Alabama A&M's Brandon Wells confident as college debut looms Saturday

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - More bold than merely precocious as a recent middle-school graduate, Brandon Wells years ago approached the late Mac Thompson, then the football coach at Calera High School.

"I told my coach I wasn't going to play unless he tried me at quarterback," Wells recalled. "I always felt like I could do it. I like to be the one in command. I want to be the one with the ball in my hand. He let me try, and I was successful at it."

Thompson would later tease Wells that "if it wasn't for that tryout, I don't know where you'd be."



"I've always been a pretty outspoken guy," Wells said. "I really don't lack in confidence. If I felt like I can do something I'm going to try to do it. I felt like I could do it, and I actually could, and now we're here."

Where Wells is is days away from his first collegiate appearance. He'll be the Alabama A&M quarterback on Saturday when the Bulldogs open the season at Grambling State (6 p.m. CDT).

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Thorpe’s arrival fills VSU’s quarterback void

Former JMU and Varina star joins new VSU coach

ETTRICK, Virginia -- When quarterback LaMonta Green left the Virginia State football program, he left a void for new Trojans coach Latrell Scott. Green, who would have been a senior, played in four games last year before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season.

Green’s departure meant that there were no veteran quarterbacks on VSU’s roster heading into fall camp.

“It was an unfortunate situation because LaMonta had a very solid spring,” Scott said. “From practice one to practice 15, he grew up a whole bunch. I think he played well enough during the spring game to try to help us win.

“But when he left, we kind of looked at transfer situations and started to think what we could do because I really didn’t want to put Niko (Johnson, Hermitage) in that situation to have to play as a true freshman.”

One phone call from Justin Thorpe helped Scott solve the quarterback dilemma.

“He called us and said that he ‘wanted to be with you guys,’ ” said Scott. “Our main focus was for him to finish up at James Madison, do what he needed to do to graduate and do things the right way.

“I’ve known Justin since he was ...

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TSU Big Blue to Play Three Games on ESPN3

(Courtesy TSU Athletics)

BRENTWOOD, Tennessee  – The Ohio Valley Conference has announced that the Tennessee State football team will play three contests on ESPN3.

The Tigers will open up in front of a national audience on Sept. 1 against Bethune-Cookman at LP Field. TSU’s other streaming games will be at Tennessee Tech on Sept. 21 and at Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 2.

The trio of games are part of a nine game OVC football "Game of the Week" package that will be carried exclusively on ESPN3 this fall.

The nine game schedule will feature each of the nine OVC football-playing institutions at least once during the season and includes eight Conference matchups and one non-conference game.

TSU’s opener will be the OVC’s only non-conference matchup of the agreed upon package.

The games will be produced by WebStream Sports, an Indianapolis-based company which is a proven leader in video production, streaming video and content creation. The company, founded in 2006, produces more than 1,000 events annually and has also served as a web streaming consultant for the OVC for the past year. The OVC and WebStream have agreed to a three-year production agreement that will feature at least eight football games over each of the next three years.

Kevin Ingram, host of "The Wake Up Zone" on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, will handle play-by-play duties while and Bob Belvin, Sports Director for 100.7 FM/AM 540 (ESPN Clarksville), will provide analysis. The duo worked together last year in the league's TV package.

ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually and accessible online via WatchESPN.com, on smart phones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members and on Apple TV. It is currently available in more than 85 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks.

2013 OVC Football TV Game of the Week on ESPN3
Sept. 1 - Bethune-Cookman at Tennessee State, 7:00 p.m. CT
Sept. 21 - Tennessee State at Tennessee Tech, 7:00 p.m. CT
Sept. 28 - Eastern Kentucky at Eastern Illinois, 1:30 p.m. CT
Oct. 5 - Jacksonville State at UT Martin, 2:00 p.m. CT
Oct. 19 - Austin Peay at Murray State, 3:00 p.m. CT
Oct. 26 - Eastern Kentucky at Southeast Missouri, 1:00 p.m. CT
Nov. 2 - Tennessee State at Eastern Kentucky, 12:00 p.m. CT
Nov. 16 - Jacksonville State at Eastern Illinois, 12:00 p.m. CT
Nov. 23 - Eastern Illinois at UT Martin, 1:00 p.m. CT

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Bethune-Cookman names Tyree Price as assistant track coach

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  --  Following consecutive seasons with program-best finishes at the conference championships, the Bethune-Cookman coaching staff has once again grown stronger in not only numbers, but in strength and experience, as Head Coach Donald Cooper announced the hiring of Tyree Price as an assistant coach on Wednesday (August 28) afternoon.

“Watching Bethune-Cookman from a rival’s perspective, I saw the progress that Coach Cooper has made with this team and program,” Price said. “It’s always great to have familiarity with a staff and a program; you know how everything is run, so there’s not too much of a change. You just have to make sure that you bring out his philosophies and convey them to the athletes.”

At B-CU, Price will coach with an emphasis on the men’s sprints and horizontal jumps, in addition to administrative duties.

Price comes to Bethune-Cookman after six seasons as the head track & field and cross country coach at South Carolina State (SCSU), and has developed a very long and strong relationship with Cooper as both a colleague and friend.

Before his arrival at B-CU, Cooper was the assistant head coach under Price at SCSU. However, their history began as college teammates at SCSU, later coaching together at Morris Brown and Fort Valley State.

“His presence definitely strengthens the program,” Cooper commented. “We’re at a point now that bringing on someone with such experience and knowledge gives us a unique advantage. His ability to recruit, motivate and prepare student-athletes is going to be a huge asset.”

Price’s experience in developing champions precedes him, producing 31 NCAA Regional qualifiers, one NCAA Indoor provisional qualifier, three USA Junior National qualifiers, 81 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) All-Conference athletes, over 50 MEAC Commissioner’s All-Academic Team honorees, 14 MEAC Champions, two MEAC record holders and 41 SCSU school record holders.

Price’s 2010 SCSU women’s cross country squad earned the highest placement in school history, finishing second overall at the MEAC Cross Country Championships.

Price joined the SC State staff after serving four seasons as the head men’s cross country/track & field coach, and three seasons as the head women’s cross country/track & field coach at Fort Valley State University. At FVSU, he produced 37 NCAA Division II National qualifiers (2004-07), 23 NCAA Division II All-Americans, 5 NCAA Division II Individual National Champions, 27 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Champions, 139 All-SIAC Conference athletes, the 2005 USTFCCCA South Region “Track Athlete of the Year”, the 2006 USTFCCCA South Region “Track Athlete of the Year”, the 2006 USTFCCCA South Region “Field Athlete of the Year”, and has guided the school to several top finishes at the SIAC Cross Country and Track & Field Championships as well as the NCAA Division II Championships.

Prior to his stint at Fort Valley, Price served three seasons as the assistant head coach at Morris Brown College in Atlanta. He also severed as an assistant with “In the Black Track Club”, which produced the 14th ranked 4x400m relay in the world, as well as the sixth place finisher in the triple jump in the 2001 USA Indoor Championships.

Price was a member of the SC State track & field team for four years (1995-98), and also was a member of the football team for one season (1995). Price received his Bachelor’s Degree from South Carolina State in 1998. In addition to his degree from SC State, the Summerville, S.C. native has done further study at Life University and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

His wife, Faith N. Price, will join him in Daytona Beach later this year.

For all the latest information on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, follow the official Twitter feeds at @BCUathletics and @CookmanTrack or "Like Us" on Facebook at BCUAthletics.
 
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CIAA teams trying to catch up to WSSU

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- There’s little doubt that any other CIAA team will have to go through fifth-ranked Winston-Salem State to win the conference championship.

The Rams, who rejoined the conference in 2010, have won the last two CIAA titles rather easily and catching them won’t be easy.

"What we have to do is start doing the things that got Winston where they are now,” Coach Robert Massey of Shaw said.

The Rams are 22-2 against CIAA teams (including two championship-game wins) in Coach Connell Maynor’s three seasons and were the preseason favorites in the coaches’ poll. They’ll be trying for the school’s 11th CIAA title overall and to become the first program to win three straight CIAA titles since Hampton did it from 1992 to 1994.

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Southern Jaguars Football to honor '93 team for Sept. 14 home opener

Former Jaguars Head Coach Pete Richardson
SU Record: 134-62 (1993-2009)
4 Black College National Championships

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  Twenty seasons of Southern football have passed since former head coach and Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Pete Richardson led his first team out of the tunnel of the Louisiana Superdome in 1993.

An emphatic 30-13 win over Northwestern State served as the start of a memorable 11-win season - the first double-digit win season since A.W. Mumford's 1954 team won ten games-producing the programs first outright SWAC championship since 1959.

Southern University athletics will commemorate the achievements of the 1993 Black College and SWAC champions during pregame of the Sept. 14 home opener against Prairie View A&M in A.W. Mumford Stadium.

In conjunction with the game's Alumni Day/Unite in White promotion, Southern is providing two free tickets to each member from the 1993 team and support staff along with a special pregame tailgate hosted by the Southern University Football Alumni Association. For more information about the pre-game festivities, contact SUFAA President Darryl Hurst at Darryl.Hurst@yahoo.com.

Former players, coaches and supports staff including trainers, equipment managers and strength coaches are required to contact Southern Athletics Director Will Broussard at 225-771-5930 or email him at will_broussard@subr.edu for verification purposes and to receive their tickets. Individuals wanting more than the allotted two tickets can purchase additional tickets for $30 in Sections 5W and 6W.

The 1993 team produced four All-SWAC first team selections including Sean Wallace, the SWAC's Defensive Player of the Year. Pete Richardson was also named the conference's coach of the year in 1993, the first of five awards the former coach received during his 17-year career at Southern.

COURTESY SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Florida A&M's Holmes sees opportunities in Challenge

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- Declining the invitation to play in Sunday’s MEAC/SWAC Challenge wasn’t an option this time for FAMU. The Rattlers believe the benefits are simply too good to pass on.

FAMU coach Earl Holmes pointed to the game’s television exposure on ESPN, its recruiting ramifications and the Rattlers’ large Central Florida alumni base.

FAMU makes its first appearance in the Challenge since 2007, facing Mississippi Valley State on Sunday in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl.

“It gives us a chance to reach out to the guys that we are trying to reach out to and bring into the program and fans don’t have to drive that far,” Holmes said on Tuesday during his first weekly news conference.

“If we can keep the games in the state, I think that’s a plus.”


Video is Courtesy of FAMU Athletics

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