FAMU wrapping summer conditioning, focused on season

 

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida A&M’s football team is nearing the end of its summer conditioning schedule, and first-year head coach Alex Wood is pleased — for now — with the progress his team has made since spring football.

Wood said the group will go through the final rounds of conditioning next week and will open fall camp Aug. 3. The Rattlers open the season with three games on the road, starting with a 7 p.m. Sept. 5 game against South Florida in Tampa.

The focus through most of the summer has been on academics, Wood said, but the team is working to put together a strong on-the-field product.

“This is just the normal process of building our program and establishing who we are,” Wood said.

“That’s an everyday event. We’ve had a good turnout and good participation over the summer. There’s good enthusiasm with our players. I don’t know exactly where they are, but we sent out progress reports today and it looks like we’re competing well in the classroom, too.

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Q&A with former NSU basketball star Pendarvis Williams

NORFOLK,Virginia -- Former Norfolk State basketball star Pendarvis Williams got his first extensive look at the rest of the world over the winter as 1 of 2 permitted foreign players for Fortitudo Agrigento in Italy's second-division professional league.

The 2013 MEAC Player of the Year, Williams averaged 14.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while living in Sicily, and he plans to go back for more. This week, the guard signed with Virtus Bologna, which plays in Italy's top pro division.

During a recent weekend visit to Norfolk the 6-foot-6, 23-year-old Philadelphia native discussed everything from the crowds in Italy to his thoughts on former NSU teammate RaShid Gaston's decision to transfer to why he plans to stay away from pasta while he's home.

How much fun was it to play over in Italy?

Oh man, it was great. Coming out of college, seeing new things and different cultures and getting paid to do what I love is truly a blessing. So I really enjoyed it.



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MEAC Football Press Luncheon Kicks Off July 31

COURTESY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

NORFOLK, Virginia -- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) will host the annual Football Press Luncheon, Friday, July 31 at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel (235 E. Main Street, Norfolk, VA 23510/ (757) 627-4200). MEAC head football coaches and two student-athletes from each team will be on hand to offer an inside view on the upcoming 2015 football season.

A limited number of tickets are available to the public for the press luncheon and can be purchased by calling Jane Vega at (757) 951-2055 or jvega@themeac.com. Tickets are $30 per seat or $300 per table (10 persons) and must be purchased by 5:30 p.m. on Friday, July 24.

Media members may obtain a credential for the luncheon and/or one-on-one interviews by completing an application found on www.MEACSports.com. One-on-one interviews will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m.

The 2015 MEAC football season kicks off on Saturday, September 5 featuring nine MEAC institutions in non-conference action.

South Carolina State will compete against Arkansas at Pine Bluff in the 11th annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge also on Labor Day Weekend, Sunday, September 6. Details and ticket information can be found on www.meacswacchallenge.com.



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SWAC takes its turn in front of the media

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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A whirlwind of activity whetted the appetite of college football fans for ;the last four days as the media faced off against the newsmakers of the Southeastern Conference in Hoover, Alabama.

Now the media moves up the road to the Marriott in Birmingham, where there will be no no shortage of storylines at the 2015 Southwestern Athletic Conference, kicking off its media day at 10 a.m. Friday.

“The exposure part is great (for us),” Jackson State coach Harold Jackson said earlier this week of Friday’s event. “JSU has always been one of the top teams in the SWAC, and we’re feeling like we left a lot of football on the field last season.”

The Tigers’ 5-7 finish in 2014 was their first losing season since 2009. There’s a bevy of experience coming back on defense and skill on offense, so a turnaround season should be manageable for Jackson, who will be in his second year heading the program.

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Grambling, Fobbs head into SWAC Media Day focused on trophy, ring

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Broderick Fobbs has too many things to worry about as Grambling’s football coach to spend time analyzing who is chasing who in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

So whether Grambling is voted as the preseason favorite in the SWAC West Division or in last place, as it was in 2014 before finishing with a 7-5 record, is irrelevant because Fobbs won’t have much of an opinion.

“That’s always been my focus. I think to put a focus on a particular team or teams takes the focus off where you’re trying to go,” Fobbs said earlier this week.



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Robinson becomes 3rd Texan to join Gold Nuggets for 2015-16

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball announced Thursday the signing of a third Texas student-athlete — 6-foot forward Kiera Robinson of Arlington, a Dallas suburb — for the 2015-16 season.

Robinson graduated this year from Mansfield Summit High School. She played on the varsity her final two seasons. As a senior she averaged 4.9 points and 5.4 rebounds and had 40 steals and 15 blocked shots for a 21-12 team. As a junior, she helped the Lady Jaguars win a district championship and reach the finals of the area playoffs.

Robinson is enrolled in Xavier's second summer session and has impressed Nuggets coach Bo Browder during free play.

"Kiera can do a lot of things well," said Browder, who will enter his 17th season as head coach, "and she loves to play defense, which is always a plus for me."

Robinson played four seasons of AAU basketball with the Arlington Hurricanes Elite, and her association there with coach Michael Fairley — the husband of former Gold Nugget LaTasha Coleman — helped earn her a recommendation at Xavier.

The other Texans on the 2015-16 XU roster will be recent signees Amani Davis, a junior from Cypress, and Joi Simmons, a freshman from Houston. During the previous 22 seasons, the Gold Nuggets had a combined four Texans on their rosters, none last season.

Xavier was 18-15 in 2014-15 and finished second in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament. The Gold Nuggets qualified for the NAIA Division I National Championship 18 of the past 21 seasons.

2015-16 Xavier women's basketball signees
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.*	Hometown	High School (College)
Mikayla Bates	G	5-7	Fr.	Baton Rouge, La.	University
Amani Davis	F/C	5-11	Jr.	Cypress, Texas	Cypress Springs (McLennan CC)
Kiera Robinson	F	6-0	Fr.	Arlington, Texas	Mansfield Summit
Joi Simmons	G/F	5-8	Fr.	Houston, Texas	North Forest
* athletic classification at Xavier in 2015-16 Ed Cassiere, Sports Information DirectorXULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  https://twitter.com/xulagold https://www.facebook.com/

SWAC Media Day 2015: Five questions, five answers

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- 1. Can anyone unseat Alcorn State to become SWAC champion?

Yes. The Braves were dominant in winning their first conference title in 20 years last season, beating Southern 38-24 in the championship game.

They dominated the Eastern Division, wrapping up the title in early November, and quarterback John Gibbs Jr., the Offensive MVP of the title game, returns for his senior season.

But the departure of offensive coordinator Willie Simmons to become head coach at Prairie View leaves a big void. No SWAC champion has repeated since 2002, and Alcorn will be hard-pressed to buck that trend.

2. Can Southern make it three in a row in the Western Division?

Yes, but ...

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