NSU-BCU Football Game Moved to Thursday, Oct. 20 for ESPNU

Norfolk, VA - Norfolk State's home football game against Bethune-Cookman has been moved up two days to Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. to accommodate a live ESPNU broadcast. The game was originally slated for Saturday, Oct. 22.

The teams have split their last four meetings in the series, with B-CU winning 21-7 last season en route to a share of the MEAC regular-season football title. The Spartans have won the last two meetings at Dick Price Stadium.

This will be NSU's first home Thursday night game since an Oct. 6, 2005 matchup against South Carolina State.

“We are very excited about having the opportunity to play on national television this year,” NSU Athletics Director Marty L. Miller said. “This televised game will showcase the outstanding student-athletes who are major contributors to the success of the athletic programs as well as the great facilities that we have at Norfolk State University.”



By Matt Michalec, Sports Information Director
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Ex-Bethune-Cookman's Weems signs 1-year deal with Falcons

Atlanta, GA - Former Seabreeze and Bethune-Cookman standout Eric Weems signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday. Weems was a restricted free agent. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

With the changes to kickoffs this year, it was thought his value to the Falcons would diminish. He also returns punts, plays on coverage teams and fills in at times at wide receiver. He made his first Pro Bowl last season after returning 40 kickoffs for 1,100 yards and one touchdown and 18 punts for 230 yards and one touchdown. He added six receptions for 61 yards.

Weems was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month in December after a franchise-record 102-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and 55-yard punt return for a touchdown.



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Detroit land ex-Jaguars linebacker Justin Durant (Hampton U.)

Justin Durant, Detroit Lions 

Detroit, MI - Their front four is one of the best in the game. Now the Detroit Lions are on their way to upgrading their back seven.

The Lions made their first significant move of the free-agent signing period late Wednesday, agreeing to terms on a two-year contract with linebacker Justin Durant (Hampton University), according to a team source.

Reached by phone shortly before 11 p.m., Durant's agent, Adisa Bakari said, "Not yet. Deal's not done." But Bakari and the Lions were heavy in contract talks late into the night. Durant, who played four seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars, appeared to confirm the signing, first reported by the Chicago Tribune, on Twitter.

Now everybody from the 313, put ya (...) hands up and follow me!!!" he wrote.

Durant, who turns 26 in September, has never played a full 16 games in a season and missed six games last year with a groin injury.

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Bayou Classic to be on NBC through ‘12

New York, NY - NBC Sports announced Tuesday it will continue to televise the annual Bayou Classic through 2012. The Southern-Grambling football rivalry in the Louisiana Superdome has been televised by NBC on Thanksgiving weekend since 1991. As part of the agreement, State Farm is continuing its title sponsorship.

“The Bayou Classic is a slice of Americana, and at the end of this agreement we will have broadcast this iconic event for 23 straight years,” said Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports and VERSUS in the announcement. This year’s Bayou Classic is scheduled for Nov. 26.

“The NBC Sports broadcast and the title sponsorship helps us spread our Jaguar pride into millions of households nationwide,” Southern University System President Ronald Mason Jr. said in the release. “(The) Bayou Classic is more than a football game; it’s a tradition of family fun and camaraderie that we look forward to every Thanksgiving weekend.”

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UAPB now a SWAC title contender?

Pine Bluff, Ark. - Having spent his childhood in Arlington, Texas, with freeways and skyscrapers that seemed to stretch on forever, Colton Jones had plenty to enjoy. Even late into the night, Jones could find a hot hamburger, a cold milkshake and, in all likelihood, a pro sporting event nearby. Then, at 18 years old, Jones headed to Pine Bluff, Ark., which was, suffice it to say, a little different.

“You just have to get used to the atmosphere, the people around town, everything,” said Jones, now a fifth-year senior and a mainstay on the Arkansas-Pine Bluff offensive line. “The surroundings are very different between home and Pine Bluff. It was hard at first, but I’m a survivor. Basically, you adapt to your circumstances.”

Now, that trait might come in handy again.

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Jackson’s promotion at W.Va. Wesleyan a league accomplishment

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When his predecessor accepted another job at another West Virginia Conference school, Jonas Jackson received a promotion from West Virginia Wesleyan officials.

Changing one word in his job title resulted in a historical accomplishment for Jackson, who went from assistant head coach to interim head coach in June after Dennis Creehan resigned to become the athletic director at Alderson-Broaddus.

Jackson is believed to be the first black head coach at a non-HBCU (Historically Black College or University) in the league's long history.

"It says a lot about our institution, and it says a lot about our president, our dean and our athletic director," said Jackson, a 32-year-old Boston native who has a bachelor's degree from Eastern Michigan and a master's degree from Valparaiso.

"It's an honor, and I embrace it. I have to make sure I work very, very hard to represent the institution and those who aspire to be where I am. For up-and-coming black coaches like myself, we have to work our tails off and put our best foot forward so other guys get this opportunity."

Despite the historical significance of his promotion, Jackson said he is not sure colleges' hiring practices are "a black-and-white issue."

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Howard University Bison: A Star On And Off The Floor

Greenbelt, MD - Eleanor Roosevelt graduate and incoming Howard University freshman Prince Okoroh has balanced his athletic accomplishments with an impressive academic career.

Prince Okoroh’s talent on the basketball court gained the former Eleanor Roosevelt High School standout an athletic scholarship to Howard University. It’s his dedication to performing well in the classroom, though, that may be even more impressive.

You didn't have to worry about eligibility stuff with Prince, Roosevelt coach Brendan O’Connell said. “It’s weird, because, like, in the offseason and stuff, he would miss practice or miss a workout or miss a running session. But it’s because he was going to take a college class at Johns Hopkins or something like that. So how can I get mad at him, you know?”

Okoroh — who was awarded a Gates Millennium Scholarship at Roosevelt — took part in the 2011 World Scholar-Athlete Games in the Greater Hartford, Conn. area, which ran June 26 through July 4.



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