Obadiah Simmons Named Interim Athletic Director at Grambling State University

DR. OBADIAH SIMMONS JR.
Interim Athletic Director
GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- Obadiah Simmons, Jr. has been named the interim athletic director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Grambling State University.

Simmons is a 35-year veteran of Grambling State University. He most recently served as the interim head and director of the Department of Kinesiology, Sport and Leisure Studies and was the recipient of the Robert L. Piper Endowed Professorship in Health and Physical Education. Prior to joining the KSLS Department in 2008, Simmons worked in numerous administrative capacities at GSU in enrollment management, academic support, total quality management and student affairs.

As the interim athletic director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Simmons will provide administrative direction and oversight for Grambling's 17-sport athletics program, supervise the control and compliance with applicable National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and University rules and regulations governing all facets of intercollegiate athletics.

Simmons is a native of Inkster, Michugab and a three-year letterman of Grambling's baseball team from 1972-1974. He received his bachelor's degree in secondary education from Grambling State University in 1974, earned his master's degree in physical education from the University of North Carolina in 1976 and earned his doctoral degree in educational administration from Texas A&M University in 1988.

Simmons has served as Chair of the NCAA Athletics Certification Self-Study Steering Committee (2006-2008), chair of the Grambling State University Athletic Council (2008-Present), University Policy Review Committee member (2008-Present), and Institutional Representative for the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame Nominating Committee (2006-Present).

GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE

Events DC Kicks-Off 5th Annual AT&T Nations's Football Classic

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The AT&T Nation's Football Classic®, an annual football game featuring historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), will take place at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., featuring two storied programs -- Hampton and Howard -- on Friday, Sept. 18th at 7 p.m.

"As we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the AT&T Nation's Football Classic, we wanted to refresh the event and bring back a classic rivalry, as we did in 2011 with Morehouse and Howard," said Erik Moses, senior vice president and managing director of Events DC, Sports and Entertainment Division, "The battles between Hampton and Howard in RFK Stadium during the early 90's were instant classics.  Giving this type of rivalry a rebirth is what we had in mind when conceptualizing this event."

The AT&T Nation's Football Classic® was created to celebrate the passion and tradition of the college football experience, recognizing the history of service to others by the students, faculty and alumni of historically black colleges and universities, highlighting the unity of African-American culture, while honoring the heritage and excellence of these proud institutions.

"The Classic has become a signature event for our nation's capital and is the only one of its kind within the city limits," said Greg O'Dell, president and chief executive officer of Events DC. "It's more than just a game, it's an overall experience that attracts fans from around the country who continue to come back in part because of the great hospitality they receive from our hotel and restaurant partners."

The Hampton and Howard rivalry, which dates back to their first meeting in 1908, has affectionately been termed the "Battle for the Real HU" by both schools' loyal supporters. These institutions pride themselves on their academic excellence and athletic traditions. This match-up, which had a home in RFK Stadium in the 1990s, has been a series of runs, with the Bison dominating play throughout the 1970s and the Pirates posting 14 straight wins from 1997 through 2010.

The last two contests were nail-bitters, with Howard winning on the road in double-overtime in 2013 and narrowly escaping with a 30-29 victory this past season. Howard is currently riding a four-game winning streak; however, Hampton leads the overall series 47-43.

Tickets for the 2015 AT&T Nation's Football Classic are now available, with a special $15 lower-level seat offer in effect through ticketmaster.com, throughout the end of May. Regular priced tickets will start at $25 with group discount rates and suite level experiences available as well.  For additional information, please visit NationsFootballClassic.com.
 
About the AT&T Nation's Football Classic 
The AT&T Nation's Football Classic® is a black college football game held annually at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Now in its fifth year, the game features Howard University against Hampton University. Organized by Events DC, the AT&T Nation's Football Classic® was created to celebrate the passion and tradition of the college football experience, recognize the history of service to others by the students, faculty and alumni of historically black colleges and universities, highlight the unity of African American culture, and honor the heritage and excellence of these proud institutions. Tickets for the AT&T Nation's Football Classic® are on sale now at ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster outlets, the Howard University Box Office at Cramton Auditorium and the Hampton University Box Office (at 757-728-6828). Seats are priced starting at $25.
 
ATTNFC website: www.NationsFootballClassic.com
ATTNFC Twitter: @NationsClassic
ATTNFC Facebook: www.facebook.com/NationsFootballClassic
Howard University website: www.howard.edu 
Hampton University website: www.hamptonu.edu
Howard University Athletics: hubison.com
Hampton University Athletics: www.hamptonpirates.com 

About Events DC
Events DC, the official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia, delivers premier event services and flexible venues across the nation's capital.  Leveraging the power of a world-class destination and creating amazing attendee experiences, Events DC generates economic and community benefits through the attraction and promotion of business, athletic, entertainment and cultural activities. Events DC oversees the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, an anchor of the District's hospitality and tourism economy that generates over $400 million annually in total economic impact, and the historic Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Square. Events DC manages the Stadium-Armory campus, which includes the historic Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and surrounding Festival Grounds, and the non-military functions of the DC Armory.  Events DC also built and now serves as landlord for Nationals Park, the first LEED-certified major professional sports stadium in the United States. For more information, please visit www.eventsdc.com.

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Reception Held in Honor of Hank Aaron Will Raise Funds for Eddie G. Robinson Museum

HANK AARON

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- Grambling State University and the Friends of Eddie G. Robinson Museum are hosting a special reception following the 2015 Spring Commencement featuring former members of the Atlanta Braves, including Henry “Hank” Aaron, to raise funds for the Eddie G. Robinson Museum. The reception will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 8 at the Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant.

“I just think that every individual needs to make sure they get an opportunity to come and see this great American, Hank Aaron. He’s the king of baseball as far as I’m concerned,” said Wilbert Ellis, president of the Friends of Eddie G. Robinson Museum. “Eddie Robinson had the chance to meet Hank Aaron, and you know Eddie would be excited.”

Many state museums across Louisiana were forced to reduce operations in mid-April due to mid-year budget cuts. Currently, the Eddie G. Robinson Museum only receives enough state funding to remain open one day a week, but the Friends of Eddie G. Robinson Museum want to keep the museum operational for four days a week.

“The museum is named after one of American’s greatest, Eddie G. Robinson, who coached at Grambling for 57 years and is in every Hall of Fame you can name. He’s touched the lives of so many individuals, including myself. We want young people to see this great American and his contributions and what he has done for Grambling State University and the whole country,” Ellis said.

Four former Atlanta Braves players, who are all Louisiana natives, will be honored at the reception: Wayne Causey, Gary Eaves, Ralph “Roadrunner” Garr and George Stone.

An auction will also be held featuring autographed sports memorabilia, including baseballs and bats signed by Aaron and basketballs signed by Willis Reed, a Grambling alumnus and former New York Knicks player.

Aaron, who is the senior vice president in the Atlanta Braves front office, will be awarded Grambling’s highest honor, the Doctor of Humane Letters degree, during the 2015 Spring Commencement at 10 a.m. May 8 at the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center for his numerous contributions to professional baseball and charity.

There are a limited number of tickets available for the event. Tickets can be purchased for $100 each at the following locations: Ruston-Lincoln Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau, Barnes & Noble Bookstore at Grambling State University and the Clark Company in Monroe. Donations to the museum can be made payable to The Friends of Eddie G. Robinson Museum.

For more information about the reception, please call Ellis at 318-614-8716 or John Belton at 318-680-6904.

GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE

Bertie HS Falcon star picks Fayetteville State

WINDSOR, North Carolina -- It’s not too close, and it’s not too far.

That was part of Bertie High basketball player De’Najah Porter’s reasoning for picking NCAA Division-II and CIAA-member school Fayetteville State University over St. Petersburg College and Cape Fear Community College as starting points for the next phase of her basketball career.

Porter actually went through a workout for Lady Broncos coach Eva Patterson-Heath during her official campus visit in March. She was sold on the school and they were just as sold on her.



“They were looking for new players and they said they liked my game, and they were interested in offering me a full-ride scholarship,” Porter stated. “Last week they contacted (Bertie girls) Coach (Alice) Lyons and told them they were going to go ahead and send in the paperwork.”

A shy almost demure lady off the court, Porter knows that with bigger, faster, quicker players in college, she’ll have to change some of her approach to the game.

At 6’ 2”, she led Bertie to the third round (sectional finals) of the 2A state playoffs this past February and a 23-5 record en route to the Northeastern Coastal Conference regular-season title with an 11-1 mark in conference play.

“She’s an excellent athlete,” said Lyons. “Those CIAA players are going to have to keep up with her.”

CONTINUE READING

Lane College Dragons Release the 2015 Football Schedule

JACKSON,Tennessee -- As the saying goes "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"! With the release of the 2015 football schedule the Dragons football team will have to be tough. A full slate of ten weeks of football action is planned for the Dragons 2015 season. They will be racking up frequent traveler miles as seven of the ten games are on the road for this season.

The Dragons open up the new season with a trip to Selma, Alabama for a contest with Concordia College on September 5 for the 2 PM start of the football season. Week two has the Dragons headed to Fort Valley, Georgia to take on the Wildcats from Fort Valley State University. The September 12 contest is scheduled for a 6 PM start at Wildcat Stadium. The sunny beaches of Daytona, Florida would be the next stop for the Dragons on September 19 as they take on Division I Bethune-Cookman University. The BCU-Wildcats have scheduled the kick-off for 4 PM.

In week four the Dragons will host the Golden Tigers from Tuskegee University for the home opener on September 26 with kick-off scheduled for 2 PM at Lane Field. The Dragons open the October portion of the schedule for week five with a road trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They will face the Tigers of Stillman College on October 3 with a 1 PM kickoff.

The second half of the season opens up with a road trip to Augusta, Georgia as the Dragons face The Tigers of Benedict College in the Augusta Classic for week six action. The game is scheduled to be played on October 10 at the Lucy Laney Stadium in Augusta. Kickoff for the classic is scheduled for 2 PM. Week seven is "Homecoming Week" for the Dragons as they host the Marauders from Central State University(Ohio) on October 17. Homecoming activities start during the week and on game day. The schedule kickoff is at 2 PM at Lane Field.

Week eight is a short turn around week for the Dragons as they travel to Fairfield, Alabama for a Thursday night (October 22) contest with the Golden Bears from Miles College. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 PM for this Thursday night contest.

Week nine has the Dragons wrapping up the home season on October 31 as they host the Thorobreds from Kentucky State University. Kickoff for the final home game is scheduled for 2 PM with Senior Recognition starting prior to the contest. All the action will be at Lane Field. For the final regular season contest the Dragons load up for a trip to Atlanta, Georgia to take on the Maroon Tigers of Morehouse College. The contest is scheduled for a 2 PM kickoff on November 7.

Excitement is in the air as football season is coming soon. Please make your plans now to come out and support the Dragons.

LANE COLLEGE DRAGONS 2015 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Date	Time	Opponent	Location			Time
9/5/2015	2:00 PM	Concordia College-Selma	Selma, Ala			2:00 PM
9/12/2015	6:00 PM	Fort Valley State University	Fort Valley, GA			6:00 PM
9/19/2015	4:00 PM	Bethune-Cookman University	Daytona Beach, FL			4:00 PM
9/26/2015	2:00 PM	Tuskegee University	Jackson, Tenn.		*	2:00 PM
10/3/2015	1:00 PM	Stillman College	Tuscaloosa, AL		*	1:00 PM
Augusta Classic
10/10/2015	2:00 PM	Benedict College	Augusta, Ga.		*	2:00 PM
Homecoming
10/17/2015	2:00 PM	Central State University	Jackson, Tenn.		*	2:00 PM
10/22/2015	6:00 PM	Miles College	Fairfield, AL		*	6:00 PM
10/31/2015	2:00 PM	Kentucky State University	Jackson, Tenn.		*	2:00 PM
11/7/2015	2:00 PM	Morehouse College	Atlanta, GA		*	2:00 PM

COURTESY LANE COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION

SIAC Softball Championship: Tuskegee claims 2015 SIAC Title

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (April 26, 2015) – The Tuskegee Tigerettes captured the 2015 SIAC Women's Softball Title with a 6-4 win over the Kentucky State Thorobrettes Sunday afternoon at Polo Road Park in Columbia. The win gave Tuskegee its second title in as many years.

After dispatching of the Stillman Lady Tigers in the opening game of the day, Tuskegee found itself against Western Division foe Kentucky State in the championship round. KSU defeated Tuskegee earlier in the tournament and entered the day undefeated in tournament play.

GAME 13: Tuskegee d. Stillman 3-1 (Stillman eliminated) (box score)

After three scoreless innings, Tuskegee broke open the scoring in the top of the fourth inning when Kenyah Smith drew a bases-loaded walk to score Cari Driver. Estavia Jones then singled in Roslyn Thomas and Chante Warner, making the score 3-0 in favor of the Tigerettes. Stillman would score in the bottom of the 7th inning when Kersey Hunt singled to score Hannah Burr.

Karisa Foye earned the win for Tuskegee, working five innings surrendering five hits while striking out four. Stillman's Mickenzie Sparks worked seven innings allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out seven.

GAME 14: Tuskegee d. Kentucky State 5-1 (box score)

Roslyn Thomas and Chante Warner each drove in two runs as Tuskegee forced a winner-take-all game when the Tigerettes defeated the Thorobrettes 5-1. Thomas's effort came on a two-run blast in the top of the first inning with two outs. Kentucky State answered when Alysha Sakamura scored on a passed ball.

Tuskegee plated another run in the top of the third when Warner reached on an error to score Cari Driver. In the top of the fourth, Kenyah Smith scored an unearned run when Haley Plato reached on a fielding error. The Tigerettes added a run in the top of the sixth inning when a Warner sacrifice fly scored Jasmine Howard.

Karisa Koye earned the win in relief, working 5 2/3 innings walking six and striking out five. Kentucky State's pitching duo of Brittney Gately and Cheyenne Carpenter combined to strike out three, walk three and allow nine hits in the contest.

GAME 15: Tuskegee d. Kentucky State 6-4 (box score)

Tuskegee scored first when back-to-back doubles by Roslyn Thomas and Adrienne Eaddy scored a run. Eaddy would score two batters later to give the Tigerettes a 2-0 lead entering the bottom of the second inning. In the bottom of the third inning, Kentucky State tied the contest when Tyniesha Wilson scored on an Alysha Sakamura double before Sakamura scored on a Tuskegee throwing error.

In the Tuskegee half of the fourth inning, Eaddy scored again, this time on a Haley Plato single. KSU answered in the bottom of the fifth when Wilson scored on a throwing error. The Thorobrettes took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when Danielle Bonham doubled to score Danielle Odums.

Trailing 4-3, Tuskegee opened the seventh inning with a Driver single, later scoring on a Karisa Foye single. A couple batters later, Morgan Burrell would score when Eaddy reaches on an error. In the next at-bat, Kenyah Smith would ground out as Roslyn Thomas scored the insurance run to seal the win.

Tuskegee's Karisa Foye was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. In the deciding contest, she threw seven innings, striking out five, walking four and allowing three hits. She went 5-0 on the weekend striking out 34 batters over three days of play.

Softball All-Tournament Team
Erin Lipps Claflin
Talana Brown Miles
Malea Maye Albany State
McKenzie Sparks Stillman
Jessica Mathews Stillman
Karisa Foye Tuskegee
Kenyah Smith Tuskegee
Roslyn Thomas Tuskegee
Cheyenne Carpenter Kentucky State
Brittney Gately Kentucky State

COURTESY SIAC MEDIA RELATIONS

Allen, James, Rolland and Row Team Up for GCAC Honor

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's 400-meter relay team of Clarke Allen, Chelsea James, Devinn Rollandand Tylor Row shared the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Performer of the Week in women's track for April 20-26 after producing an NAIA B-qualifying time Saturday.
     
Rolland was a double winner; she earned the GCAC women's field weekly award in the long jump.
     
Allen, James, Rolland and Row finished third in 48.13 seconds at the Southern Miss Invitational. It was the fourth time this season that the Gold Nuggets produced an NAIA A- or B-qualifying time in this event.
     
Rolland placed fifth in the long jump with a best mark of 5.19 meters (17 feet, one-half inch). Rolland outjumped three NCAA Division I athletes and four from NCAA Division II.
     
Rolland, a senior from Harvey, La., and a graduate of Cabrini High School, is no stranger to GCAC awards. She has been the conference's track honoree twice this season and eight times in her career. For field events, Rolland has won twice this season and 12 times in her career. Rolland is the GCAC career record holder in track and field weekly awards.
     
For Rolland's teammates, it's their first time to earn a GCAC weekly honor. Allen is a freshman from Mendehall, Miss., and a graduate of Mendenhall High School. James is a junior from Gadsden, Ala., and a graduate of Gadsden City High School. Row is a freshman from Baton Rouge, La., and a graduate of St. Michael High School.
     
Next for qualified XU women's and men's athletes will be the NAIA National Championships May 21-23 at Gulf Shores, Alabama.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information DirectorXULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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