Tennessee State Narrows Basketball Coach Finalists to Six

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Former Whites Creek and Belmont basketball standout Brian “Penny” Collins, now the coach at Columbia State, is among six finalists for the Tennessee State men’s coaching vacancy, according to a source.

Collins interviewed on Monday for the position, which came open March 11 when Travis Williams was fired after leading the Tigers to a 5-25 record in his only season.

The other finalists are North Carolina State assistant Rob Moxley, Illinois State associate head coach Dana Ford, Georgia assistant Stacey Palmore, West Virginia associate head coach Larry Harrison and former District of Columbia coach Julius Smith.

“I’m just excited and glad to even be considered for the head coaching position at Tennessee State,” Collins said. “I thought the interview went well and now it’s in the (search) committee and (athletics director) Teresa Phillips’ hands.”

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Alabama A&M coach James Spady wants to see more consistency as spring continues

NORMAL, Alabama -- Alabama A&M's offense has shown some of the same inconsistency play that plagued it throughout and rough and tumble 2013 campaign, during which the Bulldogs went 4-8 in its final season under former coach Anthony Jones, this spring.

"I see a bunch of mixed messages right now," AAMU coach James Spady said, following the team's first scrimmage of the spring this past Saturday. "On minute, we break off a 35, 40-yard-run and the next play we get tackled for a 5-yard loss. One minute, our defense is getting up the field and penetrating. The next minute they get pushed around. So, we're inconsistent right now. We gotta make sure we do all the little things right all the time."

Spady, a former tight ends coach at Nevada, took over the reigns in Normal back in late December, taking over for Jones, who had guided the program for more than a decade.

The first-time head coach will have his debut when the Bulldogs take on ...

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Byron Dobson: Mangum speaks frankly with students about FAMU-FSU College of Engineering proposal

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- One of the disruptions playing out behind the scenes of the high-stakes political gamble to dissolve the joint FAMU-FSU College of Engineering is the impact it’s having on current students.

This was evident during a forum last week at the college, where about 100 people, including students, faculty and the curious, showed up to hear Florida A&M President Elmira Mangum’s responses to the pending legislation. It came on the heels of late-night sessions of FAMU engineering students and a previous town-hall forum at Lee Hall, where emotions ran high.

It says something about Mangum’s interest in hearing from students that she would commit more than an hour of her afternoon to addressing their concerns. Two questions quickly surfaced: Why now? And how could this happen without any perceived input from FAMUMangum talked straight and deliberately with the students, who have been developing strategies to get the message across that they oppose a move to split up the joint FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. What they want most are answers and an explanation.

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Lincoln University Introduces John Moseley As Next Men's Basketball Coach

MOSELEY LEAVES NCCU MEN'S BASKETBALL FOR FIRST COLLEGE HEAD COACHING JOB.


Dr. Kevin D. Rome, president of Lincoln University, introduces new head men's basketball coach John Moseley at a press conference on April 14, 2014.

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri --John Moseley has been named as the next head men's basketball coach at Lincoln University.

A press conference was held by Lincoln University president Dr. Kevin Rome and athletic director Betty Kemna on Monday (April 14) to announce the hiring.

"We're committed to building a winning program, like we used to have, but theoseley past doesn't matter if you're not winning now," Dr. Rome said. "With that said, we're excited to bring someone here who we think can do that for basketball. We believe John is the coach who can take us to the next level."

Moseley joins Lincoln after spending the past four years at North Carolina Central University, including the last three as the team's associate head coach. Working with head coach LeVelle Moton, Moseley helped lead the Eagles to a 28-6 record, tying the program record for wins in a season, and both the regular season and tournament Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships. NCCU earned a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, where the Eagles fell in the second round to No. 3 Iowa State.

"I'd like to thank Dr. Rome and his staff, Betty Kemna and her staff and the search committee for this opportunity," Moseley said. "Everything was professional, and I'm excited that I was selected to lead this program."

During Moseley's time at North Carolina Central, the Eagles increased their win total all four years, going from 15 victories in 2010-11 to 17 in 2011-12 to 22 in 2012-13. In each of the past two seasons, NCCU went 15-1 in MEAC play, and in 2013-14, was a perfect 14-0 at home. Moseley was the position coach for two players who went on to earn All-MEAC honors, including a first team and a second team selection.

In addition to the Eagles' success on the court, Moseley helped his players succeed in the classroom, as NCCU earned its highest APR in program history this past year, with the team posting a GPA of 2.85 during the fall of 2012.


New Lincoln University men's basketball coach John Moseley introduces himself at a press conference on April 14, 2014.

Moseley brings 10 years of NCAA Division I experience with him to Lincoln. A 1998 graduate of East Carolina University, Moseley returned to his alma mater in 2008 to serve as the program's Director of Basketball Operations. In 2009, Moseley was promoted to assistant basketball coach, serving as the recruiting organizers. In both of his years with the Pirates, ECU posted double digit wins.

Prior to coaching at East Carolina, Moseley was an assistant coach at Winston-Salem State University in 2007-08, where helped lead the team to its most Division I victories in program history. Before that, Moseley made a one-year stop at Wright State University, working as an administrative assistant on a Raiders team that won Horizon League regular season and tournament championships.

Moseley's teams have enjoyed success at every one of his stops, and he has proven he can win at multiple levels of competition. Moseley was the head basketball coach at Warren County High in Warrenton, N.C. from 2004-06, leading the program to its first state championship in 23 years.

"I'm intrigued by the opportunity to coach in the MIAA, one of the premiere Division II athletic conferences," Moseley said. "I've had a chance to talk to some of the current [Lincoln] players, and they're ready to play. I expect our team to be tough, competitive and relentless. We are the Blue Tigers, and we will be a collar team."

This will be the first head coaching job at the collegiate level for Moseley, who has a bachelor's degree in science, exercise and sport science as well as a master's degree in education and athletic administration. Moseley and his wife, Crystal, have a daughter, Jillian.


John Moseley, the new head men's basketball coach at Lincoln University, answers some questions during his introductory press conference.

Dan Carr, Assistant AD for Media Relations
COURTESY LINCOLN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Roman Banks puts Texas A&M on hold for NCAA

HEAD COACH ROMAN BANKS
COURTESY SOUTHERN UNIVERISTY ATHLETICS

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -- Southern men’s basketball coach Roman Banks has put his dialogue with Texas A&M on the back burner for a few days.

Aggies head coach Billy Kennedy spoke with Banks twice last week about possibly joining Kennedy’s staff as the top assistant. But Banks said a two-day visit to Southern from NCAA officials that began Monday has taken priority.

Banks was among approximately two dozen Jaguars officials who were standing by in case the NCAA wanted to visit with them as it the university’s process for reporting student-athletes’ academic progress.

Once the NCAA visit is complete, Banks plans to visit with Southern Athletic Director William Broussard and Chancellor James Llorens before resuming talks with Kennedy, with whom Banks worked for two seasons as Southeastern Louisiana.

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GCAC weekly honors for XU's Mandlekar, Rolland, Abbes

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Tushar Mandlekar picked up his first Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week award, and XU's Devinn Rolland and Nour Abbes added to their record-setting totals Monday.
   
The awards honor performances from April 7-13.

Devinn Rolland

Nour Abbes

Tushar Mandlekar

Mandlekar, a freshman from Bhilai, India, and a graduate of Deepak Nagar school, had his best week of the spring semester. He was 2-0 in singles and 2-0 in doubles in Gold Rush victories on consecutive days against NAIA No. 13 William Carey and NCAA Division I's Jackson State. For the year, Mandlekar is 11-13 in singles and 13-5 in doubles.
   
Mandlekar is one of six Gold Rush tennis players this season to win GCAC Player of the Week.
   
Rolland, a junior from Harvey, La., and a graduate of Cabrini High School in New Orleans, was named GCAC Track Performer of the Week for the second time this season and the Field Performer of the Week for the third time. Rolland became a three-time GCAC champion in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the long jump on Saturday at the conference meet at Tad Gormley Stadium, and she had a personal-best of 11.66 seconds in the 100 which ranks second on the NAIA outdoor list this season. She ran the second segment in Xavier's runner-up finish in the 400 relay.
   
Rolland helped Xavier repeat as GCAC outdoor women's team champion. She increased her GCAC career-record totals for weekly awards to five in track and nine in field.
   
Setting a GCAC women's tennis season record with five weekly awards was Abbes, who won in doubles and singles Sunday in the Gold Nuggets' victory at Jackson State. Abbes, a freshman from Tunis, Tunisia, and a graduate of Lycée Sportif d'El Menzah, became the first Gold Nugget in 10 years to win 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles against an NCAA Division I opponent. She accomplished that in a victory against Angela Condorelli.
   
Abbes is 12-0 in singles, 10-2 in doubles and ranked fourth among NAIA singles players by the ITA. New individual rankings are expected to be announced Wednesday.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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Hopson has Alcorn State dreaming big in Year 3 of his tenure

HEAD COACH JAY HOPSON
COURTESY ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

LORMAN, Mississippi  – Getting to Alcorn State’s second practice field requires a steep climb.

And for three hours, coach Jay Hopson dashed up and down that hill, switching between offensive and defensive drills.

Players kept pace with their high-motored coach, whose purple shirt was soaked in sweat.

“These are Jay Hopson practices,” an assistant coach said watching from the sideline.

In fact, since Hopson became coach at Alcorn State, he’s been doing a lot of uphill climbing.

But the Braves, who went 2-8 in the year before Hopson arrived, are now considered Southwestern Athletic Conference championship contenders.

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