FAMU Marching 100 Requests Your Help!

In this season of giving, here is an opportunity for you to put your signature on assisting the Florida A&M University Marching 100 Band in participating in the Presidential Inauguration Parade of our 44th President, Barack Obama. The FAMU Marching 100 is the NUMBER ONE marching band in the United States and this event will afford the Washington, D.C. metro area citizens and the world community to see what Florida has enjoyed with the Incomparable Marching 100 for the past 55 years.

Here is how YOU can help and become an important and valued supporter of the FAMU Marching 100 Band program... and see the HUNDRED on Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20, 2009.

FAMU 2008 The Road To Washington and Beyond Campaign

CBS Evening News - 2008 FAMU Marching 100

FAMU 2008 "ESPN College Gameday" Performance



DONATE HERE: http://www.famu.edu/GiveToThe100

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Rattlers Raising Money for Inauguration Performance
Marching 100 invited to inauguration
Pitt women beat Florida A&M, 89-59
No. 16 Pittsburgh beats Florida A&M, 89-59
Grice set to play for FAMU
FAMU track going through youth movement

WSSU gives Blount extension through 2015

Blount will get a raise of about $20,000 a year; A&T had talked to him about vacancy

Football coach Kermit Blount and Winston-Salem State have reached an agreement on a contract extension. The deal was completed shortly after the season ended Nov. 22 but still needs the approval of the school's board of trustees, which is expected soon. "I'm happy that this is taken care of because it means a lot to me to have that security," Blount said. "But at the same time, I've learned you just have to do your job, and things will take care of themselves, so this wasn't something that was keeping me awake at night."

Blount has a 90-77-3 record in 16 seasons at WSSU, his alma mater, and holds the school record for career victories. The Rams, however, had their worst season under Blount this year, finishing 3-8 despite road wins over Hampton and Florida A&M, future Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents. The extension comes at a time when Winston-Salem State's fiercest rival, N.C. A&T, is seeking a head coach. Athletics Director Chico Caldwell of WSSU and Blount both said that A&T expressed interest in Blount.

"I did talk to them, but they weren't any kind of serious talks," said Blount, pointing out that he did not have a formal interview.

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

Correction: This writer did little research for this article...Winston Salem's three victories were again Howard, Hampton and Delaware State. FAMU embarrassed WSSU on a ESPNU nationally televised Thursday night game, 23-0 in Tallahassee, Florida on October 9, 2008. The Rams road wins were at DSU (27-26) and Hampton (35-30).

READ RELATED ARTICLES:

TRANSITION: WSSU sees positives after tough year
NC State uses hot shooting to cruise past WSSU 74-46
Pack Runs Over Rams, 74-46
WSSU slips by SC State 68-65 for its first victory of season
WSSU says no radio for basketball games

SWAC PAYBACK: Grambling avenges '07 title game loss with thrashing of Jackson State

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Performing with a steely sense of urgency, Grambling State grabbed control of the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game Saturday at Legion Field — and never let go. Big plays in every phase of the contest fueled Grambling’s sweeping dominance. The ruthless defense showed the way early with a takeaway on Jackson State’s opening drive — the first of five turnovers for the rattled Mississippi Tigers. Grambling turned the miscue into points, following its season-long script to a 41-9 win and the 22nd SWAC championship in school history.

“Coming into the season, everyone underestimated us,” said David Stuckman, who provided a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter. “But the coaches stressed the little things. Little things win championships.” Grambling (11-2) improved to 5-1 in SWAC championship games. The Tigers also won the title game in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2005. The win avenged a 42-31 loss to Jackson State in 2007. “Winning the championship is big for us,” said Carroll product Desmond Lenard. “We worked all year just to play this game. Words can’t explain the way I feel right now.”

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
LSU beats Grambling State 87-41
Grambling football claims its 22nd SWAC championship
22nd to none: Grambling sitting pretty, winning ugly
JSU O-line takes more hits
J-State fails to establish ground game
Mississippi Blues
GSU QB Dillon shows off arm
JSU Loses SWAC Championship To Grambling
SWAC Championship brings two teams with Birmingham connections to town
Area women: GSU women whip Centenary

Attendance: 25,873 --Birmingham, AL Legion Field

MVSU basketball falls to 0-11; SWAC schedule bailout needed

It took a while to chip off the rust from an 11-day layoff, but the Houston Cougars got things in gear and rolled to a 34-point win over Mississippi Valley State Saturday night at Hofheinz Pavilion, 92-58. The Delta Devils, who have yet to play a home game this season, ran out of gas in the second half to fall to 0-11. The Cougars stepped on the gas in the final 20 minutes, putting 59 points on the board to win their sixth straight game (now 6-1 on the season). lvin Lewis led the way with 23 points, but the star was big Marcus Cousin, who overpowered MVSU's relative runts inside for 18 points and nine rebounds.

You have to feel for the Delta Devils. Like many SWAC teams, they've been farmed out as a rent-a-win crew, playing teams like Arizona State, Washington State, Oklahoma, Arizona, James Madison, Creighton and Kentucky. Coach Sean Woods (MVSU), who was a late hire and didn't get to do much recruiting, deserves better. So do his players, who worked hard, but simply didn't have the horses to run with the Cougars.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Houston 92, MVSU 58
A&M's Totten up for ASU coordinator spot
Mississippi Valley State 65, Kentucky 88: Post Mortem
JSU, Alcorn and MVSU players earn all-SWAC honors

LeRoy Vann, FAMU and Zach East, PVAMU named to Walter Camp All-American Team

Florida A&M University junior return specialist LeRoy Vann was named Friday to the 2008 Walter Camp Foundation NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) All-America Team. The all-star team is selected annually by the head football coaches and sports information directors of the FCS member schools.

The 5-9, 185-pound speedster from Tampa, Florida's Blake High School, shattered numerous school, conference and NCAA records for total returns, return yardage, while tying NCAA marks for combined TD kick returns with six. Vann tied Bashir Levingston of Eastern Washington (1998) and Corey Smith of Montana State (2003) with six (6) combined TD returns in NCAA FCS for a season. He also finished the 2008 campaign as the NCAA FCS all-time single-season leader in combined kick return yardage with 1,583 yards, surpassing the old mark of 1,469 set by Samford's David Primus in 1989. Vann also ended the season with 66 combined returns, surpassing the former mark of 64 by Connecticut's Joe Markus in 1981.

CONTINUE READING STORY ON LEROY VANN, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

Prairie View A&M University Panthers side linebacker Zack East was also named to the Camp All-American Team. The 6-2/230 defensive standout lead the Panthers to their best record in three decades (9-1) with 69 tackles in 10 games, with two quarterback hurries, three sacks, 14.5 tackles for losses, 1 interception and one funble recovery. East has lead Prairie View nationally ranked defense for the past two years.

In all, players from 13 different conferences and 20 institutions were represented on the 2008 Walter Camp FCS All-America team. The Southern Conference had the most players (6) followed by the Big Sky Conference (5) and Colonial Athletic Association (4). Five schools had multiple players selected, led by Appalachian State with three. Elon, James Madison, Northern Arizona, and Montana each placed two players on the 2008 Walter Camp All-America team.

2008 Walter Camp Football Championship Subdivision
All-America Team

OFFENSE
WR Ramses Barden* Cal Poly Sr. 6-6 227 Altadena, CA
WR Terrell Hudgins* Elon Jr. 6-3 235 Rocky Mount, NC
TE Scott Sicko New Hampshire Jr. 6-3 230 Stillwater, NY
OL Colin Dow Montana Sr. 6-5 300 Billings, MT
OL Nick Hennessey Colgate Sr. 6-6 300 Danvers, MA
OL Joel Bell Furman Sr. 6-8 308 Spartanburg, SC
OL Jonathan Bieschke Appalachian State Sr. 6-5 275 Port St. Lucie, FL
C Scott Lemn James Madison Sr. 6-3 285 Virginia Beach, VA
QB Armanti Edwards Appalachian State Jr. 6-0 184 Greenwood, SC
RB Herb Donaldson Western Illinois Sr. 5-11 225 St. Louis, MO
RB Rashad Jennings Liberty Sr. 6-1 230 Forest, VA
PK Andrew Wilcox Elon Sr. 6-2 231 Richmond, VA

DEFENSE
DL Greg Peach Eastern Washington Sr. 6-2 250 Vancouver, WA
DL Jovan Belcher Maine Sr. 6-2 228 West Babylon, NY
DL Larry Hart Central Arkansas Jr. 6-1 242 Madison, MS
DL Greg Miller Villanova Sr. 6-3 250 Willow Grove, PA
DL John Faletoese UC Davis Sr. 6-3 292 Carmichael, CA
LB Nathan Williams Murray State Sr. 6-1 225 Murray, KY
LB Zach East Prairie View A&M Sr. 6-2 230 Houston, TX
LB Bobby Abare Yale Sr. 6-2 220 Acton-Boxboro, MA
DB Mark LeGree Appalachian State Soph. 6-0 200 Columbus, GA
DB Marcus Haywood James Madison Sr. 6-0 190 Williamsburg, VA
DB Colt Anderson Montana Sr. 5-11 195 Butte, MT
DB K.J. Gerard Northern Arizona Sr. 6-1 187 Fountain Valley, CA
P Robbie Dehaze Northern Arizona Sr. 6-3 193 Sherwood, OR
KR LeRoy Vann Florida A&M Jr. 5-9 182 Tampa, FL

* - 2007 Walter Camp FCS All-America selection

- http://www.waltercamp.org/

FAMU's successful volleyball program faces uncertain future

Getting FAMU’s volleyball team into the NCAA tournament was one of coach Tony Trifonov’s goals, but not the way he did it with a short-handed roster. Trifonov had hoped to achieve even more along the way to reaching the national tournament a week ago. He had big plans before he found out that some of the players he was banking on wouldn’t be admitted.“We were thinking that we were going to have a top-25 team and be in a position to host a regional again like we did in 2004,” he said. “The MEAC shouldn’t have been a contention for us.

“Of course we were going to play the games, but we would have been heavy, heavy favorites. At it turned out, that wasn’t the case.” Five days after FAMU was eliminated from the NCAA tournament, Trifonov is facing a future of uncertainty. He isn’t sure if Barry transfer Samara Ferraz will regain one more year of eligibility for the time she sat out to have a son. If she doesn’t there is no telling whether he’ll find a replacement who would have the same immediate impact as Ferraz did when she joined the team this season.

Trifonov’s program is one that doesn’t generate revenue and it’s caught in the current budget crunch at FAMU. As a result, he can’t get the kind of money it would take to recruit and reload the Rattlers for next season.

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

President says Jones is still Alcorn's coach

Alcorn State football coach Ernest T. Jones was fired on Thursday. Or he wasn’t. Or no one knows. One day after Jones’ attorney said he received a letter from the university informing him of the coach’s dismissal, Alcorn State President George Ross said this morning that Jones has not been fired. “Coach Jones is not fired. There are lawsuits filed, so I’m limited in what I can say. But Coach Jones has not been fired,” Ross said. “Ernest Jones is the head coach at Alcorn State University.”

Jones, on a recruiting trip, said that was welcome news, although he hadn’t heard from his attorneys or Alcorn officials today. “I’m on the road recruiting. All I hear is what I know from the newspapers, the TV and what you guys tell me,” Jones said. “I’m going to do my job until somebody tells me to park the truck and turn my keys in.” On Thursday, Jones’ attorney, Wayne Ferrell, told The Associated Press the firing was detailed in a letter from the university. Jones learned of his apparent dismissal from reporters and his attorney early Thursday afternoon. He had no contact about the matter from Alcorn officials, he said.

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Jones files $3M lawsuit against Alcorn State
Alcorn State coach will appeal his firing
Alcorn State fires coach Ernest Jones
Alcorn State fires head coach Jones
Alcorn State reinstates 7 coaches
Alcorn AD confirms coaches rehired