TSU's Covington Makes Houston Rockets Final Roster

ROBERT COVINGTON
(Courtesy Houston Rockets)

HOUSTON, Texas  -- Former Tennessee State men’s basketball standout Robert Covington has made the Houston Rockets’ 15-man roster.

Covington signed a guaranteed free agent contract with the club immediately following the NBA Draft and played in five preseason games where he averaged 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds.

 

Aiding the Bellwood, Ilinois products chances at making the final cut was his performance in last Friday’s contest in which he scored eight points and four boards in 15 minutes.

 

Covington averaged a team-best 17 points per contest last year and added eight boards per game. He finished his TSU career with 1,749 points, which places him seventh in school history.

 

The Rockets will start the 2013-14 campaign tonight with a home game against the Charlotte Bobcats.

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

 

NCCU Football hosts #12 Bethune-Cookman

Eagles Challenge Defending MEAC Champions on ESPNews

 Complete Game Notes (PDF)

THE GAME
Bethune-Cookman University "Wildcats" vs. North Carolina Central University "Eagles"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, November 2, 2013 – Kickoff at 12:00 p.m.

THE SITE
O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium (10,000 capacity/Mondoturf) - Durham, N.C.

THE RECORDS
Bethune-Cookman (7-1 overall, 4-0 MEAC); N.C. Central (4-4 overall, 2-2 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network mobile app (iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android, Kindle Fire HD); "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (audio internet stream). Broadcast starts at 11:30 a.m. (Chris Hooks, play-by-play; Joe Simmons, color analyst).
Television: Live television broadcast on ESPNews. Broadcast starts at 12:00 p.m.

QUICK HITS
• Bethune-Cookman, the defending MEAC champion, is the second nationally-ranked team to visit O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium this season. The Wildcats are ranked No. 13 in The Sports Network FCS Top-25 poll and No. 12 in the FCS Coaches poll.
• Game televised live on ESPNews.
• Bethune-Cookman has the second-best defense in the nation (Division I-FCS), holding opponents to just 263.4 yards of total offense per game. The Wildcats rank third in the FCS in scoring defense, allowing only 15.0 points per contest.
• NCCU has been out-scored 62-19 in the first quarter this season, while Bethune-Cookman has out-scored its opponents 72-17 in the opening 15 minutes of play.
• NCCU redshirt freshman quarterback Malcolm Bell (Richmond, Va.) threw for a touchdown and rushed for another score to help lead the Eagles to a road win over Savannah State last week in his first career start.
• NCCU sophomore Adrian Wilkins (Forest City, N.C.) tops the MEAC in both kickoff returns (29.1 yards per return) and all-purpose yards (139.1 yards per game), and has scored touchdowns on two kickoff returns (100, 91 yards), two punt returns (89, 73 yards) and two receptions. He is the only Eagle in the NCCU record books with a kickoff return touchdown, a punt return touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same season. Wilkins is the only student-athlete in the NCAA Division I-FCS with four special teams return touchdowns.
• NCCU senior linebacker Tazmon Foster (Henderson, N.C.), who amassed 80 tackles in eight games last season, is the second-leading tackler in the MEAC with 92 takedowns (5th in FCS).

THE SERIES
This will be the fifth football meeting between NCCU and Bethune-Cookman since the teams first met in 1994. Bethune-Cookman leads the series 3-1, including three straight victories. In that first match-up on Sept. 24, 1994, the Eagles captured a 24-5 road victory in Daytona Beach, Fla. Three years ago on Oct. 23, 2010, B-CU, as the 14th ranked team in the nation, earned a 23-10 win in Durham, N.C. Two years ago, the Wildcats amassed 525 yards during a 34-6 victory to spoil NCCU's homecoming on Oct. 29, 2011. Last season, B-CU scored 28 unanswered points to overcome a three-point second-half deficit en route to a 42-17 win on Oct. 27, 2012.
10/27/2012 - B-CU 42, NCCU 17 (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
10/29/2011 - B-CU 34, NCCU 6 (Durham, N.C.)
10/23/2010 - B-CU 23, NCCU 10 (Durham, N.C.)
9/24/1994 - NCCU 24, B-CU 5 (Daytona Beach, Fla.)

THE LAST MEETING
(Oct. 27, 2012 - B-CU 42, NCCU 17)  North Carolina Central University held a slim three-point lead midway through the third quarter, but Bethune-Cookman University scored 28 unanswered points to end the Eagles' four-game win streak with a 42-17 victory inside Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla. NCCU quarterback Jordan Reid threw touchdown passes to Detwan Robinson and Decona Roberts in the first half to go into the locker room with the score tied at 14-14. On the first drive of the second half, the Eagles moved the ball inside the B-CU 1-yard line, but committed a false start penalty on third down and had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by sophomore Oleg Parent to give NCCU a 17-14 edge at 7:23 of the third quarter. Bethune-Cookman responded by moving the pigskin 63 yards on five consecutive run plays, capped by a 8-yard scamper by Rodney Scott, to take a 21-17 advantage at 5:28 of the third quarter. After the Wildcats forced an NCCU punt, B-CU running back Isidore Jackson took the first play 93 yards to the end zone to put the home team up 28-17. NCCU posted a 12-play, 52-yard drive in an attempt to answer the challenge, but Parent's 36-yard field goal try was blocked to keep the gap at 11 points. With less than six minutes remaining in the game and needing two scores, NCCU had to force the action, which resulted in two interceptions and a fumble by the Eagles in their final three possessions. Jackson scored his second touchdown of the game with 4:14 remaining to put the Wildcats up 35-17, then B-CU opted to post more points on the scoreboard with a 1-yard touchdown run by Angelo Cabrera with 58 seconds remaining. Jackson finished the evening with 158 rushing yards to help the Wildcats amass 443 yards of total offense, including 274 yards on the ground. NCCU recorded 234 total yards, including 154 yards through the air by Reid on 15-of-28 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Running back Arthur Goforth collected 142 all-purpose yards, including a team-high 43 rushing yards, 28 receiving yards on a team-best four catches, and 71 kickoff return yards. Redshirt freshman safety Ryan Smith tallied at game-high 12 tackles (8 solo) and a fumble recovery to lead the Eagles.

THE COACHES
North Carolina Central: Dwayne Foster (Delaware State, 1993) joined NCCU in 2011 as assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach, before being elevated to interim head coach prior to the 2013 season. Previously, he served as running backs coach at Prairie View A&M University (2005-10), tight ends and running backs coach at Catholic University (2004), and offensive line coach at Bowie State University (2003). Foster made his name on the high school level in Washington, D.C., as the head coach of Archbishop Carroll High School from 1997-2003. At Archbishop, Foster received coach of the year honors by the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Committee in 1998. Foster played college football at Delaware State University from 1989-93 and helped the Hornets capture two MEAC Championships during his freshmen and junior seasons before graduating in 1993. Foster is a member of the Black Coaches and American Football Coaches Associations, was part of the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program in 2010 with the Buffalo Bills and in 2012 with the Cincinnati Bengals, and participated in the NCAA Men's Football Coaching Academy in Indianapolis, Ind., in June 2006.

Bethune-Cookman: Brian Jenkins is in his fourth season with the Bethune-Cookman University football program. The Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., native led the Wildcats to a 10-2 record, a share of the MEAC championship and a spot in the NCAA playoffs in his first season as a college head coach in 2010. He followed that effort with an 8-3 campaign in 2011. In 2012, B-CU posted a 9-3 overall record, including an 8-0 mark in the league to win the conference title and advance to the NCAA playoffs for the second time in three years. Jenkins was an assistant coach at Rutgers University in the 2009 season as wide receivers coach on Greg Schiano's Scarlet Knights' team that was the St. Petersburg Bowl champions. Prior to Rutgers, Jenkins served as running backs coach and special team's coordinator at Louisiana-Lafayette for seven seasons (2002-2008). Jenkins joined UL from the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe. Prior to his stint in NFL-Europe, Jenkins was the running backs coach at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Before joining the BGSU Falcons, Jenkins spent five seasons with Eastern Illinois University. From 1995-98 he served as running backs coach and was named the receivers coach in 1999. In 1994, he was the receivers coach at Western Kentucky University. Jenkins played college football as both a wide receiver and running back at the University of Cincinnati. He was the Bearcat record holder for kickoff return yards in a season and in a career before those records were surpassed in 2009. He graduated in 1993 with an associate's degree in education and bachelor's degree in social work.

COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

ASU Hornets Night Practice Begins Kentucky Preparations

MONTGOMERY, Alabama  -- The Alabama State University football team hit the practice field for their weekly Tuesday night practice session to begin preparations for their game at the University of Kentucky.

After watching film on the Wildcats, the Hornets coaching staff know they are going up against a big, strong and talented team on both sides of the ball.

"Of course they are in the SEC and they have two really big and really good defensive tackles," Head Coach Reggie Barlow said. "They have a defensive end who is an all conference player there and I think he just had his best game of the season (at Mississippi State)."

"On offense they play really fast and they have a kid we know about, Whitlow and another quarterback so it is a really good team. I think the head coach there is in his first year there he is trying to establish his program and his philosophies. He is playing some freshmen kids and some other kids that have been there that have done a good job for him so we have our work cut out."

Everyone knows this game will be a game of a football championship series team, Alabama State, against a football bowl series team in Kentucky, and no one knows that better than the players.

"I walk around our complex and I'm a good listener, and I hear these guys talk about I could have went here or could have gone here or to all these schools and now we get a really good opportunity to see how you measure up against SEC guys," Barlow said.

"It's the mind set or the approach of this is a great opportunity to see how you measure up, to have an opportunity to play against an SEC school. It's never happened here at ASU and we are making history in that regard. I think the guys will be excited about seeing how we can measure up against a team from the SEC."

The game is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. and can be seen on CSS. The game can also be listened to on WVAS FM 90.7 beginning at 6:15 p.m.

COURTESY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

UMES Donor supports "Fore!" scholarships with $500,000 Pledge

^{Carnelious Jones
(Courtesy UMES Media Relations)}

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland  – The past 10 months have been momentous for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s fledgling PGA golf management program.

On the heels of producing its first group of graduates comes news four new full-ride scholarships will be available a year from now, thanks to a half-million dollar pledge from a Baltimore businessman.

Carnelious Jones’ donation will underwrite financial aid he hopes will inspire minorities and women to pursue careers across the golf industry. Jones has asked UMES to name the scholarships in honor of trail-blazing African-American golfers James Black, Renee Powell, Calvin Peete and the late Ann Gregory.

“Mr. Jones' transformational gift will provide the university's PGA golf management program with much needed resources to recruit motivated students to the program,” said Kimberly Dumpson, who worked with the philanthropist to establish the scholarship program when she was UMES’ lead fundraiser.

The university is one of 20 higher education institutions in the country that offers the unique course of study backed by the PGA of America. UMES is the lone historically black institution with an undergraduate program that combines instruction in how to play professional-level golf with hospitality industry training.

UMES President Juliette B. Bell said Jones’ gift is “an extraordinarily generous gift that we promise to use to achieve his goal and ours – and that is making educational opportunities available to those who deserve and will benefit by it.”

Jones, a petroleum wholesaler, has emerged as a leading advocate in a growing movement in search of strategies to diversify golf. He asked that the scholarships created by his gift be named in honor of the four golf legends considered pioneers in their era.

Jones recently was named a national trustee of the First Tee, “an international youth development organization introducing the game of golf and its inherent values to young people.”

First Tee’s focus is on working with young people from elementary-through-high school. Jones sees UMES and its golf management program as the next step in “growing the game” among a more diverse group of athletes and casual players.

“It’s about opportunity and access,” Jones said.

“The University of Maryland Eastern Shore seems like the natural place where young people can come and earn a degree and learn what it takes to be involved in the business of golf,” he said.

Jones, 59, is the epitome of the self-made entrepreneur. He grew up on share-cropper farm in southwestern Tennessee where his family raised cotton. He joined the military after graduating from high school in the early 1970s and served five years in the U.S. Navy, including a tour of duty in Vietnam aboard the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. It’s where he learned to be a plumber.

After an honorable discharge with citations, Jones earned a master plumber’s credential – which he still holds – and started his own business. He eventually invested in a small oil tank farm, a decision that has enabled him to grow a petroleum distribution business domestically and internationally. By the late 1980s his clients included FedEx, International Paper, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the state of Maryland.

Through a state contract, he did business with the University of Maryland Eastern Shore providing it with fuel. His youngest child, Carnelious Jones II, graduated from UMES in 2007.

His interest in and commitment to golf expanded earlier this year when he invested in a golf shoe and apparel company, A-GAME Global Sports. He is a past winner of UMES’ Art Shell Celebrity Golf Classic fundraiser, and carries a handicap in the upper teens.

Jones also operates a consulting firm; Carnelious Jones & Associates.

In addition to his appointment as the First Tee’s first African-American national trustee, he also serves on the advisory board of Texas Southern University’s College of Science and Technology, the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation Inc., a black maritime history organization, and on a U.S. Department of Energy advisory panel working to help African nations.

“Maybe my gift will start a dialogue around the dinner table in African-American homes that they can have access to game through a UMES degree,” Jones said, adding he hopes other historically black institutions might follow the university’s lead.

Jones said he sees plenty of opportunities in the game for minorities; playing competitively as well as recreationally, working in the industry or being a supplier of goods and services.

By Bill Robinson, director, UMES Office of Public Relations, 410-621-2355. 

Hampton Pirates Sailing Finishes Third in the Webb Open

Courtesy Hampton University Athletics

NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia – The Hampton University sailing team finished third in The Webb Open hosted by Christopher Newport University on Saturday and Sunday.

The Pirates finished with 102 points.

Christopher Newport's blue squad won the team title with 76 points.

Saturday saw beautiful and windy, but cold, conditions. Veronica Maccari and Ramatoulie Sallah raced in the A Division on Saturday, with Kimannee Simon and Joshua Williams sailing in the B Division.

The Pirates tallied 37 points in the A Division, second only to CNU, winning seven races and recording five second-place finishes. Hampton also had 65 points in the B Division, recording two race wins and a second-place finish.

The Pirates will be back in action on Saturday and Sunday, when they head to Norfolk, Va. for the War Memorial. For more information on Hampton University sailing, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY PIRATES SPORTS INFORMATION

NCCU Women's Basketball Media Day Press Conference

DURHAM, North Carolina  -- North Carolina Central University head women's basketball coach Vanessa Taylor along with Jessica Freeman (Charlotte, N.C.) and Khyra Conerly (Oakland, Calif.) talk with the local media at their Media Day Preseason Press Conference. The Lady Eagles tip off the 2013-14 season with an exhibition contest against Livingstone on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 p.m. in McDougald-McLendon Gym.



COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

No price increase on tickets at 2013-14 XU home games

NEW ORLEANS -- Xavier University of Louisiana will play its first basketball games this week, and the top price for a ticket to a home game remains $10.

Dannton Jackson, XU's interim athletics director and in his 11th season as coach of the Gold Rush, announced the pricing Tuesday.

The XU men will begin their season at 7 p.m. Friday at home against Carver College of Atlanta. It will be Xavier's second season in the Convocation Center, a $25 million facility which seats nearly 4,000 for basketball.

Adult tickets will cost $10. Xavier will offer free admission to:
    
• Students with a valid XU ID.
    
• XU faculty and staff.
    
• Children age 12 and younger.

• Coaches with a valid LHSAA/LHSCA membership card.

• School teams, which must contact Xavier at least 24 hours before a game. Schools may contact Jackson at (504) 520-5448 to reserve seating at men's games and coach Bo Browder at (504) 520-7333 for seating at women's games.

The Convocation Center will open one hour before all home games.

The XU women will open Saturday on the road -- a neutral-site game at 6 p.m. against Langston in Grand Prairie, Texas -- and play their first home game at 4 p.m. on Nov. 9 against Spring Hill.

Starting times for the Crosstown Classic doubleheader against Dillard on Jan. 25 have been pushed back two hours to 5 p.m. (women) and 7 p.m. (men).

Both XU teams won Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championships and qualified for NAIA national tournaments in 2012-13. The women finished 24-6, and the men were 24-8.

The 2013-14 home schedule (15 men's games, 11 women's games, plus two non-XU tournament games):

Nov. 1 (Fri.) -- men vs. Carver, 7 p.m.

Nov. 9 (Sat.) -- men vs. Albany State, 2 p.m.; women vs. Spring Hill, 4 p.m.

Nov. 14 (Thu.) -- men vs. Wiley, 7 p.m.

Nov. 19 (Tue.) -- men vs. Loyola, 7 p.m.

Nov. 23 (Sat.) -- women vs. Texas College, noon; men vs. Texas College, 2 p.m.

Dec. 3 (Tue.) -- men vs. William Carey, 7 p.m.

Dec. 5 (Thu.) -- women vs. William Carey, 5:30 p.m.; men vs. Mobile, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 30 (Mon.) -- women vs. Mobile, 7 p.m. (Faulkner vs. LSU-Shreveport, 5 p.m.)

Dec. 31 (Tue.) -- women vs. Faulkner, 5 p.m. (Mobile vs. LSU-Shreveport, 3 p.m.)

Jan. 11 (Sat.) -- women vs. SUNO, 3 p.m.; men vs. SUNO, 5 p.m.

Jan. 13 (Mon.) -- men vs. Spring Hill, 7 p.m.

Jan. 18 (Sat.) -- women vs. Edward Waters, 3 p.m.; men vs. Edward Waters, 5 p.m.

Jan. 20 (Mon.) -- women vs. Talladega, 5:30 p.m.; men vs. Talladega, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 25 (Sat.) -- women vs. Dillard, 5 p.m.; men vs. Dillard, 7 p.m.

Jan. 28 (Tue.) -- men vs. Belhaven, 7 p.m.

Feb. 17 (Mon.) -- women vs. Philander Smith, 5:30 p.m.; men vs. Philander Smith, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 22 (Sat.) -- women vs. Tougaloo, 3 p.m.; men vs. Tougaloo, 5 p.m.

March 6-9 (Thu.-Sun.) -- Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament in New Orleans, including games at XU’s Convocation Center.

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