5 most difficult schedules in the SWAC in 2016

JACKSON, Mississippi -- SWAC teams face their share of challenging road games every season.

That's no different this year as conference teams will travel to play strong programs such as Arizona, Auburn, Arkansas and Texas A&M.

Those games highlight some pretty tough schedules, which led The Clarion-Ledger to examine the five most difficult schedules in the SWAC for the 2016 season.

5. Prairie View A&M: The Panthers aren't ducking anyone with their non-conference schedule. They'll face Texas A&M and Rice this season. Much like Alabama A&M's schedule, the rest of the road games aren't too tough, but Prairie View A&M's non-conference opponents are enough to place it on this list.

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XU Athletics website earns 2nd place in NAIA contest

ED CASSIERE

DALLAS, Texas — Xavier University of Louisiana's Ed Cassiere received two awards Monday, including a second place, in the 2015-16 NAIA-SIDA Publications and Media Contest.

Cassiere received a runner-up award for the website xulagold.com and seventh place in winter sports publications for XU's men's basketball media guide.

Cassiere was honored during the NAIA-SIDA Convention, a one-day event and part of the 2016 College Sports Information Directors of America Convention.

Cassiere — who in July will begin his 11th year as Xavier's SID and his 24th as a fulltime college sports publicist — has received 24 NAIA awards the past eight years, including five firsts.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold

Tuskegee ranked in a pair of Division II preseason polls

TUSKEGEE, Alabama -- With just 82 days before the college football season opens across the country, preseason polls are beginning to be released by several national publications.

Tuskegee, fresh off a quarterfinal appearance in the 2015 NCAA Division II playoffs, has made an appearance in two publications that have been released in the last month.

The Golden Tigers, 10-3 a season ago, are ranked 13th in The Sporting News preseason poll. They are the second-highest rated team from region, behind West Georgia who is ranked third in the preseason poll. The Golden Tigers are ranked one spot ahead of North Alabama - who they defeated in the second round of the playoffs – and two spots ahead of the first round opponent from a season ago, Catawba.

The Sporting News also released its preseason All-American team with Tuskegee junior safety Jonah McCutcheon earning First Team honors.

Meanwhile, Tuskegee also makes an appearance in Lindy's Sports Preseason Top 25. The Golden Tigers are ranked 10th by Lindy's to open the season, five spots behind fellow region opponent West Georgia (fifth). They are ranked just ahead of North Alabama and Valdosta State in the poll.

Tuskegee opens the season on September 3 against Clark
Atlanta on the road. Tickets will go on sale in July in the Tuskegee University athletic ticket office for the home games.

For more information on Tuskegee University athletics, follow us on Twitter/Snapchat/Instagram (@MyTUAthletics), and like us on Facebook.

COURTESY TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Tuskegee Ratliff named ASWA Small College Athlete of the Year

 Jewell Ratliff 

TUSKEGEE, Alabama -- Jewell Ratliff made a name for himself during the 2015 season, topping each performance with another for the record books throughout the record-breaking season for the Tuskegee University football team.

Six months after playing his final collegiate game in the NCAA Division II playoffs, Ratliff was named the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) Small College Athlete of Year this weekend.

The award joins a long list of awards won by Ratliff this season, as the senior was one of a handful of student-athletes who was named to all of the major Division II All-American teams.

"I just want to thank everyone who voted for me," Ratliff said. "Although this award has my name on it, I know it would have been hard for me to get without my teammates. Those were my brothers out there playing and we always made sure we laid it on the line for Tuskegee."

Ratliff earned accolades on 10 different All-American Teams. He earned honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press Little All-America Team, BOXTOROW, D2football.com, D2CCA, Don Hansen, Football Gazette, HERO Sports, SBN Black College Football All-American and USA College Football.

The New Orleans native was also named the SIAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year this season, recording 148 total tackles. The total was the highest recorded by a Golden Tiger since Jerome Hawkins recorded 168 in 1977.

The total by the Cliff Harris award finalist – award given to the best defensive player in small college football - is the also the fourth highest total by a Golden Tiger since 1973.

For more information on Tuskegee University athletics, follow us on Twitter/Snapchat/Instagram (@MyTUAthletics) and like us on Facebook.

COURTESY TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Morgan State Jailah Mason Finishes 11th At NCAA Championship; Olympic Trials Are Next

EUGENE, Oregon -- The 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships came to an end on Saturday at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon, and Morgan State's Jailah Mason would finish tied for 11th-place in the high jump.

Mason, who was making her second straight NCAA Outdoor appearance and third consecutive NCAA championship run, would end up jumping a height of 5'10" (1.78m) to finish in a four-way tie for 11th-place. She would fail to clear the ensuing height of 5'11.50" (1.82m) to end her championship run.

A native of Sterling, Mich., Mason, who entered the championships ranked seventh in the nation, would earn second-team All-American honors for her efforts. Earlier this season she placed seventh during at the indoor championship and took home first-team All-American accolades.

Despite the collegiate season coming to a close, Mason's sophomore season has yet to end. In less than three weeks, Mason will return to Oregon and Hayward Field to compete in the USA Olympic team trials scheduled for July 1-10.

Mason achieved the Olympic qualifying standard (1.85m) earlie
r this year when she jumped 1.86m (6'1.25") at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Indoor championships to set both a new school and MEAC high jump record.

Results

COURTESY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

FAMU AD Overton ‘proud’ of fundraising efforts in first year at the helm

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- It’s been nearly a year since Milton Overton Jr. was named Florida A&M’s athletic director.

In that time, he’s made several quality-of-life improvements within the department – like hiring an leadership team to oversee various sports – and wholesale changes like shifting (and firing) certain personnel. He also reacquired game-day parking from the Rattler Boosters.

In a 13-page Power Point presentation that was part of documents given to the university’s Board of Trustees, Overton outlined his first year at the helm of the department and provided details on his future goals.

Overton said FAMU’s athletic department is “trending up,” especially from a financial standpoint. The report shows a projected increase in athletic revenue – from $3.5 million in 2015-16 to $5.7 million in 2016-17.

Revenue generated by the department would account for 64 percent of the overall budget.

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Time for Rutgers football home opener vs. Howard announced

PISCATAWAY, New Jersey -- The first Rutgers football home game in the Chris Ash era is slated for high noon.

The Big Ten Network announced its television schedule for the first three weeks of the 2016 college football season, and the Scarlet Knights' Sept. 10 affair against Howard was set for a 12 p.m. (EST) kickoff.

In addition, Big Ten TV administration commissioner Mark Rudner announced on Twitter that Rutgers' Sept. 17 home game against New Mexico is also slated for 12 p.m. and will air on ESPNews.

Rudner said times and TV information for Big Ten games on Sept. 24 won't be determined until Sept. 12 at the earliest, which means the info on Rutgers' clash versus Iowa that day won't be known until two games into the season.

Rutgers' home opener will come one week after Ash makes his head coaching debut in a 2 p.m. clash at Washington. The Bison open the week before the Rutgers trip against another Big Ten foe, remaining in the D.C. area to play at Maryland on Sept. 3.

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