FAMU fans turn out to support Coach Earl Holmes

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  Joe Bullard didn’t even bother to think when he was asked to recall the last time that there has been as much excitement about FAMU football as new head coach Earl Holmes is causing.

Right away, he harkened to 1978 when the Rattlers won their first NCAA national championship.
“I’m happy to say that back then we said, ‘The Rattlers are back,’ and they were,” said Bullard, a radio disc jockey who has been the voice of the Marching 100 for more than three decades. “Now it’s the Rattler nation and Earl Holmes. The excitement is back.”

Bullard was among the 200 or so who turned out at The Moon on Wednesday night for a community meet-and-greet with Holmes, who was named head coach almost two weeks ago. Since his hire, Holmes has repeatedly said he will campaign to get the community to rally behind him and a new-look Rattlers team.

Judging from the crowd that turned out Wednesday, folks are already buying in. Athletic Director Derek Horne said his phone has been constantly ringing with fans wanting information about season tickets and the 2013 schedule, which he said should be released in a week.

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Morehouse alum lead official for Super Bowl XLVII

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana - Former All-SIAC quarterback and 1977 Morehouse graduate Jerome Boger was named head referee and will become the second African-American in the history of the Super Bowl to serve as head official.

    

Boger was the highest-graded official by the NFL this season.

    

Boger, also a former SIAC official, worked 11 NFL games during the regular season. His crew averaged 94.1 penalty yards per game, the fourth-fewest of any referee who worked at least 10 games.

    

Boger was a four-year starter at Morehouse and worked high school and recreational league games before moving up to colleges. He spent 11 years as an official in the SIAC and five seasons (1996-2000) in the MEAC. He also officiated in Conference USA, the Arena Football League and NFL Europe.

    
He has been an NFL official since the 2004 season. He started in the league as a line judge and was promoted to referee in 2006 after only two seasons. He became the third African-American referee in the NFL after Johnny Grier and Mike Carey.

COURTESY THESIAC.COM 

Gold Nuggets 14th in NAIA after dropping 2 more places

NEW ORLEANS — Another loss resulted in another drop for the Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball team.

After losing 63-56 at home Jan. 14 to Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and city rival SUNO, the Gold Nuggets fell two places to 14th in the NAIA Division I Coaches' Top 25 Poll announced Tuesday afternoon. Voting was based on games through Sunday.
    
It's the second consecutive week that Xavier dropped after ranking ninth for two consecutive polls. Moving two spots ahead of the Gold Nuggets was Bethel (Tenn.), which lost 75-67 in double overtime at Xavier on Jan. 2.
    
The Gold Nuggets are in the top 25 for the 37th consecutive time dating to Jan. 25, 2010.
    
Since the loss to SUNO, Xavier defeated Philander Smith 65-47 on Saturday and Fisk 63-41 on Monday. The Gold Nuggets are 4-2 and tied for third place in the GCAC, one game behind leaders SUNO and Talladega. SUNO collected its most points of the season, 11, in the new poll and ranks 30th.
    
Xavier will visit GCAC and city rival Dillard at 5 p.m. Saturday and Mobile at 5:30 p.m. Monday. The next poll will be released Jan. 22.

NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Jan. 20)

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Last
1	Lubbock Christian (5)	18-1	275	2
2	Freed-Hardeman (4)	18-1	270	3
3	Vanguard	12-1	264	1
4	Oklahoma City (2)	14-2	261	4
5	Westminster (Utah)	18-2	245	5
6	Lee (Tenn.)	16-1	236	6
7	Cumberland	18-1	225	7
8	The Master's	17-0	220	8
9	Westmont	13-3	205	11
10-tie	MidAmerica Nazarene	18-2	198	10
10-tie	Campbellsville	15-4	198	9
12	Bethel (Tenn.)	15-4	181	tie-13
13	Georgetown (Ky.)	12-6	166	16
14	Xavier	13-4	164	12
15	Rogers State	15-5	151	tie-13
16	Benedictine (Kan.)	18-3	138	17
17	Wiley	17-1	133	18
18	Lyon	16-3	130	15
19	Shawnee State	15-5	120	20
20	William Woods	15-2	115	19
21	Our Lady of the Lake	18-1	103	23
22	Faulkner	17-4	95	24
23	Central Methodist	17-3	74	22
24	Columbia (Mo.)	14-5	72	RV
25	Auburn Montgomery	14-5	63	21
Others receiving votes: LSU-Shreveport 54, St. Catharine 53, Carroll (Mont.) 38, Robert Morris (Chicago) 31, SUNO 11, Lindsey Wilson 3, Southern Poly 3.

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

Ram Ramblings: Sam Hanger in the building at Gaines Center

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --   You never know who might be hanging around the Gaines Center watching basketball.

On Wednesday night I ran into Sam Hanger, a former WSSU basketball coach who lives in Greensboro and is semi-retired from coaching.

Hanger, who is 60-years-old and a grandfather, said he loved being back at the Gaines Center and seeing some familiar faces.

Hanger has been out of coaching since his seven-year stint at Fayetteville State ended after the 2008-09 season when he was fired. He said he doesn’t miss the grind of recruiting, and scouting but admits he misses the strategy on game days.

“I’m getting the itch again to coach,” said Hanger, who was the coach of the Rams for three seasons in the late 1990s. “I’ve done everything I can at home and done all the things my wife has asked me to do so I’m ready.”

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Grambling State Band at President Barack Obama 2013 Inaugural Parade & Peformance on CNN at the National Mall

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 20/21, 2013)-- The Grambling State University "World Famous" Tigers Marching Band represented all HBCU bands at the 2013 Presidential Inauguration Parade in Washington D.C. The band was also featured on CNN globally and had the opportunity to show the world why Grambling State Band is a top music program in the college ranks. Grambling was selected from over 2,000 organizations that applied for participation in the inaugural parade.

Grambling State was the only HBCU Band in this year's prestigious parade.  The Tigers also marched in President Obama's first inauguration parade in 2009.

 Go Grambling!!

WSSU wants to bring Division II football title game to city

BOWMAN-GRAY STADIUM
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
Photo Courtesy NASCAR

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --  Athletics Director Bill Hayes of Winston-Salem State sees no reason why Winston-Salem can’t play host to the NCAA Division II football championship game. Hayes has started conversations with Visit Winston-Salem — the convention and visitors bureau for the city and Forsyth County — about going after the game.

“I think with the community behind it and the facilities at Bowman Gray Stadium, we could do a bang-up job,” Hayes said.

Hayes saw firsthand the outstanding job Florence, Ala., did as the championship-game host in December, when WSSU lost to Valdosta State in its first title-game appearance. It was the 27th year that the University of North Alabama was the host institution, but Hayes said that with North Alabama considering a move to Division I, the game most likely will move.

According to a report in the Florence TimesDaily, next season’s game will be in Florence, but the NCAA will be taking bids this year for 2014 and beyond.

Cameron Schuh, who works for the NCAA in public relations, said in an email that bids will be accepted this summer and that with future title-game sites will be announced in the fall.

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S.C. State gains 5 verbal football commitments

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  --  The first recruiting visit weekend held at South Carolina State University has produced five verbal commitments, four from the state of Georgia.

Tight end Zane Fields (6-2, 235 lbs.) of Lovejoy High School, defensive linemen Dayshawn Taylor (5-11, 240) of Lincoln County High School and Greg Newell (6-2, 220) of the Atlanta Sports Academy and wide receiver Chris Trimmings (5-11, 180) of Brunswick High School were the four Peach State natives who made tentative plans to sign with the Bulldogs.

The lone Palmetto State native out of the three who visited this weekend who gave a verbal commitment was Blythewood High School quarterback Kylen Binn. The 6-5, 210-pound North-South All-Star completed 123-215 passes for 1,386 yards and 13 interceptions and rushed for 248 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Bengals under former head coach and Bulldog alumnus Reggie Kennedy (now at Sumter High School).

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