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BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Ninety days after Dawson Odums took over as interim football coach at
Southern University, 19 days after the end of the regular season and 10 days
after Athletic Director William Broussard began digging into a pool of six
semifinalists, the Jaguars have apparently ended their search where it
began.
With Odums.
According to sources familiar with the search, Broussard will recommend
Odums’ name to the SU System Board of Supervisors at their on-campus meeting
Friday afternoon, ending a search that effectively began when Southern
reassigned Stump Mitchell on Sept. 14.
The Jaguars played nine games after that, going 4-5 with Odums in charge.
Three of those wins came against their top rivals — Jackson State, Florida
A&M and Grambling.
Four of their losses were close. One of them — a 50-21 wipeout against
Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the eventual champion — was not close.
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- It was announced Thursday morning that Bethune-Cookman University head football
coach Brian Jenkins has signed an extension to stay
at B-CU to lead the Wildcats Football program into the future.
Jenkins, recently completing his third year at the helm in Daytona Beach, has
taken the Wildcats to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs
in two of his three years (2010, '12) with the program. As the 2012 Mid-Eastern
Athletic Conference (MEAC) Coach of the Year, he led the Wildcats to an MEAC
title and the first undefeated conference season for the Maroon and Gold since
1984. This past season, the Wildcats went 9-3 (8-0 MEAC) and played host to
Coastal Carolina in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs at Municipal Stadium
in Daytona Beach. It was the second MEAC title for the Cats under Jenkins - the
fifth of its kind in school history - and they played host to an FCS Playoff
competition for the third time in the past 10 years.
Since his arrival in Daytona Beach, Jenkins has compiled an overall record of
27-8, and an unprecedented 21-3 mark in league play. He has helped the Wildcats
to two MEAC titles, two FCS Playoff appearances and been named the MEAC Coach of
the Year twice.
"This is a place where I come to work each day and know that I'm surrounded
by family," said Jenkins. "I want to thank so many people, but most importantly
our President - Dr. Edison O. Jackson, and Lynn
Thompson, our Director of Athletics, for giving so much of their time and
talents to make this contract extension happened. I learned so much about them,
not only as administrators, but I spent time with them as men. That really
helped me to make my decision staying at Bethune-Cookman that much easier."
Jenkins' name had been associated with a job of similar position at Southern
University in Louisiana as recently as this week.
"Southern has a great tradition and that is a great university with a
wonderful athletic director," commented Jenkins. "But after spending time with
God, my family at home, my family at work, and just hearing from so many
passionate fans of Bethune-Cookman University - I just knew staying in Daytona
Beach at B-CU was the right decision for me and all involved. Our fans are the
best."
A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Jenkins was recently tabbed as
the AFCA FCS Region Two Coach of the Year for the second time, as well as being
named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award.
For all the latest information on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, follow the
official Twitter feed, @BCUathletics, or
"Like Us" on Facebook at Bethune-Cookman Athletics.
COURTESY BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS
FLORENCE, Alabama -- Not that you're hustling to plop down a bet on the NCAA Division II national championship game this Saturday, but if you do, you might want to take the over. This one promises to keep the scoreboard operator busy.
Winston-Salem State, ranked No. 2 in the final coaches' poll, averaged 42.69 points per game this year. Opponent Valdosta State, ranked No. 17, averaged 42.67 points. Those were the fifth- and sixth-most productive scoring machines in Division II.
Meanwhile, Winston-Salem was a modest eighth in scoring defense, Valdosta just 31st.
Winston-Salem State (14-0) comes into the title game (noon CST at Braly Stadium, ESPN2 live telecast) as the least-experienced but in some ways most motivated of the two.
The Rams were also undefeated as they cruised into last season's tournament semifinals, standing at 13-0 before losing to Wayne State, 21-14.
The pass-happy Rams are led by quarterback Kameron Smith, who has completed 198 of 322 passes for 3,043 yards and 42 touchdowns.
Winston-Salem, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association champ, has had little exposure to the NCAA tournament. The Rams reached the second round in 1978, then lost in the first round in 1987, 1990 and 1991 before their march to the semis last season.
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- A few days have passed since Winston-Salem State administered a 41-18 beat-down of West Texas A&M in the NCAA Division II football semifinals.
The Ramatized crowd at Bowman Gray Stadium had good reason to dance and prance with glee. The victory catapulted their beloved home team into Saturday’s national championship in Florence, Ala. WSSU takes on Valdosta State (Ga.) at 1 p.m. in a nationally televised game on ESPN2.
“We played great (in the semifinals), almost flawless,” said Connell Maynor, Winston-Salem State’s head coach. “Now we have to play great just one more time.”
Advancing to the title game, however, is not nearly enough for this bunch. There’s more to come. Maynor has groomed his team to be ready for this appointed time. It’s safe to say that for WSSU, complete fulfillment will only come by winning the championship trophy and the banner that comes with it.
“From the very first day he got here, Coach Maynor has constantly preached to us about winning a national championship,” said linebacker Carlos Fields, who had 10 tackles against West Texas A&M. “This is bigger than WSSU, bigger than Coach Maynor, bigger than the city of Winston-Salem.”
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana fell three places to 16th Tuesday in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. But despite the drop, the Gold Rush are in the top 25 for the 14th consecutive time — the program's longest streak since the start of the 1999-2000 season.
Xavier is in the top 25 for the 27th time in 28 polls.
This is the third poll of 2012-13 and the second of the regular season. The next poll will be announced Jan. 8.
The Gold Rush lost 77-67 at home to city rival Loyola in the only XU game of the past week. Xavier will play Martin Methodist at 5 p.m. Friday and Voorhees at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Spring Hill Classic at Mobile, Ala.
This is the third time in as many polls this season that the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference has a pair of top-25 teams. Joining GCAC member Xavier in the rankings is city rival SUNO, which fell four places to 25th.
Oklahoma Baptist received 8-of-11 first-place votes and is No. 1 for the second consecutive week.
NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Dec. 9)
Rank
Team
Record
Points
Last
1
Oklahoma Baptist (8)
10-1
279
1
2
Cumberlands (3)
12-0
274
2
3
Lee (Tenn.)
11-0
263
3
4
Pikeville
11-1
250
tie-4
5
Westmont
7-1
242
NR
6
Columbia (Mo.)
9-0
235
6
7
Westminster (Utah)
9-1
228
7
8
Lindsey Wilson
12-1
219
8
9
Rogers State
10-2
215
tie-4
10
William Carey
9-1
183
15
11
Lewis-Clark State
12-0
181
10
12
Texas Wesleyan
8-1
180
11
13
MidAmerica Nazarene
10-2
174
12
14
Science & Arts
7-1
162
14
15
Cal State San Marcos
8-4
160
9
16
Xavier
9-2
140
13
17
Bethel (Tenn.)
12-1
132
24
18
Evangel
9-3
130
16
19
Concordia (Calif.)
6-3
119
NR
20
Campbellsville
8-3
92
tie-18
21
Faulkner
10-2
90
17
22-tie
Oklahoma City
6-1
89
22
22-tie
Montana State Northern
11-2
89
23
24
Texas College
9-1
83
RV
25
SUNO
4-1
79
21
Others receiving votes: John Brown 68, Biola 37, Southwestern Assemblies of God 29, Georgetown (Ky.) 25, Loyola 11, Montana Western 10, Mid-Continent 5, Culver-Stockton 5, Wiley 4.
NEW ORLEANS — For the second consecutive week, Xavier University of Louisiana climbed one spot in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The Gold Nuggets are ninth, their highest pre-Christmas ranking in Bo Browder's 14 seasons as head coach.
This is the third poll of 2012-13 and the second of the regular season. The next poll will be announced Jan. 8.
The Gold Nuggets (7-1) defeated city rival Loyola 54-44 at the Convocation Center on Wednesday in their only game between polls. Xavier's next game will start at 6 p.m. Friday at William Carey, where the Nuggets lost each of the last two seasons.
Xavier is in the top 25 for the 34th consecutive time dating to January 2010. That matches the longest streak of the Browder era. The back-to-back top-10 appearances are the first since the Nuggets did it in five consecutive polls from Jan. 11-Feb. 8, 2005.
William Carey will be Xavier's final opponent before Christmas. Then the Nuggets will play Dec. 28 against Belhaven and Dec. 29 against 24th-ranked Faulkner in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Montgomery, Ala. The Nuggets' next home opponent will be No. 12 Bethel (Tenn.), starting at 2 p.m. on Jan. 2 in the new Convocation Center.
NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Dec. 9)
Rank
Team
Record
Points
Last
1
Lubbock Christian (10)
12-0
281
1
2
Freed-Hardeman (1)
11-0
272
2
3
Vanguard
5-0
263
3
4
Westmont
7-1
254
5
5
Westminster (Utah)
8-2
245
4
6
Lee (Tenn.)
8-1
233
6
7
Cumberland
9-0
227
7
8
Oklahoma City
5-2
221
8
9
Xavier
7-1
209
10
10
Campbellsville
8-2
195
11
11
MidAmerica Nazarene
10-1
188
9
12
Bethel (Tenn.)
10-1
187
13
13
The Master's
7-0
175
14
14
Rogers State
9-2
161
15
15
Shawnee State
8-3
156
12
16
Cumberlands
8-2
148
16
17
LSU-Shreveport
8-1
138
17
18
William Woods
7-1
121
19
19
Our Lady of the Lake
9-0
114
tie-20
20
Auburn Montgomery
10-1
101
tie-20
21
Georgetown (Ky.)
4-3
93
18
22
Benedictine (Kan.)
11-1
90
RV
23
Lyon
7-1
88
23
24
Faulkner
9-2
72
25
25
Central Methodist (Mo.)
11-1
67
RV
Others receiving votes: Carroll (Mont.) 52, Southern Poly 39, Oklahoma Baptist 35, Biola 33, Wiley 23, Robert Morris (Chicago) 7, Columbia (Mo.) 3, San Diego Christian 3.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Ninety days after Dawson Odums took over as interim football coach at
Southern University, 19 days after the end of the regular season and 10 days
after Athletic Director William Broussard began digging into a pool of six
semifinalists, the Jaguars have apparently ended their search where it
began.
