Ex-ASU coach L.C. Cole accepts Jeff Davis coaching offer

L.C. Cole 

Cole said his brother Johnnie would serve as Jeff Davis’s offensive coordinator.

Montgomery, AL - L.C. Cole, the former Alabama State head football coach, said Wednesday he has accepted an offer to become the head football coach at Jeff Davis High School. However, Montgomery Public Schools senior communication officer Tom Salter said in an email that Cole is not an employee of the Montgomery Board of Education pending board approval.

Salter said in an email in order for a person to be hired the superintendent must to make a recommendation to the board of education during a board meeting. The majority of the board must vote on a personnel report to affirm the superintendent’s recommendation.

When asked what the next step would be, Salter said Thursday that the next board meeting is scheduled for June 28. “However, it is possible that there could be a called meeting earlier than that date,” Salter said, “not specifically for this hire, but for a number of personnel items.”

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Carroll excited about coaching opportunity with SCSU Bulldogs

Orangeburg, S.C. - Trumain Carroll called it the "longest drive" he has ever embarked upon. The Houston native had just completed a grueling road trek through seven states, 1,035 miles and 17 hours from Kansas City, Kan., to Orangeburg in a loaded U-Haul truck which hauled his car on a trailer. Helping Carroll pass the time cruising through the southern states was his father, Kenneth, a former offensive lineman for Texas Southern.

The breathtaking view along Interstate 40 through the Great Smoky Mountains provided a scenic moment along the long ride for the former Oklahoma State linebacker and defensive end. "That was about the most beautiful sites that I had ever seen at least on a drive before in my life," Carroll said. "I was like ‘Wow! The beauty of the East Coast!'"

Upon reaching the final destination Tuesday, Carroll eagerly headed to South Carolina State University to meet with head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough.

SCSU adds new men's hoops assistant

As a men's basketball assistant coach for Winston-Salem State, Murray Garvin experienced his share of wins and losses against South Carolina State. This season, Garvin will try to help head coach Tim Carter and the Bulldogs regain their winning ways as he told the Winston-Salem Journal he plans to head to Orangeburg.

"We did some good things at Winston-Salem State and I wish (Rams' head coach) Bobby (Collins) and the school nothing but the best," Garvin told the Journal.

In three seasons at Winston-Salem State, Garvin worked with the post players and was responsible for coordinating the Rams' travel and academics. He also spent four years as the head men's basketball coach and athletics director at Clinton Junior College in Rock Hill.

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Howard University alumnus Mike Jones introduced as Radford University Head Men's Basketball Coach

Radford, VA - Mike Jones was officially introduced as the men’s basketball head coach at Radford University in a 45-minute long press conference Wednesday, June 15, inside the Dedmon Center.

Jones, 46, has spent the last two seasons at VCU, which included a magical run to the 2011 Final Four with wins over USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas. While on Shaka Smart’s staff, the Rams posted 55 wins over the past two seasons, the highest total over any two-year span in program history.

Along with playing a major role in the Rams’ success on the court, Jones helped land one of the top mid-major recruiting classes in the country a year ago.

“We are extremely excited to have Mike, his wife and two sons join the Radford University family,” commented Director of Athletics Robert Lineburg. “During the course of his career, Mike has demonstrated the necessary qualities and character to lead our student-athletes in the classroom, in the community and on the basketball court. His reputation as a proven mentor, coach and recruiter makes him the perfect fit for Radford University.”


MBB: Mike Jones Raw Press Conference from Radford Highlanders on Vimeo.

Note: Mike Jones was offered the men's head coaching position at Florida A&M in late May 2011, but turned the Rattlers down before the position was offered to University of Alaska-Fairbanks head coach, and former Rattlers/NBA alumnus Clemon Johnson, who accepted a $150,000 yearly salary and holdover assistant coach Tony Sheals from fired coach Eugene Harris unsuccessful era, as part of the deal. Jones is a top drawer recruiter and his RU teams should be highly competitive in the Big South Conference in a 2-3 years.

Prior to his second coaching stop in Virginia, Jones served a six-year stint on Dennis Felton’s bench at the University of Georgia from 2003-09. In 2008, Georgia advanced to the NCAA Tournament when the sixth-seeded Bulldogs won four games in three days to complete the most improbable SEC Championship run in conference history.

Although the challenges at Georgia were many, Jones managed to make a name for himself as Rivals.com selected him as one of the nation’s Top-25 recruiters in 2005.

In addition to Georgia, Jones had previously worked under John Beilein at Richmond from 2000-02 and during the early stages of Beilein’s rebuilding project at West Virginia in 2002-03.

Jones’ father, Jimmy, was a star guard in the ABA from 1967-74. In 1974, Jimmy Jones signed with the Washington Bullets in the NBA, where he remained until 1977.

The Silver Spring, Maryland native stayed close to home and attended Howard University, where he played basketball and majored in zoology. Jones, a four-year standout for the Bison, forged a connection with fellow Howard alum Felton (’85), who he calls the biggest influence on his coaching career.

Once Jones graduated in 1990, he began his coaching career as a high school coach at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.

In 1994, Jones took his first collegiate job – at his alma mater. In addition, he also married his college sweetheart, Sharon, that year. Jones and his wife have two sons: Nate (14) and Miles (10).

He later moved on to Furman, where he stayed from 1997-2000. He joined Beilein’s staff at Richmond in 2000 and helped the Spiders to a pair of 20-win seasons and three straight NIT berths.

What They’re Saying About Radford Head Coach Mike Jones…

“Radford just hired a tremendous basketball coach and more importantly an unbelievable person. Over the past two seasons, I’ve had the great fortune of working with Mike and I can say with no hesitation that there isn’t an aspect of coaching where he doesn’t excel. Mike and his staff will do great things at Radford.”
Shaka Smart, VCU Head Men’s Basketball Coach

“Mike has been preparing for this moment his entire professional life and the Radford community is going to love him. He has a keen basketball mind with a rich background of experience and he is a teacher at heart. His players will benefit from his passion to succeed and his genuine sense of caring for their best interests and futures. Mikes' tireless and enthusiastic approach will rally everyone around that program to build something really special that you can all be proud of.”
Dennis Felton, San Antonio Spurs, Director of Player Personnel

“Mike Jones is an extremely talented basketball coach, but more importantly, he is a first class individual with great character and values. Radford University and the community will love the leadership and success Mike will bring to its basketball program.”
John Beilein, University of Michigan, Head Men’s Basketball Coach

“We are extremely excited to have Mike, his wife and two sons join the Radford University family. During the course of his career, Mike has demonstrated the necessary qualities and character to lead our student-athletes in the classroom, in the community and on the basketball court. His reputation as a proven mentor, coach and recruiter makes him the perfect fit for Radford University.”
Robert Lineburg, Radford University, Director of Athletics

VIEW MIKE JONES PHOTO GALLERY FROM PRESS CONFERENCE.
From: Radford University Press Release

Edmonton Eskimos trade for former N.Carolina A&T O-lineman

Edmonton, AB Canada - The Edmonton Eskimos have acquired import offensive lineman Junius Coston from the Calgary Stampeders in exchange for future considerations.

Coston (6-4, 325 lbs) was a fifth round selection by Green Bay in the 2005 NFL Draft. The North Carolina A&T State University Aggies product played 16 games for the Packers from 2005 – 2007. He also had stints with Detroit and Oakland. He most recently played with Omaha in the UFL in 2010.


#72 WR Patrick Brown, first year free agent player from Bethune-Cookman catches first TD of 2011 pre-season for Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The versatile Coston played guard, centre and tackle during his collegiate career and was invited to play in the 2005 Senior Bowl. He signed as a free agent with Calgary on May 18, 2011.

Junius Coston
OL
North Carolina A&T
(Import)
Height 6.04 Weight 325 lbs
Born: November 5, 1983, Framingham, MA
Yrs Esks: 1st
Yrs CFL: 1st

By ESKS.com Staff

Art Shell UMES Celebrity Golf Classic: Congress-Shell-nal

UMES is one of 20 colleges in the nation with the PGA-sanctioned golf management major, and the only one at a historically black institution.

WESTOVER, MD -- A little more than 100 yards away from the pin on the 16th hole at Great Hope Golf Course, team Delmarva Auto Glass had a decision to make. The group of five golfers, competing in the Art Shell UMES Celebrity Golf Classic, had to decide which of their drives they were going to play during the scramble-format tournament.

"Do you want to play this one up here or the one in the fairway?" asked one member of the team as he stood over his shot, which had landed in the light rough on top of a small hill. "It doesn't matter to me," said Jim Dent, the celebrity of the group, who captured 12 Senior PGA Tour titles between 1989 and 1998. "I can hit it anywhere."

After conferring, the group decide to play the drive that found the fairway and would go on to land a shot 5 yards from the target before sinking a birdie putt on the par-4 hole.


Art Shell, a pro football Hall of Famer and University of Maryland Eastern Shore alumnus, again hosted the tournament, which features its traditional roster of former athletes who enjoy a round of fund-raising golf. The stars were: Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, who like Shell, is a former Oakland Raider; gridiron greats Otis Sistrunk, Reggie Branch, Ed Simmons, UMES alumni Curtis Gentry, Earl Christy and Emerson Boozer; PGA golfer Jim Dent, James Black, who at age 21 became the first black golfer to card a first-round 67 in his PGA Tour debut in 1964 and Renee Powell, who joined the LPGA Tour in 1967 as the first female African-American golfer.

Similar conversations could be heard throughout the golf outing that benefits University of Maryland Eastern Shore student scholarships and the university's PGA golf management program. But most participants, such as Homer King of team Delmarva Auto Glass, cared less for the strategy and more for the company.

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Earl Monroe helps extend legacy of WSSU's 'Big House' Gaines

ADVANCE, N.C. -- Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, as busy now as ever because of his career in the film and entertainment business, always finds time to honor the late Big House Gaines.

Monroe was at Oak Valley Golf Club on Friday, swinging his clubs in the Big House Gaines Scholarship Fund Tournament. And he had three former teammates from Winston-Salem State's 1967 Division II championship basketball team with him.

"Quite frankly, we can't do enough to honor coach Gaines," said Monroe, 66. "I always make time to come back for this because it's something Big House always stressed to us and that was getting your education."

Three others from the national-title team — Eugene Smiley, Ernest Brown and Johnny Latham — also attended the fundraiser organized by the Reynolda Rotary Club.

The tournament, in its sixth year, raised more than $10,000 on Friday, proceeds that will go toward a college scholarship for a student from Cook Elementary School. The first scholarship recipient selected six years ago, as a fifth-grader at Cook, will enroll at Winston-Salem State in 2012.


Sorry I missed this ya'll, but Earl still looks great for his age--66.

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FAMU athletes spending summer fine-tuning future

Brandon Hepburn #53
Linebacker, 6'4/235, Redshirt Junior
Pomona, New York
Major: Biochemistry

Excerpt:

Tallahassee, FL - Brandon Hepburn, a linebacker with the Rattlers, isn't banking on making it to the NFL. He is majoring in biochemistry. This summer he is at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, where he is participating in a program funded by the National Science Foundation.

"The opportunity is great because it allows us to step out of the classroom and apply what we've been learning," Hepburn said. "It's great to be able to put it into work in the actual environment in which you plan to get a career in one day.

"I think one of the big things with Corporate America is, 'Can you do what we want you to do how we want you to do it?'"

That's part of what FAMU's Career Center does under director Delores Dean. Students aren't just settling for the odd jobs but focusing more on what will benefit their careers, Dean said, adding the tough job market has also brought a change of attitude about limiting the areas they might want to work.

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