Saturday, June 23, 2012

Former Shaw OL Coughman signed by Seattle Seahawks


Edawn Coughman
(Photo Courtesy Facebook)
SEATTLE, Washington - - Former Shaw offensive lineman Edawn Coughman was signed to the Seattle Seahawks 90-man roster Monday.

Coughman (6-4, 305) was a 2009 First Team All-CIAA selection and made the roster after a tryout during the Seahawks' mini-camp last season.

Last season, Coughman moved into a starting slot on the offensive line for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

"We're proud of him," said Shaw head coach Robert Massey. "He did it right. He came here, worked hard, got his degree and is now reaping the benefits. We can now say that Shaw has someone on an NFL roster."

Coughman, however, comes to the Seahawks with some baggage. He was cut by the Argos after being arrested on a gun possession charge in Montreal in May. According to the Toronto Star, police in Montreal say a cleaning lady at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel reported seeing a gun on a table in Coughman's room. Later, a SWAT team entered the room and found a loaded gun under the mattress.

CTV Montreal reported that Coughman, 23, told a bail hearing he had bought the gun legally in Georgia and was unaware the law was different in Canada.

Prior to Shaw University, Coughman attended Dodge City Community College in Dodge City, Kansas.

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Thursday, June 21, 2012

No. 50 finish in all-sports standings is Xavier's best ever


NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana finished 50th, a school record, in the final NAIA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings of 2011-12.

It's the third time in four years that Xavier placed among the top 100. The previous best XU all-sports ranking was 83rd in 2009-10.

The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup was developed by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today newspaper. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 12 sports — six women's and six men's. This is the 17th year of the NAIA all-sports standings.

Xavier scored 251 points after a tie for fifth place nationally in men's tennis, a tie for ninth in women's basketball, ties for 17th in men's basketball and women's tennis, a tie for 25th in women's volleyball, 30th in women's cross country, 31st in men's cross country and a tie for 46th in women's outdoor track and field.

Xavier was one of three HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) to record a top-50 finish this season. Lincoln (Mo.) placed 42nd and Saint Augustine's 48th in NCAA Division II.

"I can't say enough good things about the efforts of our coaches and our student-athletes this year," XU athletics director Dennis Cousin said. "Our success is the direct result of their hard work and the continued support of our administration. Our teams won five conference championships and two group championships. There should be no doubt that this was the greatest year ever for Xavier athletics."

The top three NAIA schools were Azusa Pacific with 918 points, Shorter with 856 and Embry-Riddle (Fla.) with 771½.

Xavier in NAIA all-sports standings
2011-12 50th
2010-11 102nd
2009-10 83rd
2008-09 tie-92nd
2007-08 141st
2006-07 156th
2005-06 no teams (Hurricane Katrina)
2004-05 not in top 100
2003-04 86th
2002-03 tie-163rd
2001-02 tie-238th
2000-01 tie-199th
1999-2000 not in top 234
1998-99 tie-210th
1997-98 tie-194th
1996-97 164th
1995-96 146th

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Xavier has 5 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars in 2011-12

Angelica Alexander
Angelica Alexander
Jolie Bellow
Jolie Bellow
Patrice Hightower
Patrice Hightower


Jamaan Kenner
Jamaan Kenner
Javon Mead
Javon Mead

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana, led by three-time recipient Jamaan Kenner, has five student-athletes recognized as Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars for 2011-12.

Kenner (men's basketball) and Javon Mead (track and field/cross country) are first-team representatives from Xavier. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, a magazine based in Fairfax, Va., sponsors the awards.

Also recognized from Xavier were Patrice Hightower in women's volleyball and Angelica Alexander and Jolie Bellow in women's basketball. Hightower was honored for the second consecutive year.

Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars are student-athletes of color who maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.2 and are active on their campuses or in their communities.

Kenner, a May XU graduate from LaPlace, La., and an alumnus of East St. John High School, is the fourth from Xavier to earn the Ashe honor three times. Alexandra Broussard (women's tennis), Kelechi Okoroha (men's basketball} and Terry Richardson (men's tennis) were the others.

Hightower, a May XU graduate from New Orleans and a McGehee School alum, was an All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference setter. Mead, a sophomore from Baton Rouge, La., and a graduate of Baton Rouge Magnet High School, was named third-team Capital One Academic All-America® on Monday. He's a two-time All-GCAC distance runner.

Alexander is a sophomore from Shreveport, La., and a graduate of Byrd High School. Bellow is a sophomore from Natchitoches, La., and a graduate of Natchitoches Central High School. They helped the Gold Nuggets win GCAC Tournament championships and reach the second round of the NAIA Division I National Championship each of the past two seasons.

Mead is an accounting major; the other four are biology/pre-medical majors. Kenner — a two-time Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete and a Pattison Champions of Character Scholarship recipient his senior year — will attend LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans this fall.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

MEAC creates model for improvement


NORFOLK, Virginia -- In the last four years, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schools have steadily increased their Academic Progress Rates, a notable feat for a conference composed largely of limited-resource schools. Though some trouble spots undeniably exist, the improvement is real.

The conference attributes its progress to the leadership of its presidents and chancellors in creating new strategies to work toward academic success. The bedrock of those strategies, Commissioner Dennis Thomas said, is a change in recruiting philosophy, accompanied by a new approach to academic support for student-athletes.

“As a conference, we have really stressed the importance of recruiting student-athletes who have the characteristics for success, talented student-athletes who can do college work,” Thomas said. “I want to really commend the presidents and chancellors for setting the table with higher expectations and holding people accountable for results.”

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A&T Men Fill Immediate Needs With Recruiting Class

GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- There are three pressing needs North Carolina A&T men's basketball coach Cy Alexander pinpoints when discussing the 2012-13 season. The five-player 2012 A&T recruiting class will serve as the first few steps in helping Alexander address those needs.

Forwards Corvon Butler (6-6, 225, Champaign, Ill., Champaign Central HS) and Bruce Beckford (6-6, 215, Silver Spring, Md., Montrose Christian Academy) and guards Shaun Stewart (6-0, 180, Monroe, N.C., Sun Valley HS), Lamont Middleton (6-3, 210, Bronx, N.Y., Wake Tech CC) and Khalid King (6-2, 170, Columbus, Ohio, Brookhaven HS) will suit up for the Aggies this season.

Butler and Beckford will look to provide the physical toughness and size Alexander seeks. Stewart, Middleton and King must provide solid guard play by filling the void left by the graduation of guards Marc Hill and Nic Simpson, who ranked among the Aggies top scorers for the past two seasons.

Alexander gave credit to former Aggies head coach Jerry Eaves and his coaching staff for signing a trio of solid guards. With the addition of Alexander's two recent signees, the Aggies bolstered their roster despite the coaching transition.

"Overall, for as late as we got started, I felt we got two players with outstanding college bodies in Butler and Beckford," said Alexander. "They will look like Division I basketball players when they walk in the door."

Butler made the 2012 News Gazette All-Area Boys team. As the leading scorer for Champaign Central, he led the Maroons to their first Class 3A Rantoul Regional title in four years by averaging 14.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. In the process, he also recorded seven double-doubles. One of those double-double performances was a 14-point, 15-rebound outing against eventual Missouri Class 5A champion McCluer North. Butler finished 30 points in the News Gazette All-Star Game. Other schools showing interest included Oklahoma State, Butler and St. Louis.

"He is a very powerful player who really attacks the rim," said Alexander. "He is someone who is starting to develop his perimeter skills, so he can attack from the wing. We're looking to use him in mismatch situations. He is quicker than most power forwards and a little stronger than most small forwards."

Beckford can also play both forward positions. Alexander calls him a late bloomer who played for a legendary coach at one of the most prestigious high schools in America. Beckford, a product of Stu Vetter's Montrose Christian Academy nationally-ranked program, had a strong finish to his senior season. Beckford's signing was considered vital by Alexander because he and his staff have established a relationship with a high school program that produces topnotch talent each season.

"He didn't play a lot early in the season. But from what I understand, over the last 10 games of the season, a light came on. I like the fact that he is a highly intelligent young man. He comes to us with a college body, so he gives us another physical presence down low. He can also step out and hit the perimeter shot."

Stewart can hit a variety of shots. He comes to A&T with the reputation of being a scorer. He is Sun Valley High School's all-time leading scorer with more than 1,700 career points. As a senior, he averaged 26.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game for a Spartans team that won the Southern Carolina 3A/4A regular-season and tournament championships. Stewart also earned District 9 first-team recognition from the North Carolina Coaches Association.

"On film, it looks like he can come in a play for us as a freshman," said Alexander, who added that he will mostly play Stewart at the point guard position. "He has unbelievable stats for a kid six-foot, 180 pounds. Yes, he did against high school competition, but obviously this young man knows how to score the basketball."

Middleton is from The Bronx, but he graduated from Enloe High School in Raleigh (he did not play basketball there). He will enter A&T as a junior after spending two seasons at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh. Last season, Middleton averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He also shot 45 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3-point range. He posted 44 points against Catawba Valley Community College and finished with 36 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Patrick Henry Community College. During his Wake Tech career, he scored 30 or more points three times, 20 or more points 10 times and he grabbed 10 or more boards five times. For his efforts, he earned first-team National Junior College Athletic Association honors.

"He will compete for a starting job, but I'm not quite sure yet at what guard position," said Alexander. "What I like about him is that he will rebound as a guard. He will get in there and mix it up. He is a tough-minded player who can get his shot off the dribble."

Khalid King was an early signing for A&T. He played varsity all four years at Brookhaven High School under head coach an Aggie alumnus Drew Williams. He was the leading scorer on his Club Ohio AAU team and made the Top-20 All-Star Game at the Buckeye Prep Shootout. MVP honors came his way at the 10th annual Capital Transportation All-Star Game. Prep Spotlight Magazine ranked him among the top 100 players in the state of Ohio.

"From what I am told, he is very athletic and has a good attitude. He is very coachable," said Alexander. "He is an off-guard who could play (point guard) if we needed him there, but we're going to give him a chance to play the big guard position."

The Aggies five signees will be complemented by seven returning seniors on the 2012-13 squad.

COURTESY N.C.A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

HU ineligible for 2012 FCS football playoffs

HAMPTON, Virginia -- The opening of football practice is more than a month away, but it's already certain that Hampton University's postseason drought will extend to six seasons. The Pirates learned Wednesday that they are ineligible for the playoffs for failing to meet NCAA Academic Progress Rate requirements.

Hampton is one of only three Division I schools whose student-athletes are ineligible for the 2012 Football Championship Subdivision postseason, and two are from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. MEAC school North Carolina A&T also fell below the required four-year APR average of 900 for postseason eligibility, as did Texas Southern of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

A primary reason for the drop-off is the 2010-11 football team's APR of ...

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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

XU's Pieri, Mead selected CoSIDA Academic All-America

Javon Mead
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Matt Pieri and Javon Mead have been chosen to the Capital One Academic All-America® college division men's track and field/cross country team. Pieri was a second-team selection, and Mead made the third team.

Pieri and Mead are the second and third from Xavier to be chosen to an Academic All-America squad. Distance runner Joe Drexler-Dreis made the second team in men's track and field/cross country in 2009.

The College Sports Information Directors of America has sponsored the Academic All-America program since 1952. CoSIDA announced the team Monday.

"Matt and Javon are outstanding representatives of Xavier, the athletics department and our cross country program," XU coach Joseph Moses said. "They take care of their business in the classroom, in workouts and in competition. They're always focused on improvement and doing the right thing."

Matt Pieri
Pieri, a junior from New Orleans and a graduate of Brother Martin High School, is a pharmacy major at Xavier with a 3.79 grade-point average. Pieri is a three-time All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference runner and was the league's 2010 individual champion. He was a 2011 Daktronics Scholar-Athlete and was inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society. Pieri has won a GCAC career-record 10 Runner of the Week awards, four this past season. He has 13 top-10 finishes and nine top-5s in three seasons.

At the Gulf Coast Stampede in Pensacola, Fla., on Oct. 1, Pieri ran 8,000 meters (4.97 miles) in 26 minutes, 51.1 seconds. That was Xavier's best time at that distance since Farris Gransberry set the school record of 25:54 in 1998.

Mead, a sophomore from Baton Rouge, La., and a graduate of Baton Rouge Magnet High School, is an accounting major with a 3.66 GPA. Mead is a two-time All-GCAC cross country runner who finished third in the conference meet in 2010 and fifth in 2011. He has four top-10 finishes and two top-5s in two years.

Academic All-Americans are starters or important reserves with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale. They also must have completed at least one full calendar year at their current institution and reached sophomore athletic eligibility. Pieri and Mead were announced May 31 as Academic All-District 4, which automatically advanced them for national consideration.

Xavier is a six-time defending GCAC team champion in men's and women's cross country. Both squads qualified for the NAIA National Championships three of the past four seasons, including 2011. The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will begin the 2012 season Aug. 31 in the Mississippi College Opener at Clinton, Mississippi.

2011-12 Capital One Academic All-America
Men's Track and Field/Cross Country

College Division First Team
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA and Major
Brayden Barrientez Oklahoma Christian Jr. Haysville, Kan. 3.96 Religious Edu./Children's Ministry
Hildon Boen Wayland Baptist Jr. Eldoret, Kenya 3.40 Business Adm., Accounting
Isaac Bryan Taylor Gr. Perkasie, Pa. 3.82 Higher Edu.&Student Devmt.
Andy Coy Dakota State Jr. Hill City, S.D. 3.96 Biology
Luke Fischer Northwest (Wash.) Sr. Kalispell, Mont. 3.75 Business
Jacob GunderKline Goshen Jr. Yellow Springs, Ohio 3.71 Interdisciplinary Studies
Bryson Harper Bryan Sr. Pikeville, Tenn. 3.90 Exercise and Health Science
John Harris Morningside Jr. Holstein, Iowa 4.00 Engineering Physics, Mathematics
Bo Johnson Concordia (Ore.) Jr. Toledo, Ore. 3.79 Exercise & Sport Sciences
Monte Larsen Morningside Sr. Neola, Iowa 3.98 Elementary Education
Tracy Marshall Oklahoma Christian Jr. Hutchinson, Kan. 3.96 Electrical Engineering
Micah Marvin Doane Sr. Crete, Neb. 3.96 Mathematics and Physics
David McWilliams Oklahoma Christian Jr. Naperville, Ill. 4.00 Youth Ministry
Tim Wyland Concordia (Ore.) Sr. Umatilla, Ore. 3.47 Exercise & Sport Sciences
Eric Whalen Concordia (Ore.) Sr. Tualatin, Ore. 3.37 Exercise & Sport Sciences


College Division Second Team
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA and Major
Brian Aukshunas Biola Sr. Orange, Calif. 4.00 Business Administration
Cordell Baker Oklahoma Baptist Jr. Sapulpa, Okla. 3.89 Biology
Brad Higgins Doane Jr. Norfolk, Neb. 3.61 Mathematics, Physics
Matt Huseman Northwestern (Iowa) Jr. Sac City, Iowa 3.34 Elem. Education
Matthew Hussey Roberts Wesleyan Gr. Marion, N.Y. 3.93 Teacher Education
Zachary Kraus Embry-Riddle (Fla.) So. New Milford, Conn. 3.85 Aerospace Engineering
Vincent Krejci Doane Jr. Crete, Neb. 3.74 Biochemistry
Randy Magnuson Taylor Sr. Aurora, Ill. 3.79 English Education
Lucas Manring Central Methodist Sr. Stockton, Mo. 3.56 Accounting
Greg Montgomery College of Idaho Jr. Boise, Idaho 3.48 Biology
Matt Pieri Xavier Jr. New Orleans, La. 3.79 Pharmacy
Austin Simikns Oklahoma Christian So. Fayetteville, Ark. 3.87 Accounting
Randy Sterk Grace Sr. McBain, Mich. 3.68 Biology
Nate Teten Doane Sr. Auburn, Neb. 3.59 Business Administration
Nate Winters Mount Vernon Nazarene Sr. Hilliard, Ohio 3.58 Chemistry (Pre-Medicine)


College Division Third Team
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA and Major
Gabe Aeschliman Biola Sr. Colfax, Wash. 3.79 Business Administration
Austin Basterrechea College of Idaho So. Gooding, Idaho 3.74 Undecided
Neal Ellis Oklahoma Baptist Jr. Midlothian, Texas 3.93 Applied Communication
Mike Huseman Morningside Jr. Alta, Iowa 3.52 Management Information Systems
Samuel Jones Goshen Jr. Timber Lake, S.D. 3.61 Theater
Anthony Lee Mount Vernon Nazarene Jr. Lisbon, Ohio 3.84 Sports Management
Jason McLeod Bryan Jr. Ocoee, Fla. 3.81 Exercise&Health Science, Business Adm.
Javon Mead Xavier So. Baton Rouge, La. 3.66 Accounting
David Parry McPherson Sr. Morganville, Kan. 3.90 Automotive Restoration
Jon Schoening Clarke Jr. Glenwood, Iowa 3.89 Biochemistry
Ryan Sherman Central Methodist Jr. Fayette, Mo. 3.60 Business
Peter Stacy Biola So. Issaquah, Wash. 3.69 Biology, Chemistry
Anthony Stasiak Park So. Liberty, Mo. 3.46 Chemistry
Alex Stephens Bryan Jr. Cleveland, Tenn. 3.79 Communication
Collin Whitsett Southern Nazarene Sr. Tulsa, Okla. 3.94 Biology
Monte Willett Embry-Riddle (Fla.) Sr. Grapevine, Texas 3.78 Aerospace Engineering

More on this Academic All-America team

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA