BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- It could be somewhat of an enigmatic 2016 football season for Southern University.
The Jaguars have plenty offensive experience returning including running back Lenard Tillery, the preseason Southwestern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
There is also a new synthetic turf that will grace the Jaguars’ playing field at 28,500-seat A.W. Mumford Stadium for the start of 2016. The turf, paid for by the SU System Foundation, Baton Rouge Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Louisiana Superdome Management and UBU Sports, will be unveiled at the home opener Sept. 17 against Alabama State.
Those factors should be enough to encourage the Jaguar Nation, as Southern enters this year picked third in the West Division behind projected leader Prairie View A&M and second place Grambling.
That’s the same place the Jags finished last season, despite having one of the nation’s best offenses.
However, for the second straight season, Southern begins a regular season with a problem, as league sanctions due to academic issues prevented the Jaguars from having spring football.
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Sunday, July 24, 2016
Ellenwood ready to tackle FAMU athletics issues after joining leadership team
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| Joyce Ellenwood, Associate Athletic Director for Academics and Compliance Services (COURTESY PHOTO: FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS) |
Ellenwood, who last month was named associate athletic director for compliance and academic services, has a list of things she wants to tackle while on the job.
First, she wants Florida A&M’s entire community to know compliance isn’t 100-percent an athletics issue.
“Ensuring our documents are in place, ensuring we’re following rules and regulations, ensuring we’re educating the university community,” she said.
“Compliance with NCAA rules is a FAMU community effort. It’s a campus-wide effort. It’s not just an athletic focus. Of course, we have our student-athletes, we have our coaches, we have our athletics staff that is responsible for knowing and abiding by NCAA rules, but we also want to make sure the campus community is also educated.”
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UMES Hawks Add JUCO Point Guard Michael Chambers To Recruiting Class
PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball program rounded out the roster with a final piece by signing junior college guard Michael Chambers.
Chambers, a 6-foot-3, 186-pound guard spent last season at Cape Fear Junior College in Wilmington, N.C., where he averaged and helped the squad to a 24-8 overall record.
“Mike is a prolific scorer,” Hawks head coach Bobby Collins said. “He has proven that he can score at the collegiate level. He also has a very high basketball IQ and is always thinking a play ahead.”
The Sea Devils advanced to the Region 10 Tournament Championship game falling 75-72 to Spartanburg Methodist. Chambers had 33 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in that contest.
Before playing last season with Cape Fear, Chambers spent the 2013-14 season as a freshman at Division II Lees-McRae where he averaged 18 points His season highlights included 21 and 29 points against Division I High Point and Appalachian State respectively.
The team has awarded its full compliment of scholarships for the 2016-17 athletic year.
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UMES Hawks' Dominique Elliott will play pro hoops in Slovenia
PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- Dominique Elliott said that the only thing he knew about Slovenia was that Donald Trump’s wife is from there.
Melania Trump was born in Novo Mesto, then a city in Yugoslavia, in 1970.
Novo Mesto is where Elliott will begin what he hopes to be a long career in professional basketball. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore graduate signed a one-year deal with the ABA Liga’s KK Krka on Thursday, July 21.
“I’ve heard Novo Mesto is very nice,” Elliott said. “I’ve looked it up and talked to some people. The people are nice, the crime is not bad and they love their team. I’m ready to get out there and get to work. It’s a job now.”
Elliott, 24, will leave the states soon. He recently had to get his passport expedited so he can be in Slovenia for training camp on Aug. 8.
The process for Elliott finding a professional basketball home started months ago in Norfolk, Virginia.
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Saturday, July 23, 2016
UAPB seeks to reverse slide
PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- Arkansas-Pine Bluff is counting on a host of newcomers to contribute as it seeks to escape the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Western Division basement.
With only 12 returning starters (6 offense, 4 defense, 2 specialists), the Golden Lions are the league's least experienced team.
Entering his 10th season, coach Monte Coleman is the SWAC's longest-tenured head coach. Coleman is working to right the ship as UAPB has struggled to a 7-27 mark since winning the conference championship in 2012.
First-year offensive coordinator Ted White has implemented the spread in an effort to boost a stagnant offense which ranked ninth in the SWAC in scoring (19.5 points per game), eighth in rushing (130.4 ypg), seventh in passing (186.6 ypg), eighth in total offense (317 ypg) and dead last among 10 teams in third down conversions (26.5 percent).
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With only 12 returning starters (6 offense, 4 defense, 2 specialists), the Golden Lions are the league's least experienced team.
Entering his 10th season, coach Monte Coleman is the SWAC's longest-tenured head coach. Coleman is working to right the ship as UAPB has struggled to a 7-27 mark since winning the conference championship in 2012.
First-year offensive coordinator Ted White has implemented the spread in an effort to boost a stagnant offense which ranked ninth in the SWAC in scoring (19.5 points per game), eighth in rushing (130.4 ypg), seventh in passing (186.6 ypg), eighth in total offense (317 ypg) and dead last among 10 teams in third down conversions (26.5 percent).
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Haywood sets out to revive Texas Southern
HOUSTON, Texas -- Texas Southern is hoping Michael Haywood can duplicate the turnaround that he orchestrated at his previous head coaching stop.
In his only other head coaching stint at Miami (Ohio), Haywood followed up a 1-11 2009 campaign with a 9-4 record and the Mid-American Conference championship in 2010.
Introduced as Texas Southern's new coach in December, the Houston native and former Notre Dame cornerback takes over a program coming off of academic sanctions.
Six starters return from an offense which rated fifth in the SWAC in scoring (25.6 points per game), seventh in rushing (137.6 yards per game), eighth in passing (179 ypg) and ninth in total offense (316.6 ypg).
Quarterback Averion Hurts is coming off of a solid freshman season after completing 74-of-139 passes for 991 yards and 14 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Hurts, who shared the position with senior Johnathan Bowen, was also the team's third-leading rusher with 81 carries for 195 yards and three scores in nine games.
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In his only other head coaching stint at Miami (Ohio), Haywood followed up a 1-11 2009 campaign with a 9-4 record and the Mid-American Conference championship in 2010.
Introduced as Texas Southern's new coach in December, the Houston native and former Notre Dame cornerback takes over a program coming off of academic sanctions.
Six starters return from an offense which rated fifth in the SWAC in scoring (25.6 points per game), seventh in rushing (137.6 yards per game), eighth in passing (179 ypg) and ninth in total offense (316.6 ypg).
Quarterback Averion Hurts is coming off of a solid freshman season after completing 74-of-139 passes for 991 yards and 14 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Hurts, who shared the position with senior Johnathan Bowen, was also the team's third-leading rusher with 81 carries for 195 yards and three scores in nine games.
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