New dean at Florida A&M law college

Photo: FAMU College of Law Dean, LeRoy Pernell

LeRoy Pernell is the new dean of Florida A&M University's College of Law.

Pernell, who was dean of the Northern Illinois University College of Law, says his main goal is to gain American Bar Association accreditation for the FAMU College of Law in Orlando. The college received provisional accreditation in 2004.

He replaces Percy Luney Jr., who was fired in 2005 after a payroll audit revealed Kentucky attorney Shirley Cunningham Jr. donated $1 million to the FAMU law school in return for a $100,000-a-year job that didn't require him to teach on-site. Luney maintained that FAMU's former presidents Frederick Humphries and Fred Gainous made the arrangement with Cunningham, not him.

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JSU to open football season in Orlando

Jackson State will open the 2008 football season on a Sunday in Orlando against Bethune Cookman University, school officials announced today.

The Tigers will play the Wildcats of Daytona Beach, Fla., on Aug. 31 at the Citrus Bowl as part of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. The game will be televised by ESPN. A game time has not been set.

According to a news release, the rest of JSU’s schedule has not been finalized, but a tentative schedule has been announced.

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The presidents of FAMU and Bethune Cookman just issued statements through the Orlando Sentinel, and this article says BCU will not be playing two games in Orlando next season. We know BCU will be playing in the Florida Classic because of the existing contract that pays them a reported $1.3 million for their participation in the Florida Classic.

So, who is really the opponent that Jackson State will face in Orlando on August 31?

You would think before all of these announcements were made that the MEAC Commissioner would have worked through the details of who would represent the MEAC in this game. Here is the schedule that JSU released yesterday:

'08 tentative JSU football schedule

Aug. 31, Bethune Cookman, Orlando
Sept. 6, Stillman*
Sept. 13, Tennessee State, Memphis
Sept. 20, at Grambling
Oct. 4, Southern University
Oct. 11, at Arkansas Pine Bluff
Oct. 18, at Texas Southern
Oct. 25, Mississippi Valley State
Nov. 8, at Alabama State
Nov. 15, Alabama A&M
Nov. 22, Alcorn State

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B-CU, FAMU presidents want Florida Classic to stay

Photo: FAMU President Dr. James H. Ammons

The contract for the annual football game in Orlando runs out later this year, but the schools want to keep playing in Orlando.

The Florida Classic lost its primary sponsor, but Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman aren't leaving town.

That's the message both university presidents delivered Friday in the wake of news that the Disney decided not to extend a 10-year sponsorship.

"This Classic is more than a game. It is a family reunion that has evolved into the greatest competition between two historical universities in the state of Florida," FAMU President James H. Ammons and B-CU President Trudie Kibbe Reed said in a joint statement.

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Southern Jaguars travels to West Coast for tournament

Photo: SU Human Jukebox Marching Band and Dancing Dolls get to do battle with the USC Trogan Marching Band in Los Angeles.

Add weatherman to Southern baseball coach Roger Cador’s capabilities. “It’s beautiful in Los Angeles. Simply gorgeous,” Cador said. Southern (0-1) plays third-ranked UCLA (2-1) at 8 p.m. CST today at Jackie Robinson Stadium in the first Urban Invitational Baseball Tournament.

In the round-robin tournament hosted by the MLB Urban Youth Academy, SU will play Southern California (3-2) on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. Saturday at the MLB Urban Youth Academy and Bethune-Cookman University (2-1) at 3 p.m. Sunday at the MLB Urban Youth Academy.

Saturday’s entertainment will also include a “Battle of the Bands” between Southern’s Human Jukebox and USC’s Trojan Marching Band.

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What a wonderful ideal--a battle of the bands at a baseball game! I know the Southern Human Jukebox is loving the opportunity to square off with the USC Trogan Marching Band. This will be an epic battle that is worth watching. Nice escape for the students before Spring Break in Los Angeles, California, no less. Go Jags!

Mississippi Valley bats nearly silent in 9-1 loss at LSU

Left-handed pitcher Blake Martin made sure his first start for the LSU baseball team would be a memorable one Wednesday night. Martin, a transfer who played his first two seasons at Birmingham Southern, pitched five strong innings in leading the Tigers to an easy 9-1 victory over Mississippi Valley State before 936 fans in Alex Box Stadium.

A junior from Boaz, Ala., Martin allowed just two hits and no runs in his first starting assignment for LSU (4-1). He struck out nine and walked just one before four relievers followed him to the mound to finish off Mississippi Valley (4-2).

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HBCU baseball can be a real head scratcher. Southern Jaguars and Mississippi Vally Delta Devils both lose to LSU with respectable scores and were competitive in the two games. Florida A&M Rattlers goes to Central Florida and get bombed by 50 runs in a 3 game series by a team going nowhere in Conference USA. Are the Rattlers really that bad or Southern U. and Mississippi Valley are really good teams that can compete with the big boys? It's going to be a long season, so let us watch how this scenario develops.

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Grambling releases fan-friendly 2008 football slate

The addition of Langston, a Oklahoma Division II program, means Grambling State will have four home games for the first time in three years.

The school has announced a 2008 football schedule that also includes a season-opening trip to Reno to play Championship Bowl Division foe Nevada on Aug. 30 and a Sept. 13 date at Northwestern State, a fellow lower-division Louisiana school.

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GRAMBLING'S 2008 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Aug. 30: at Nevada
Sept. 6: Alcorn State
Sept. 13: at Northwestern State
Sept. 20: Jackson State
Sept. 27: Langston
Oct. 4: vs. Prairie View A&M*
Oct. 11: at Alabama A&M*
Oct. 18: Alabama State*
Nov. 1: at Mississippi Valley State*
Nov. 8: vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff*
Nov. 15: at Texas Southern*
Nov. 29: vs. Southern*

*Southwestern Athletic Conference games

SCSU tennis teams keep rolling

The SC State men's and women's teams continued its winning ways with the Bulldogs posting a 2-0 record, while The Lady Bulldogs went 3-0 in tennis action this past weekend. Coach Hardeep Judge's men's team defeated Bethune-Cookman (7-0) and Winston-Salem State (7-0) on Saturday, while the Lady Bulldogs posted wins over Savannah State (4-1), Winston-Salem State (7-0) and Bethune-Cookman (6-1).

With the wins both SC State men's and women's team improve to 5-1 overall, 3-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

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