WSSU picked to win Southern Division

DURHAM, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State, the two-time defending CIAA champion and three-time defending Southern Division champion, has been selected as the top team again in its division.

The Rams, who have not lost a CIAA game in the last three seasons, were selected as the top team by the preseason CIAA coaches’ poll that was released this afternoon.

Following the Rams in the Southern Division are Fayetteville State, Elizabeth City State, Johnson C. Smith, St. Augustine’s and Livingstone.

The top team in the Northern Division was Virginia State, the defending division champion.

Following Virginia State were Elizabeth City State, Bowie State, Chowan, Virginia Union and Lincoln.

Coach Kienus Boulware of the Rams, who is in his first season, said earlier this week that he’s looking forward to the season starting.

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Miles College football game with Benedict College changed for national TV

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama  -- The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football game between Miles College and Benedict College has been selected for a CBS Sports Network national television broadcast. The game has been moved to 7 p.m. Central on Thursday, Oct. 2, as part of the NCAA Division II Football Game of the Week television package.

The Golden Bears and Tigers were originally scheduled to play on Saturday, Oct. 4, at Albert J. Sloan-Alumni Stadium in Fairfield.

"Playing on CBS Sports Network is a great opportunity for Miles College and our football program especially when it comes to playing in front of a national television audience", said Golden Bears head coach Reginald Ruffin said in a prepared statement. "It's big for our institution to have an opportunity to be showcased in markets all of the country."

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Ram Ramblings: With CIAA media day approaching, season is not too far away

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- It’s a good sign when the CIAA football media day rolls around because that means it’s getting closer to when Winston-Salem State will begin practicing.

The annual media day will be Thursday at a Durham hotel, but unlike Division I schools where coaches know a lot about what they have coming back, it’s more of a crapshoot at Division II schools.

Coach Kienus Boulware of WSSU said as much earlier this week when we met for a lengthy interview at his office. I won’t be attending the media day, but it’s a good bet the CIAA coaches will be very general in their comments about their teams.

Plenty of changes take place at the Division II level between spring practice and the fall. Eligibility issues arise, walk-ons decide not to come back to school or a myriad of other reasons turn rosters upside down before players report in August.

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FAMU RB Hearns has more than football talent

 TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- It didn't take long for West Palm middle school teacher Tim Williams to realize that Gerald Hearns would be a special student, when he walked into his pre-engineering class at Roosevelt magnet school.

Williams saw it in his eyes – inquisitiveness and eagerness.

"The thing I remember about him the most is his drive and his want," Williams said six years after he first met Hearns. "He was eager and ready to work. He was a self-starter. He is driven. I know that personality when I see it."

Hearns is now a freshman running back at FAMU. His teammates who have known him for just a few weeks during volunteer workouts say they see the same thing that Williams saw six years ago – drive and enthusiasm.

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SIAC commissioner: HBCUs left out of college sports talk

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA -- Gregory Moore felt compelled at Monday's SIAC Media Day in Montgomery to address what he feels is an alarming problem.

The league commissioner said historically black colleges and universities haven't been a part of the discussions regarding hot-button issues in intercollegiate athletics that could impact HBCUs.

"I believe the gap between the have and have nots is growing to the point where it's becoming alarming," Moore said. "When you have the average payout at a Power 5 conference school exceeds the top line revenue of all the HBCU conferences combined, that's a problem," Moore said. "That should be discussed. No one is talking about it."

Bernard Franklin, NCAA executive vice president and chief inclusion officer, hosted a meeting Moore attended last week in Atlanta with several presidents, chancellors at conference commissioners of HBCU schools.

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Report: JSU expects to hire Leon Seals as DL coach

JACKSON, Mississippi ;-- Former Jackson State defensive lineman Leon Seals might return to his alma mater.

Footballscoop.com reported Monday that Seals will be the new defensive line coach. A source told The Clarion-Ledger Seals interviewed for the position but nothing was confirmed as of Monday evening.

At last Friday's SWAC media day, Tigers coach Harold Jackson said he already had in mind who he wanted to hire and hoped to have it done by Tuesday.

Seals was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 1987 NFL draft. He earned All-SWAC honors in 1985 and 1986, when JSU finished 8-3, 6-1 SWAC and 9-3, 7-0, respectively.

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Tuskegee hopes to play for SIAC title at Cramton Bowl

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- The Golden Tigers missed out on playing in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title game, but earned a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in school history.

"We lost the Miles game and from that point on, everything was over," Tuskegee senior receiver Larry Cobb said. "It was completely done. Then we found out we made the playoffs. We were ecstatic. We got another chance, another opportunity to go out and play."

Looking to make amends, Tuskegee enters this season as favorites to win the SIAC West and play in the Nov. 15 conference championship game as a result of voting by the league's 12 head coaches.

Defending conference champion ...

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