JSU Releases 2013 Football Schedule

JACKSON, Mississippi  --  The Jackson State University Division of Athletics has released its 2013 football schedule. The Tigers offer JSU fans an exciting 11 game slate of football action, five of which are home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.

JSU (7-5 overall, 7-2 SWAC), which finished the 2012 season with a trip to the Southwestern Athletic Conference title game, opens the season with a trip to New Orleans, LA to take on Tulane on Aug. 31. This meeting will be the first between the two programs.

The Tigers will open their home schedule on Sept. 7 against the Alabama State Hornets. On Sept. 14 JSU will host the Tennessee State Tigers in the Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis, TN.

JSU will welcome the Texas Southern Tigers to Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium on Sept. 21 and the Tigers will close out the month of Sept. in Baton Rouge, LA against the Southern Jaguars on the 28.

The Tigers will open the month of October with its third home game of the season. On Oct. 5 JSU will host the Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions in a rematch of the 2012 SWAC championship game. JSU will then travel to Itta Bena, MS to face the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils.

 

JSU will face Grambling State for the homecoming game on Oct. 19 before traveling to Shreveport, LA to take on the Prairie View A&M Panthers at Independence Stadium. The Tigers have an open date on Nov. 2 and will return to action Nov. 9 to take on the Alabama A&M Bulldogs in Huntsville, AL. The Tigers and the Braves of Alcorn State will square off in the regular season finale on Nov. 16 at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.

2013 Jackson State Football Schedule

Aug. 31 @Tulane,  New Orleans, LA TBA Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Sept. 7 *Alabama State, Jackson, MS 6 pm (W.C. Gorden Classic)
Sept. 14 Tennessee State, Memphis, TN 6 pm (Southern Heritage Classic)
Sept. 21 Texas Southern, Jackson, MS 6 pm
Sept. 28 @Southern U.,  Baton Rouge, LA 6 pm

Oct. 5 Arkansas Pine Bluff, Jackson, MS 6 pm
Oct. 12 Mississippi Valley State, Itta Bena, MS 2 pm
Oct. 19 Grambling State, Jackson, MS 2 pm (Homecoming)
Oct. 26 Prairie View A&M,  Prairie View, TX 4 pm

Nov. 2 IDLE
Nov. 9 Alabama A&M, Huntsville, AL 1 pm
Nov. 16 Alcorn State, Jackson, MS 2 pm “Senior Day”

Dec. 7 SWAC Championship Game Birmingham, AL 1 pm

Head Coach: Mr. Rick Comegy
Director of Athletics: Dr. Vivian L. Fuller
President: Dr. Carolyn W. Meyers
 

FSU, Ohio State On B-CU's 2013 Softball Schedule



Courtesy B-CU Athletics

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Games with Florida State, Ohio State, and other teams from the ACC, Big East, Big 12, Pac 12 and Ivy League are featured in the Bethune-Cookman University 2013 softball schedule, it was announced today.

The three-time defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Wildcats open the season Feb. 9-10 in a tournament at Florida State and will face the Seminoles on Feb. 10. The following week sees the Wildcats facing Ohio State twice at a Jacksonville University tournament that will also include a game with Louisville .

Other notable non-conference games include a March 7 home doubleheader against Boston College and match-ups with Temple (Feb. 22 and Feb. 23 at Stetson), Utah (March 10 in Long Beach, Calif.); Iowa State (March 22 in Boca Raton), and two games with Dartmouth (Feb. 23 and March 23) and a home doubleheader with Cornell March 18.

The focus is preparing the Wildcats for Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play, in which they've compiled a 32-7 (.821) record the past three seasons.

"We hope to see improvement, we hope to win games and we hope the non-conference schedule gets us ready," said B-CU Coach Chris Cochran. "When you play these teams, you know you have to play well."

With 10 Californians on the 2013 roster, B-CU will make a six-game swing through California the week of March 10-14, featuring doubleheaders at Loyola-Marymount and UC-Riverside to give family and friends of the west coast Wildcats a convenient chance to see them play in person.

"The players are always excited about those games," Cochran said. "The last time we played Loyola Marymount, their coach commented that our game was their biggest gate of the year. We're glad we can help."

B-CU, 30-31 last season, will host the MEAC tournament May 9-11, 2013 at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex. Last year's team went 4-0 in the tournament to receive the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Regionals.

2013 B-CU SOFTBALL SCHEDULE


COURTESY BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Howard University Announces 2013 Football Schedule

WASHINGTON, D.C. --  Howard University will kick off the 2013 season on August 31 when it travels to Ypsilanti, MI to take on Eastern Michigan University in third meeting between the two schools.  The Bison will then return "home" for the AT&T Nation's Football Classic against Morehouse on September 7 at RFK Stadium.

Howard will then travel to Norfolk, VA to take on FCS powerhouse Old Dominion University on September 14.  It will mark the first meeting between the two schools.

Howard receives a bye the following week before opening MEAC play against rival North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, NC on September 28.

The Bison will finally get a chance to play before the home crowd at Greene Stadium when they host North Carolina Central University on October 5.  They follow with a big match against MEAC defending champion Bethune Cookman on October 12.

Howard will go back on the road again when they take on Florida A&M University on October 19.

Next comes homecoming and the Bison will face Morgan State University on October 26.

It's back on the road again as the Bison travel to Dover, DE to face the Hornets of Delaware State on November 2.

Howard will play its last home game of the season on November 9 when it takes on Savannah State. The Bison close out the 2013 regular season with games at Texas Southern in Houston, TX on November 16 and at Hampton University on November 23

Below if the complete 12-game schedule for 2013:

August 31: Eastern Michigan at Ypsilanti, MI (TBA)

September 7: Morehouse for the AT&T Nation's Football Classic at R.F.K. Stadium in Washington, DC (3:30pm)

September 14: Old Dominion at Norfolk, VA (TBA)

September 21: BYE

September 28: *NC A&T State at Greensboro, NC (TBA)

October 5: *N. C. Central at Washington, DC (1:00pm)

October 12: *Bethune-Cookman at Washington, DC (1:00pm)

October 19: *Florida A&M at Tallahassee, FL (TBA)

October 26: *Morgan State for Homecoming at Washington, DC (1:00pm)

November 2:  *Delaware State at Dover, DE (TBA)

November 9: *Savannah State for Senior Day at Washington, DC (1:00pm)

November 16: Texas Southern at Houston, TX (TBA)

November 23: *Hampton at Hampton, VA (TBA)

*MEAC Game
Bold: Home Game


COURTESY HOWARD UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

FAMU's OC Quinn Gray describes his offensive approach

SAU Falcons Start 2013 Baseball Season This Weekend

RALEIGH, North Carolina  --  Saint Augustine's University begins the 2013 baseball season this weekend when they travel to Atlanta, Ga., to visit Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University.

The Falcons open against Morehouse at Perkerson Park in a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. The first game starts at noon. The next day, the Falcons face Clark Atlanta at Bill Evans Field in a twinbill beginning at noon.

Head Coach Charles Whitaker is anxious for the season to get underway. He has a mix of skilled veterans and newcomers on the roster.

“I am definitely excited,” Whitaker said. “We have a talented freshman class and I am excited to see what the freshmen are capable of doing. I am anticipating great things from our senior group.”

The nine seniors on the roster are pitcher Clarence Ganus (Whiteville, N.C.), pitcher John Hailey (Rockingham, N.C.), first baseman Pat Hall (Virginia Beach, Va.), pitcher Stephen Hamilton (Chicago, Ill.), first baseman Darien Hardaway (Atlanta, Ga.), infielder Ariel Polanco (Harlem, N.Y.), infielder Chris Rogers (Chicago, Ill.), outfielder Daveed Todd (Chicago, Ill.) and infielder/designated hitter Jeremy Wilkins (Smithfield, N.C.). In addition to the new players, Whitaker added Tom Stewart as assistant coach. Stewart joined the coaching staff in October 2012.

“With the addition of our new pitching coach Tom Stewart, we should see some improvement with our pitching staff,” Whitaker said.

Last year, the Falcons reached the CIAA Tournament after finishing fourth in the regular season. They have advanced to the championship round four of the past five seasons.
“We had a great offseason in the fall with practice and weightlifting,” Whitaker said. “When we returned in January, the players followed up with more hard work in practice. Everybody is ready to start.”

COURTESY SAINT AUGUSTINE'S UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

FAMU lands Royal Palm Beach WR JoJo Williams, OL Craig Smith

ROYAL PALM BEACH, Florida -  Florida A&M snapped up a pair of Royal Palm Beach teammates.

The Rattlers received commitments from wide receiver JoJo Williams, who previously committed to Grambling, and offensive lineman Craig Smith.

Williams (6-3, 180) committed to Grambling last month after head coach Doug Williams offered him a scholarship. However, Williams is unable to visit the school’s campus in Louisiana until late February. That was good news for FAMU, who brought Williams to Tallahassee last week. Royal Palm assistant coach Jon Stellman said Williams “loved it,” and changed his mind.

FAMU also picked up Smith (6-5, 320), who played offensive tackle for the Wildcats. Smith had offers from Alcorn State, Stony Brook and Grambling.

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Alcorn State's Driver retires after 14 seasons in Green Bay

Driver showed something special: 'The determination to succeed'

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin  --  Alonzo Highsmith was only a few weeks into his career as an area college scout for the Green Bay Packers when he visited a small campus in southwest Mississippi to look at the NFL prospects from little Alcorn State.

While there, he looked at videotape of and then interviewed an under-the-radar receiver named Donald Driver, who’d caught 88 passes in his three seasons at Alcorn.

After he finished his work, Highsmith presented Driver as a draft-worthy prospect to his boss, former general manager Ron Wolf. Highsmith thought Driver had the same mental makeup as one of his former teammates at the University of Miami, receiver Michael Irvin, who by ’99 was going into the final season of a career that would land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Their physical makeup and pedigree couldn’t have been more different. Irvin was 6-feet-2 and 207 pounds, and a highly regarded prospect coming out of a premier college program. He was the No. 11 pick overall in the ’88 draft.

Driver played a much lower level of Division I college football and was a wiry 5-feet-111/4and 170 pounds. His standout physical trait was his jumping — he was a national-caliber high and long jumper.

PHOTO GALLERY:

Favorite photos of Donald Driver by P-G photojournalist Evan Siegle

Green Bay Packers WR Donald Driver: On and off the field

Hundreds line up for tickets to Driver retirement event

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