Prairie View looking for feel-good sequel

As feel-good football stories go, Prairie View’s tale is tough to top. Most of us know about the rough times — that 80-game losing streak in the early ’90s, an under-funded program for decades, no Southwestern Athletic Conference titles since the Lyndon Johnson administration.

Then, at long last, there was last season. Capping an undefeated record in SWAC play, the Panthers outlasted Alabama A&M in the conference championship game at Legion Field, setting off a celebration that took even the players by surprise. “We had fans coming on the field, and they were crying,” Prairie View quarterback K.J. Black said. “People in their 50s and 60s — they were crying because it had been so long since they’d seen something like that.” It had been quite a ride.

Since coach Henry Frazier III took over in 2004, the Panthers had been building toward last season. From the moment players reported to preseason camp, they had one goal: Win the SWAC. All season long, they carried around a WWE-style championship belt, claiming that if other teams wanted the title, they had to take it from Prairie View.



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Prairie View A&M unveils plans for new football stadium

A great day for Prairie View: School unveils $60 million plan that includes new football stadium

When Henry Frazier III interviewed for the Prairie View A&M coaching job in 2003, he was given an artist’s rendering of the school’s vision for a football stadium. Seven years later, the picture — and the future landscape of Prairie View A&M athletics — has changed. School officials unveiled an ambitious $60 million first phase Friday to build a football stadium and an athletic department center and upgrade its basketball facility.

“I’ve always said this was the last piece of the puzzle,” Frazier said. “This was one of the selling points when I took the job. It’s been talked about since I arrived on campus. I’m excited to see it start to take shape.”

The football stadium, which would be built south of Blackshear Stadium, is expected to cost about $34 million. The stadium would have a seating capacity of 15,000 and be expandable to 30,000, a FieldTurf playing surface, club seating, 12 luxury suites and enhanced tailgating and parking areas. The proposed athletic department center would be built on the stadium’s north side.

The 74,000-square foot facility would include a weight room, lockers and dressing rooms, an academic enhancement and tutoring area, team position meeting rooms, administrative offices and a memorabilia area featuring the Prairie View Sports Hall of Fame. (READ MORE, CLICK TITLE ABOVE)

Prairie View A&M Sports Complex/Football Stadium Presentation

Solomon: Stadium plans show Prairie View's progress | College ...

It wasn't that long ago that Prairie View A&M debated whether to continue providing socks and jockstraps for its football players. Now, the school has had budget discussions about championship rings and plans to build a football stadium and athletic facilities that should meet the need of its athletes for decades.

Friday, school officials shared a new athletic facilities vision with alumni at their annual convention in New Orleans. Though the highlight is a 15,000-seat (expandable to 30,000) football stadium, which would replace Blackshear Stadium, where the Panthers have played home games since 1960, that is only a small part of the three-phase plan.

That first phase comes with a $60 million price tag. In all, every athletic program at the university as well as the student body would benefit from the project, which includes the building of an athletic and academic center, a renovated basketball arena, new baseball and softball stadiums, a student recreation center with intramural fields, a tennis complex and additions to the school's Kinesiology and Health Sciences Department.



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FAMU women's hoops team eager to earn first banner

Rattlers already out on floor preparing for 2010-11 season

As a handful of players from the Florida A&M women's basketball team went through their unsupervised offseason drills inside the Lawson Center, the bare rafters overhead were very obvious. There isn't a single banner hanging yet in the gym that was opened last fall. The FAMU women's basketball team wants to be the first to get one. The process begins when the season does in November.



But the players seemingly are willing to put in the necessary time on the floor and go through early morning workouts in an effort to reach their goal. "It starts right now," said junior forward Antonia Bennett. "I think we really have the talent this year to win. As long as we have the right attitude and the work ethic we can pull it off. We just have to put all the pieces together." Of course, coach LeDawn Gibson will be the one deciding how that is done. But for now the players are making do on their own as they prepare to play at Gibson's up-tempo pace.

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Norfolk State Track Gets a $550,000 Makeover

NORFOLK, VA - NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State University, in conjunction with Beynon Sports Surfaces, recently completed a $550,000 renovation and resurfacing of the track at William “Dick” Price Stadium on the NSU campus.

The resurfacing included installation of a BSS 2000 track, a class I International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) surface which is used at many of the top tracks in the world. The BSS 2000 surface is also used at such top facilities as the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, which hosted the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the 2008 United States Olympic Trials. New shot put and discus throwing areas were also installed at the East and West ends of the track adjacent to the stadium.



“Having the BSS 2000 surface installed shows the University’s commitment to track and field and its facilities,” said Kenneth Giles, NSU’s director of track and field programs. “We expect to host world-class meets on a world-class surface on a regular basis, in addition to providing our athletes with a top-notch track on which to train.”

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First Port City Classic boasts new title sponsor

Grambling, LA - Louisiana Tech Sports Properties announced yesterday that Community Trust Bank is the title sponsor of the inaugural Port City Classic which will be played Sept. 4 at 6:00 p.m., at Independence Stadium in the first ever match-up between Grambling State University and Louisiana Tech University.

Mason Ellenberger, general manager for LA Tech Sports Properties, said that CTB is expanding their support of both Louisiana Tech and Grambling State with this commitment. This will be the first time the two schools will face each other in Tech's 108-year history of intercollegiate football.

"Community Trust Bank is honored to be the title sponsor of this historic matchup between Louisiana Tech and Grambling State," said Lance Hall, Regional President of CTB. "These great Universities play such a vital role in Lincoln Parish and in the state of Louisiana, and CTB is excited for the opportunity to strengthen these partnerships."

Ellenberger stressed that more key sponsorship opportunities still exist for the game, including VIP corporate hospitality. For more information on sponsorship opportunities, interested parties should call Ellenberger at 318-257-5331 (x2000).

The contest will serve as the season opener for both teams as LA Tech opens the Sonny Dykes era while Grambling State and Rod Broadway begin pursuit of a SWAC title run.

"I am really looking forward to playing Grambling for the first time in school history," said Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Dykes. "Shreveport is a great place to host the game. The Shreveport-Bossier City community's support is critical to our success, and I can't wait to play in such a great facility as Independence Stadium."

Ironically, Dykes will be making his head coaching debut at the same facility that his father Spike made his head coaching debut.

Tickets for the contest are on sale and can be purchased by calling the Grambling State Ticket Office at 318-274-2625, Monday – Friday 9:00am to 4:00pm.

Tennessee State Tigers sport new look, attitude

Tennessee State Tigers Coach Rod Reed touts logo changes

A new look for helmets, names on uniforms, and more oversight on discipline are some of the changes new football Coach Rod Reed has put in place at Tennessee State. Reed revealed the helmet changes Monday at OVC Media Days. The Tigers were picked to finish fifth by the league's coaches and sports information directors. The new helmets will be white with a similar TSU logo on the sides to those the Tigers had on the blue helmets they've worn since the 1990s. But the logo will now be blue, outlined in red. There also will no longer be a stripe down the middle of the helmets.

Those helmets, however, won't be worn in the first game. TSU will have a throwback helmet look for the John Merritt Classic Sept. 4 against Alabama A&M. Those will be white with a large red T and smaller blue S and U, like those worn in the 1960s and '70s when Merritt was the coach.

"The plan is to wear those helmets that one game unless we score 50 points and get to feeling good about it and then we'll stay with the throwbacks the whole year," Reed said. "We just thought we would do that in commemoration of John Merritt. When my father (Robert) played here (1961-64) that's what they had on the helmets so I thought it'd be nice to throw out there."

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Texas Southern Tigers aim for Labor Day Classic