worse for Broadway later in the day when the conference announced he was being reprimanded for displaying unsportsmanlike conduct during the Aggies' 26-20 loss at Florida A&M. In the statement, MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas said "the conference expects all student-athletes, coaches and athletic staff to demonstrate good sportsmanship before, during and after all athletic events."

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Alabama A&M football: Bulldogs ascend to No. 1 ranking in polls

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Alabama A&M is the No. 1 ranked black college football team in the country for the first time in school history.

The Bulldogs are No. 1 in the Heritage Sports Radio Network and the Boxtorow polls and are second in the Sheridan Broadcasting Network poll following their 28-14 win over Alcorn State. The SBN poll determines the black college national champion. A&M moved up one spot in all three polls.

"When I got this job, my goal was to see Alabama A&M sitting on top of the polls," A&M coach Anthony Jones said. "When we won the (SWAC) championship, we were ranked No. 3. Now, for us to be No. 1 in some polls, that's another accomplishment for this football team and I'm honored to be a part of that."

A&M is also ranked No. 1 in The Heritage Group poll and is No. 3 in the Urban Sports News poll. "Anytime you can say you were No. 1, it helps," Jones said. "We go after quality kids. Those kids want to be associated with winners ... winners on the field and winners in the classroom. Whenever you can put that out there, it's a feather in your cap."




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Gold Nuggets beat Badgers for Browder's 300th victory at XU

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- Senior center Keldra Hall had 18 points and nine rebounds Tuesday to lead NAIA No. 16 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 64-54 women's basketball victory against Spring Hill and give Bo Browder his 300th victory as coach of the Gold Nuggets.

Browder, in his 13th season, is 300-102 and has reached 20 victories 11 times.

"It's all about who's in your program," Browder said. "I've been blessed to have a wonderful assistant coach in Darrilyn Broussard since the start of my third season. And of course you can't win without good players, and we've had many contribute to our success."

 XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
2011-12 GOLD NUGGETS BASKETBALL TEAM
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Jasmine Grant had 13 points, including three 3-pointers, four assists and three steals for Xavier (2-0), and Brandi Young had 10 points and five assists.

Cassandra Mitchell had 16 points and five rebounds for Spring Hill (0-1), and April Bradford had nine points and two blocked shots.

Xavier trailed 16-9 midway through the first half before taking the lead for good at 1:15 on SiMon Franklin's basket. The Gold Nuggets led 35-30 at halftime and led by 14 twice in the final 10 minutes.

Both Hall and Mitchell scored 11 first-half points.

The victory was Xavier's 12th in a row at home. Xavier defeated Spring Hill for the 37th time in the past 41 meetings and leads the series 47-11.

It was the collegiate regular-season debut for Spring Hill head coach Karen McConico, an assistant at High Point the past seven years.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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Xavier University of Louisiana presents AL JARREAU

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Southern University takes on Alabama State Saturday in SWAC

Baton Rouge, La. — Take a look around Southern University, and you'll see all the telltale signs. Grass is changing colors. Leaves have started to vanish. Short-sleeve shirts are the next to go. Football season is almost over, and on The Bluff, it's been mostly long and disappointing.

At 1 p.m. Saturday in Montgomery, Ala., when the Jaguars (3-6, 3-4 Southwestern Athletic Conference) face Alabama State in the Cramton Bowl, they'll be heavy underdogs against a strong, balanced team that's very much in the hunt for a SWAC title.

It's a meeting of two teams who have essentially traded places. A decade ago, Southern was one of the premier teams in black College Football; Alabama State was little more than an also-ran.

In fact, only two years ago, Hornets coach Reggie Barlow felt his seat getting a little warm. His program was dealing with scholarship losses and a ban from the SWAC Championship Game — just as Southern is now. Now, Alabama State is a powerhouse. Southern is an also-ran.

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Norfolk State again one win away from first FCS playoff bid

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA -- Norfolk State is one victory shy of securing its first Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearance. Oh, so close. But not nearly as close as four years ago. The 2007 Spartans faced Delaware State in a winner-take-all game for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's automatic postseason bid. Entering the fourth quarter, they led 21-3.

They lost 28-21 in overtime. "All part of the growing pains you have to go through," seventh-year coach Pete Adrian said Tuesday. "I try to keep that in the back of my mind," linebacker Hasan Craig said. "That really hurt. It was like having your heart taken out."

Craig, a fifth-year senior, is the only member of this year's squad who played in that contest. Suffice to say, he'll share that experience with teammates as Norfolk State prepares for Saturday's game at Morgan State (5-4, 4-2).



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Creighton Basketball Opens Friday vs. North Carolina A&T

Omaha, Nebraska -- Creighton University opens the 2011-12 regular-season with a game on Friday, Nov. 11 vs. North Carolina A&T to open play in the Dale Howard Classic. Tip-off at CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,260) in Omaha, Neb., is set for 7:05 p.m.

About This Event
The Dale Howard Classic is a five-team event that includes Creighton, North Carolina A&T, Iowa, Chicago State and Campbell.

Creighton and Iowa each play three home games and one neutral site contest against each other in Des Moines Iowa. Tickets for the Iowa-Creighton game on Nov. 20 in Des Moines can be purchased at www.dahlstickets.com or by phone at (866) 553-2457. The other three schools have three road games and one home game in the event.

Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“AM 590 - Omaha’s ESPN Radio”) will broadcast all Creighton men’s basketball games during the 2011-12 season, including Friday’s game. T. Scott Marr and former Bluejay Nick Bahe will call the action. The audio is also webcast live at www.AM590espnradio.com.

Video Webcast Available
Creighton University Athletics and Jump TV will present a live, pay-per-view video webcast of approximately 10-15 games this season, including Friday. To sign up for the video webcast, fans can register by going directly to http://www.gocreighton.com. Cost for a monthly pass is $10.95 and a four-month pass is $34.95.
Once registered, fans will only need to log-in with their password on gameday. The video stream includes audio of either the radio or television broadcast as well.

Scouting North Carolina A&T
North Carolina A&T went 15-17 last season and return four starters and nine lettermen from that group. The loss, however, is a big one, as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference performer Thomas Coleman and his 17.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots per game are gone.

Leading the returners is a pair of double-figure scorers in the backcourt, Nic Simpson (13.3 ppg.) and Marc Hill (10.8 ppg., 3.1 apg.). Both men made 50 or more three-pointers last season as well. Other returning starters include forwards Adrian Powell (8.1 ppg., 4.1 rpg.) and Austin Witter (5.7 ppg., 0.8 bpg.). The Aggies are picked seventh of 13 teams in the preseason MEAC poll.

Scouting Creighton
Creighton returns 10 lettermen and three starters from last year’s 23-16 team that reached the championship series of the College Basketball Invitational. CU beat Rockhurst, 81-42, in their only exhibition last Sunday.

After leading the team in scoring (14.9 ppg.) and rebounding (7.2 rpg.) as a freshman, sophomore forward Doug McDermott enters the 2011-12 season with preseason all-MVC and All-America hype.

The other two returning starters, senior guard Antoine Young (13.1 ppg., 5.0 apg.) and junior center Gregory Echenique (10.5 ppg., 5.8 rpg., 1.8 bpg.), are honorable-mention preseason all-Valley selections as well.
Creighton has eight men on the roster who did not see the floor a season ago, highlighted by junior Gonzaga transfer Grant Gibbs and redshirt freshman Will Artino. Among Creighton’s talented freshman class are Austin Chatman, Avery Dingman, Geoff Groselle and Nevin Johnson.

The Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) is entering his second season as head coach at Creighton, after leading the Jays to a 23-16 mark last year. McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000). He owns a career mark of 303-211 in 17 previous seasons and is 172-147 in 10 previous Division I campaigns. McDermott is assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Steve Merfeld.

Jerry Eaves (Louisville, 1986) enters his ninth season at North Carolina A&T, where his 87-160 record also doubles as his career mark. He’s assisted by Phillip Stitt, Scott Bollwage and Walter Booth.

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