Hampton U. athletics undergoes three major coaching changes, raising issues

According to U.S. Department of Education data submitted by the schools for 2007-08, the average head coach's salary for Hampton U. men's sports was $73,000 and $42,290 for women's head coaches.

HAMPTON, VA — Hampton University will enter the 2009-10 school year with new leadership in its three most visible sports, unusual flux in what is traditionally one of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's most stable and successful athletic programs. HU is the only Division I athletic program in the country to replace its football and men's and women's basketball coaches this year. All three replacements were hired within a matter of hours and promoted from the previous staffs or within the university.

"I consider myself to be a student of Vince Lombardi," HU athletic director Lonza Hardy said last week, referring to the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach. "Vince Lombardi said, 'Never apologize for trying to win.' Consequently, I don't apologize for putting what I believe are the right people in the right places at the right time." Though the changes within HU's marquee sports coincide with competitive dips, all three situations were different.

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BC Lions ink receiving trio

(Vancouver) - The BC Lions Football Club announced today that import receivers Dereck Faulkner, Jason Jones and Eric McCain have signed with the team. Faulkner attended Hampton University and recorded 75 career receptions for 1,017 yards and five TD's over four seasons (2003-'06). The native of Lundstuhl, Germany signed as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007. Jones played three seasons at Arkansas-Pine Bluff where he became just the fifth player in NCAA history to average more than 20 yards per catch for his career. The two-time All-SWAC selection signed as an undrafted free agent with the Buffalo Bills in 2008.

McCain spent two seasons at Glendale Community College ('04-'05) and starred in the 2005 NJCAA championship game notching six catches for 177 yards earning MVP honours. After going undrafted in 2007, McCain most recently spent time with Quad Cities of the Arena2 Football League.

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Grafton pitcher Robbie Brownschidle commits to Norfolk State

Grafton High senior Robbie Brownschidle said today that he will play baseball next season at Norfolk State. Brownschidle will sign and send the paperwork to NSU within the next couple of days. Brownschidle said that between academic aid and the athletic grant he will sign, that he will not have to pay to attend NSU. Brownschidle carries a 3.65 grade point average.

Brownschidle batted .406 last season with 26 RBI and five home runs, earning Group AA All-State honorable mention honors as a first baseman. He was 5-0 pitching last season for Grafton's Region I tournament semifinalists. He is batting .350 this season for the Clippers (7-1) and is 2-1 on the mound. He has moved into the role as Grafton's No. 1 pitcher, and his only loss was a complete-game 3-2 decision at unbeaten Poquoson (9-0). Brownschidle, 6-foot, 175 pounds, said that NSU is recruiting him as a pitcher, but that Spartans coach Claudell Clark is interested in Brownschidle batting after seeing his hitting numbers from last season.

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JSU running game to test Southern's Hall

Frazier Hall is already used to the beating he takes behind the plate. The next two days, he figures his knees will snap and crackle even more than they usually might. That’s what happens when you’re the starting catcher at Southern and you face a team like Jackson State, which tries to steal more often than Rickey Henderson. Hall knows this much: In his attempt to throw out base runners, he’ll pop up and down all weekend. “With a team like Jackson, we might pick over (to first base) a little more often, just to keep the runners honest,” said senior right-hander James Spear, who will start today’s game.

SU Jaguars Coach Roger Cador congratulates Brad McDavid after homer

“I know Frazier will be expecting them to run whenever. But we basically take the same approach with every team.” Southern (17-8) visits Jackson State (23-11) at 3 p.m. today in the first half of a two-game home-and-home series. The teams play again at 1 p.m. Sunday in Baton Rouge. (To borrow a term from soccer, these games are “friendly;” they don’t count in the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings and serve, more or less, as the traditional halfway mark of Southern’s SWAC schedule.) While the stolen base has almost vanished from baseball the last 20 years, giving way to an emphasis on the three-run homer, the Tigers have proven, the stolen base is still a deadly weapon.

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Delaware State Bowling Reaches NCAA Final Four; UMES Knocked Out in 2nd Round

Canton, Mich. --- Delaware State has reached the semifinals of the 2009 NCAA Women's Bowling Championship. Despite a 4-games-to-2 loss to No. 1 seed Nebraska in their final match today, the seventh-seeded Hornets are one of four teams remaining in the race for the national championship. DSU is competing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in team history.

Delaware State and Nebraska will square off in a rematch in one semifinal, while No. 2 Fairleigh Dickinson and No. 6 Central Missouri will battle in the other semifinal on Saturday beginning at 5:00 p.m. The winners will compete for the national championship on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. The championship match will be televised live on ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360. A re-broadcast is scheduled for Sunday (Apr. 12) on ESPN from 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore will not repeat as NCAA Bowling Champion, losing two games on Friday in a double-elimination format tournament. The Hawks lost the first game to No. 6 ranked Central Missouri 4-0. The Hawks lost their sets 159-198,169-184,180-203,176-212. The Hawks fell to the loser side of the bracket when they faced the host team New Jersey City University, who was the No. 2 seed, and the Hawks lost 4-1-1. The sets were 200-208, 167-205,163-169,210-185, 202-202, 203-245.

Delaware State University bowling coach Kim Terrell-Kearney was named the National Tenpins Coaches Association coach of the year during the NCAA Tournament Banquet on Wednesday.

"The champion of this tournament will have certainly earned it," said Delaware State head coach Kim Terrell-Kearney, the 2008-09 National Tenpins Coaches Association and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. "The competition is extremely tough, but we are right where we want to be. Each team is in the same position, so our chances are as good as everyone else."

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TODAY'S SCHEDULE: Fifth Round, Saturday, April 11, 5 p.m.

MATCH #13: (5) Fairleigh Dickinson University (112-28) vs. (6) University of Central Missouri (87-37) (Loser eliminated)

MATCH #14: (1) University of Nebraska-Lincoln (69-20) vs. (7) Delaware State University (119-37) (Loser eliminated)

Sixth Round, Saturday, April 11, 8 p.m. - Televised live on ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL (MATCH #15): Winner of Match #13 vs. Winner of Match # 14

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Remembering Marvin Webster (Morgan State), Once a Knicks Savior

He came to New York to be a savior. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. “Can Marvin Webster turn the Knicks around?” the magazine asked. Instead, Webster — who was found dead of possible coronary artery disease in his Tulsa, Okla., hotel room Monday at the age of 56 — became one of the sadder chapters in the history of the franchise.

During a brief coaching run, Willis Reed campaigned publicly for the Knicks to sign The Human Eraser, as Webster was known, when he became a free agent. Webster had been the shot-blocking defensive hub for the rising Seattle SuperSonics during a run to the N.B.A. finals, where Seattle lost to the Washington Bullets. Reed, a great believer in post defense for obvious reasons, got his man at what was then a considerable financial cost: $650,000 a season over six years.

And then — those being the days when the league’s commissioner, Larry O’Brien, was empowered to impose compensation to the team shorn of a player — it got worse. O’Brien awarded the Sonics the Knicks’ athletic power forward, Lonnie Shelton, as well as a first-round draft choice and $450,000.

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FAMU shows off its new gym

The FAMU men’s and women’s basketball coaches had seen their new arena many times during the past few months, but they came away from Wednesday’s official opening with many “wow moments” and promises of bringing titles to their new digs. From the freshly painted hardwood floor with logos representing the Rattlers and the MEAC to the snazzy locker rooms, coaches Eugene Harris and LeDawn Gibson said every bit of it has been inspired.

Hundreds of visitors who toured the building got a first-hand look at what Harris and Gibson felt.
Gibson, seemingly captivated by the gym, gave her impression in one word. “Man!”

The state-of-the-art, multi-million dollar arena, which seats 9,000-plus, will become home of Rattler basketball teams next season. “This is a great day in the history of Florida A&M University,” said Harris, the men’s basketball coach. “Listening to the president talk about putting this program as one of the top in the country, I was glad to hear it.”

Photo Gallery of Rattler's new gym:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Sh..._-view_photos_button

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