Morgan State at N.C. A&T: This time, it's on national TV

GREENSBORO, North Carolina - N.C. A&T is opening MEAC play in style, on national television on ESPNU against Morgan State, which the Aggies beat last year for the first time since 2005.

Speaking of 2005, that's when the MEAC's current TV deal with ESPN started, and A&T's gone 0-5 in nationally televised games since then, losing by an average of about 40 points.

The Aggies, obviously, are hoping their fortunes turn tonight. And just maybe present ESPNU's viewers with a glimpse of a program on the rise.

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NC A&T Pride Goes Nationwide On ESPNU

 

Greensboro, NC - North Carolina A&T State University plays on ESPNU for the first time.

According to school officials, it is A&T's 1st TV appearance in 2 years and the 1st at Aggie Stadium in 5 years.

The Aggie Football Team will face Morgan State University at 7:30PM.

Dr. Franklin McCain, one of the Greensboro / A&T Four, will be the Aggies' hornorary captain and will lead the team onto the field. The televised game will also host Grammy Award Winning Reording Artist Fantasia and other special guest.

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XU's Franklin, Holcombe chosen preseason All-GCAC



CARMEN HOLCOMBE



SiMON FRANKLIN

  NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's SiMon Franklin and Carmen Holcombe have been selected to the All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference preseason women's basketball team by the GCAC head coaches. The conference announced the team Wednesday.
    

Franklin, a 5-foot-7 senior guard from Baton Rouge, La., and a graduate of St. Joseph's Academy, was All-GCAC in 2011-12 and the MVP of the GCAC Tournament, which Xavier won 58-50 against Talladega. Franklin led the Gold Nuggets with 10 points per game. She shot 46 percent from the floor and had 57 assists and 70 steals.
    

Holcombe, a 5-11 junior forward from Plano, Texas, and a graduate of Plano West High School, averaged 5.1 points and 4.2 rebounds as a sophomore. She was the Nuggets' No. 6 scorer and No. 3 rebounder. Holcombe had 11 points and eight rebounds at Georgetown (Ky.) in Xavier's come-from-behind 79-76 victory.
    

Xavier is one of three schools with two preseason All-GCAC players. Talladega and SUNO are the other schools.
    
Xavier is the defending GCAC regular-season champion and the three-time defending tournament champion. The Gold Nuggets' season will begin in early November, and the schedule will be announced soon.

2012-13 Preseason All-GCAC Women's Basketball Team
Name	School	Ht.	Year	Position	Notes
Portia Craft	Tougaloo	5-5	Junior	Guard	Averaged 12.7 points per game
Janine Davis	Fisk	5-6	Junior	Guard	Transfer from George Washington
SiMon Franklin	Xavier	5-7	Senior	Guard	Averaged 10 points per game
Carmen Holcombe	Xavier	5-11	Junior	Forward	Averaged 4.2 rebounds per game
Megan Iloff	Talladega	5-6	Senior	Guard	2011-12 GCAC Newcomer of the Year
Caryan Jones	Philander Smith	5-4	Sophomore	Guard	2011-12 GCAC Freshman of the Year
Janee Morton	SUNO	5-7	Senior	Guard	14 points/6 rebounds per game
April Perry	SUNO	5-7	Senior	Guard	15 points/5.3 assists per game
Jazzmin Smith	Dillard	5-9	Senior	Forward	14.7 points/7.3 rebounds per game
Bianca Thomas	Talladega	6-3	Senior	Center	All-GCAC in 2011-12
Tiffany Tolbert	Edward Waters	5-7	Senior	Guard	Averaged 11.9 points per game

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

FAMU brings playmakers to 2012 Atlanta Classic

Photo Courtesy: FAMU Sports Information

ATLANTA, Georgia  -  The Florida A&M Rattlers enter Saturday's Atlanta Classic against the Southern Jaguars wondering which players will be the gamechangers for them. In last year's Classic, Rattlers quarterback Damien Fleming entered the game in the third quarter and led them on a 21-point rally to beat Southern 38-33.

Fleming is now the starting quarterback for the Rattlers. Rattlers head coach Joe Taylor knew that he had a game changer on his hands, according to an interview with St. Claire Murraine of Tallahasee.com:

"At that time I thought the team needed a shot in the arm, a change because we were struggling. It was a difficult situation for him. In fact, all of the staff looked at me like, ‘Are you sure?' I knew it was a big decision, but I had been evaluating this kid in practice and he was getting better and better."

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FVSU Looks to Keep Streak Alive

ALBANY, Georgia - The Fort Valley State Wildcats are rocking and rolling with two straight conference wins. The Cats now stand at 3-1 on the season looking to continue the streak this weekend.

 Saturday night, the Benedict Tigers were the latest victim of Coach Donald Pittman and the blue and gold. Fort Valley emerged from the Cat fight, 33-10 and they say they want to keep the pressure on in the Valley.

Back to back SIAC special teams player of the week, Justin Rosenbaum says, moral is high for the Wildcats. "We have a lot of chemistry. This is the best team that we've had since I've been here and we feel pretty good" says the senior Michigan native says. "We feel pretty confident that will continue to make progress and be more consistent throughout the season."

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Rant Sports NCAAB Conference Preview: MEAC

Another year of college basketball is quickly approaching and in preparation, Rant Sports’ College Basketball Network Manager Paul Seaver will be breaking down and predicting the outcomes of each conference across the country.

WASHINGTON, D.C.  -  Today, we take a look at the MEAC:

Unless you follow college basketball closely, you may have overlooked the fact that two of the NCAA Tournament’s most historic upsets have come at the hands of teams from the MEAC.

Back in 2001, it was 15th-seeded Hampton who upended Iowa State in the Round of 64, while just last spring 15th-seeded Norfolk State got the best of second-seeded Missouri.

Looking ahead to the 2012-13 season, there is one team out of this conference that truly sticks out.

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St. Augustine's building a CIAA winner

RALEIGH, North Carolina  -  St. Augustine’s has not built itself as a silver spoon football program.  The campus, nestled in downtown Raleigh, reintroduced football in 2002, and it has taken a decade’s worth of work to emerge as a contender in an ever-competitive CIAA Conference.

Coach Michael Costa’s team is putting a quality team on the field despite the lack of amenities often found at lower divisions of football and even some high schools.

“It does take time, but if you’re patient and try to do things the right way, there’s a whole lot of models we can follow,” said Costa, whose Falcons will play Elizabeth City State at 4 p.m. Saturday in the 15th annual Down East Viking Football Classic at the Rocky Mount Sports Complex. “It can’t happen overnight. A lot of things take time.”

The obstacles are big and small. Instead of meeting in a fieldhouse, the Falcons often use classrooms to break down film and discuss gameplans.

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XU's Zahri Jackson wins second GCAC weekly award this year

ZAHRI JACKSON

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Zahri Jackson is the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Runner of the Week in women's cross country for Sept. 17-23. It's the second time in three weeks that Jackson won the award, and it's her seventh time in two seasons.

Jackson, a sophomore from Kingwood, Texas, and a graduate of Kingwood Park High School, recorded the fastest women's 5,000-meter time in the GCAC this season, 19 minutes, 53.23 seconds, on Saturday in the ASCIS Embry-Riddle Classic at Daytona Beach, Fla. She finished sixth out of 108 runners, and the time ranks 11th on XU's all-time list. Jackson has seven top-10 finishes in 11 collegiate meets.

Jackson led the Gold Nuggets to their highest finish, second place, since November 2003 in a meet of 10 or more schools. Xavier finished behind NAIA No. 20 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and was 3-0 against NCAA Division I opponents, including Seton Hall of the Big East Conference.

Jackson has won seven GCAC weekly awards, one less than Spring Hill's Kate Imwalle, the GCAC career record holder.

Neither Xavier team will compete this week. The next meet for the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will be the Mississippi College/Watson Ford Invitational at Clinton, Miss., on Oct. 5. The women's 6K will start at 4:30 p.m., and the men's 8K will start at 5:15 p.m.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA