CIAA could explore options for basketball tournaments

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — The CIAA basketball tournament is on firm footing in Charlotte, but the conference will be making crucial decisions with the popular tournament over the next several months.

The women’s and men’s tournaments, which will be held again at Bojangles Coliseum and the Spectrum Center in late February, are entering the fourth year of a six-year contract.

Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams of the CIAA said this spring the board of directors of the CIAA, which consists of the 12 presidents and chancellors, will begin talks about the direction of the tournament. The first decision is whether to open the bidding process to other cities or to extend its current contract with the city of Charlotte.

“Before we get to the 2019 tournament, we need to know what we are doing after this contract expires,” McWilliams said last week during the conference’s basketball media day.

The CIAA and Charlotte have an agreement in place until 2020. There are three tournaments left on the current contract, but McWilliams said it’s time to start looking and planning for the future.

“We’ve had various opinions whether we should stay in North Carolina or look to Virginia again,” McWilliams said. “I think the board has to think about the future of this conference as it relates to the tournament.”

CONTINUE READING

NCCU Football Enters STATS FCS Top 25 Poll

DURHAM, North Carolina – North Carolina Central University has entered the STATS FCS Top 25 poll at No. 25 following the Eagles' 13-7 road win over Howard University to improve their record to 4-1.

After a season-opening setback to FBS opponent Duke University of the Atlantic Coast Conference, NCCU has rolled off four consecutive victories. The three-time defending MEAC champions have won 18 straight conference games and 10 consecutive home contests entering this weekend's non-conference match-up with Gardner-Webb University of the Big South Conference.



The 2016 Eagles collected the most wins in the program's Division I era with a 9-3 overall record and an unbeaten 8-0 mark in league play. NCCU defeated nationally-ranked North Carolina A&T 42-21 on Nov. 19 to capture the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship and earn the league's bid to the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

The Eagles received their first national ranking as a Division I-FCS program on Nov. 7, 2016, when the FCS Coaches Poll announced NCCU at No. 25. By the end of the regular season, the Eagles jumped to No. 18 and finished at No. 19 in the final FCS Coaches poll. NCCU ranked No. 22 in the final 2016 STATS FCS Top 25 poll.

The complete STATS FCS Top 25 poll is available at www.fcs.football.

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

SIAC Signs Multi-Year Agreement to Telecast Football Games on ESPN3

ATLANTA, Georgia -- Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) announced today a multi-year agreement to live stream regular season football games as well as the SIAC football championship game on ESPN3. The first SIAC game will feature Albany State University hosting Morehouse College on Saturday, October 14 at 2:00 PM ET.

“We are excited about our relationship with ESPN,” said Gregory Moore, Commissioner, SIAC. “Over the past several years, the SIAC Council of Presidents have made significant investments towards building and cultivating our member schools digital and social media assets. That fact, coupled with the SIAC leadership in average football attendance for 14 consecutive years, makes ESPN3 the perfect platform to provide SIAC member schools and student-athletes with national exposure opportunities.”

ESPN President John Skipper added, “ESPN’s multiple platforms provide national exposure for a broad array of live sports, and we are happy to add these SIAC games and their exciting brand of football to our offering. Through our collaboration with SIAC, we are thrilled to serve fans by showcasing the events they want to watch.”



The broadcast team will feature veteran play-by-play announcer James Verrett and 14 year NFL veteran, two-time Super Bowl Champion and Fort Valley State University legend Tyrone Poole.

The 2017 SIAC Football Schedule will feature the following conference games on ESPN3:

Saturday, October 14 – Morehouse College vs. Albany State University – 2 p.m. ET
Saturday, October 21 – Albany State University vs. Clark Atlanta University – 2 p.m. ET
Thursday, October 26 – Clark Atlanta University vs. Miles College – 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, November 4 – Miles College vs. Tuskegee University – 1p.m. CT
Saturday, November 11 – 2017 SIAC Football Championship – TBD

About ESPN3:
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and streaming devices through the ESPN app. The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to those who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.

About the SIAC:
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 14 member institutions (Albany State University, Benedict College, Central State University, Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Paine College, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University) which are located within a contiguous six-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors seven men's and six women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II.



SIAC MEDIA RELATIONS

Virginia State Football Preview: HOMECOMING

It’s a clash of the unbeatens as the VSU Trojans get set to battle Bowie State for #1 in CIAA Northern Division

ETTRICK, Virginia - This could be the game.  The game that determines who represents the North in the CIAA title game.  Two unbeatens will collide on the gridiron of Rogers Stadium at Virginia State University. The VSU Trojans are 5-0. The Bowie State Bulldogs are 6-0.

The Trojans want to grow their winning streak at their home field to seven straight games.  Oh, and by the way, it’s Virginia State’s Homecoming Game.

“Games like this is why you sign up to play football and coach football,” said VSU head coach Reggie Barlow.

The Trojans are enjoying their first 5-0 start to a season since 1993.

“We’ve been blessed with some amazing student-athletes. We do have a good group of guys. They’ve bought into the vision of what we wanted this 2017 season to be about,” Barlow said. “Our coaches [including Mark Carney, Dwone Sanders, Vernon Dean, Brandon Kirksey, Aaron Mehl and Alex Stadler] have done a good job of communicating the plan and what we want to get done.”



CONTINUE READING

MEAC Football Teleconference Week 7

Click on time for direct access to specified coach
00:00 - 15:43	Fred Farrier	Morgan State
15:44 - 24:08	Alex Wood	Florida A&M
24:09 - 34:17	Terry Sims	Bethune-Cookman
34:18 - 43:55	Kenny Carter	Delaware State
43:56 - 57:44	Mike London	Howard
57:45 - 1:05:21	Latrell Scott	Norfolk State
1:05:22 - 1:13:54	Connell Maynor	Hampton
1:13:55 - 1:25:10	Erik Raeburn	Savannah State
1:25:11 - 1:30:07	Buddy Pough	South Carolina State
1:30:08 - 1:36:34	Rod Broadway	North Carolina A&T State
1:36:35 - 1:47:04	Jerry Mack	North Carolina Central

MEAC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

LA Rams quarterback Jared Goff wears FAMU shirt to press conference

FAMU's homecoming game against Undefeated North Carolina A&T is at 
3 p.m. on Saturday.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Twitter was buzzing Wednesday evening when Associated Press writer Greg Beacham tweeted out a photo of Jared Goff, starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL, wearing a Florida A&M T-shirt at a press conference.

Goff, who played college football at Cal, doesn't appear to have any immediate ties to Florida A&M, but a search through the Rams' media guide shows the team's physical therapist, Byron Cunningham, is a Rattler.

QB JARED GOFF Oct. 11, 2017 PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO

Cunningham, also the Rams' assistant athletic trainer, graduated from Florida A&M with a bachelor's in physical therapy in 1998, according to the team's media guide. In 2010, he received the School of Allied Health Sciences Distinguished Alumni award.

He's been with the Rams for eight years.

Goff was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. The Rams are 3-2, and Goff has ...

CONTINUE READING

Texas Southern Lady Tigers claim first place selection in SWAC Preseason Poll

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- On the heels of its first Southwestern Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Championship in program history, Texas Southern has been selected as the Preseason favorite to win the conference crown in the 2017-18 season in a poll of the league's Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors.

The announcement was made during the SWAC's annual tip-off media teleconference Wednesday morning.

The Lady Tigers, who earned a share of the regular-season crown -- for the second-straight season -- alongside Grambling State thanks to identical 14-4 records in league play, posted a 23-10 overall record on their way to the tournament championship.

Alabama State (120 points) was tabbed to finish third, with Southern (108 points) and Alcorn State (89 points) rounding out the top five. Slotted to finish sixth through 10th in the preseason prognostications were Prairie View A&M (73 points), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (66 points), Jackson State (63 points), Alabama A&M (34 points) Mississippi Valley State (32 points).

Texas Southern guard and 2017 SWAC Women's Basketball Tournament MVP Joyce Kennerson, who led the league in scoring at 18.3 points per game, was selected to the Preseason First Team along with fellow teammate Artavia Ford who was selected at the forward spot.

Texas Southern's Breasia McElrath was tabbed as a Second Team All-SWAC selection at forward after a solid campaign last season.

WOMEN'S 2017-18 PRESEASON AWARD WINNERS

PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Shakyla Hill, Grambling State

PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Alexus Freeman, Alcorn State

PRESEASON ALL-SWAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - FIRST TEAM
Guard - Shakyla Hill, Grambling State
Guard - Joyce Kennerson, Texas Southern
Forward - Brianna Green, Southern
Forward - Artavia Ford, Texas Southern
Center - Tatyana Calhoun, Alabama State

PRESEASON ALL-SWAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - SECOND TEAM
Guard - Jazmin Boyd, Grambling State
Guard - Monisha Neal, Grambling State
Forward - Breasia McElrath, Texas Southern
Forward - La'Sha Haynes, Prairie View A&M
Center - Shawntayla Harris, Arkansas-Pine Bluff

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH (points earned in parentheses):
1. Texas Southern (149)
2. Grambling State (146)
3. Alabama State (120)
4. Southern (108)
5. Alcorn State (89)
6. Prairie View A&M (73)
7. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (66)
8. Jackson State (63)
9. Alabama A&M (34)
10. Mississippi Valley State (32)

TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION