Southern finalizes Thursday night football game

Coach Pete Richardson and the SU Jaguars will have lighter out-of- conference schedule in '09 facing Division II Central State (OH), Tennessee State and UL-L. The Jags are currently seeking a D-II or FCS D-I opponent for an Oct. 17 home date.

Jaguars to face Prairie View on Oct. 22

As expected, Thursday night football is coming to Southern. SU Athletic Director Greg LaFleur and coach Pete Richardson confirmed Tuesday that the Jaguars’ home game against Prairie View will happen on a Thursday — at 7 p.m. Oct. 22 in A.W. Mumford Stadium before a national television audience on ESPNU. SU’s move to Thursday night is a result of the television deal between the Southwestern Athletic Conference and the ESPN family of networks.The SWAC had three Thursday night ESPNU games in 2008: Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Alcorn State on Sept. 18; Mississippi Valley State at Alabama State on Sept. 25; and Grambling at Texas Southern on Nov. 20.

Southern hosted Florida A&M on Oct. 18 on ESPNU. This, however, will be SU’s first Thursday night home game. “You never like to play on a Thursday night, especially with our fan base,” Richardson said. “But it was our turn to play, and we’ll play. It’ll be a little bit of a different experience, playing on a short week. You just hope you don’t come out with too many injuries the game before that.” Of course, at this point, Richardson doesn’t yet know whom he’ll play the week before the Prairie View game. SWAC teams will play seven conference games next season, leaving schools to fill out their schedules with four nonconfrence opponents (teams within the Football Championship Subdivision will play 11 games in 2009).

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Howard Bison Fall In Overtime To Florida A&M

Boxscore
Photo Gallery: FAMU 79 Howard 74
FAN CAM - FAMU vs. Howard University women's basketball

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Joe Ballard tallied 21 of his game-high 28 in the second half and extra period, but it was freshman David Buchanon's 14 points in overtime that proved to be the difference as Florida A&M University held off Howard, 79-74 in a wild and woolly affair at Gaither Gymnasium. After sophomore guard Kyle Riley sank two free throws to tie the game at 61-all and send it into an extra period, Buchanon took over. Ballard converted two free throws to give FAMU (3-10 overall, 1-1 in the MEAC) a 63-61 lead. Howard (1-13 overall, 0-2 in the MEAC) countered with a slam dunk by Paul Kirkpatrick off a nice feed by Riley to deadlock the score at 63.

Then Buchanon buried a three pointer from straight on to help the Rattlers regain the lead at 66-63 at the 3:38 mark. Kiley sank two free throws to get Howard to within, 66-65. Then Buchanon launched another bomb, this time from the right side to up the margin to 69-65. Brandon Bryant's layup increased the lead to 71-65 and Buchanon was at it again, hitting a three ball from the left side and giving FAMU its biggest lead at 74-65 with 2:15 left in overtime.

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Morgan State's Lee gets A&T job

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- N.C. A&T has a new head football coach. Morgan State defensive coordinator Alonzo Lee accepted the job Thursday, according to several university sources with knowledge of the search process. Athletics director Wheeler Brown said Thursday night he had extended an offer to one of the two remaining candidates -- Lee or interim coach George Ragsdale -- earlier in the day and that the candidate had accepted.

Brown said he would not identify the new coach until "personnel issues" -- presumably Ragsdale's fate -- were resolved. The announcement of Lee's hiring could come as early as today, Brown said. "I'm excited about our new coach and getting back to football," the AD said. "It's been a long process, but it's been worth it. I believe we've come out of this process with the best coach for A&T." Reached at home in Washington (D.C.) earlier in the day, Lee declined to say whether he had been hired.

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After beating Maryland for first time, Bears dominate MEAC foe N.C. A & T

MSU head coach Todd Bozeman and the Bears had first signature win Wednesday against Atlantic Coast Conference power Maryland.

No let down for Morgan State

Baltimore, MD - Rogers Barnes knew it was going to be a good afternoon when he scored Morgan State's first 16points yesterday against North Carolina A&T, topping his previous career high of 13 in the game's opening 13 minutes. Barnes finished with 24 points, Reggie Holmes added 26 and the Bears were never threatened in the 73-62 victory in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference matchup. After Wednesday's historic win over Maryland, Morgan State kept its momentum by dominating both ends of the floor.

"I felt like I had to come out aggressive because it was a conference game," Barnes said. "I'm a senior and a captain, so I had to show my team what we had to do. Every [shot] that left my hand felt good. I was just looking for my shot." Morgan State (7-8, 2-0 MEAC) trailed only once, 5-3 in the opening minutes, and a late three-pointer by Holmes and a layup by Rico Myles gave the Bears a 39-29 lead at halftime. The Aggies' defense has also been solid, limiting opponents to 39.5 percent shooting from the field, but it wasn't quick enough on the perimeter to stop Morgan State's hot shooters. The Bears shot 47.2 percent in the game

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Photo Gallery: Bear Shots
Boxscore
Attendance: 1,108 @ Hill Field House, Baltimore, MD

Next: Morgan State (7-8, 2-0 MEAC) will host Norfolk State (3-10, 1-1 MEAC) on Monday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Hill Field House.

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Ed White pitcher signs with Bethune-Cookman

Athleticism comes easy for 18-year-old Spencer Johnson. Maybe it's the simple fact that it's a family affair. His father, Larry, played football for Jacksonville State University in Alabama and his mother, Phyllis, was on the tennis team for Miami University in Ohio. Both of his sisters, Megan, 19 (University of West Florida), and Emily, 20 (Howard University), earned full academic and athletic scholarships for softball. Now it's Spencer's turn. He received a scholarship to pitch for Bethune-Cookman University, becoming Ed White High School's first Division I signee in baseball in 15 years.

"They saw what I was capable of," Johnson said. After the historically black university took note of his 90-mph fastball, it offered him a full academic and athletic scholarship. His parents are proud that all three of their kids have full rides to college. "After seeing our daughters succeed," Larry said, "it's truly been a blessing to see Spence get a shot at it." It was an uphill battle for the senior, however. Standing next to the 6-foot-2, 215-pound man (who benches close to 300 pounds), you wouldn't have a clue that his health was once a challenge. By the time he was 11, Johnson was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, the same illness that affects Jaguars quarterback David Garrard.

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A&M's Totten leaves for SWAC rival

Roger Totten, who in two years turned Alabama A&M's receiving corps into one of the best units in the SWAC, has accepted a position on coach Reggie Barlow's staff at Alabama State. Totten, who coached Barlow during his playing days at ASU, will serve as the Hornets' assistant head coach and receivers coach. "It was a tough decision," said Totten, who will start at ASU on Monday. "The ultimate decision came down to the fact that this was an opportunity to advance in my profession by being assistant head coach."

Totten had reservations after ASU was placed on NCAA probation for five years last month. "I talked to the administration and they assured me what happened was out of Coach Barlow's control and they're going to support him 100 percent," Totten said. "They're going to do everything they can to help him work through this situation and get Alabama State back on track." Totten, who has 25 years of coaching experience, is expected to play a key role in the Hornets' offense. "I've been an offensive coordinator so I'll be very instrumental in helping Coach Barlow on that side of the ball," Totten said.

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FAMU's Marching 100 prepares for Obama inaugural parade

Photo Gallery: FAMU Marching 100 Preps for Inaugural Parade

YOUR Help Needed -- FAMU Marching 100 $23,000 short from achieving $175,000 goal to cover expenses to President Obama's Inauguration Parade.



It tops performing with hip-hop artist Kanye West at the Grammy Awards. It beats being featured with entertainer Prince. It outranks serving in numerous Super Bowl half-time shows. That’s how Florida A&M’s head drum major Michael Scott describes the band being picked to perform in the inaugural parade for president-elect Barack Obama. He said the words as if in awe: “The first black president of the United States.”

“It’s something you only dream about,” Scott, a 26-year-old music-education major, said. “But now that it has happened, (we’ve) got a chance to perform for the first black president of the United States. You won’t find too many people who will be able to say that.” On Jan. 20, FAMU’s Marching 100 will join nearly 90 other participants in Washington, D.C., for the inaugural parade. But before the nine buses and moving truck depart from the FAMU campus Jan. 18, administrators and students must meet certain goals.

Anyone interested in supporting the trip is asked to make a donation online at www.famu.edu/givetothe100

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