SIAC Football Fan Attendance Once Again Leads the Country

ATLANTA, Georgia  – The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (S-I-A-C) once again led the NCAA Division II in football attendance last season. The SIAC has now led all NCAA DII conferences in football attendance for twelve consecutive seasons and for twenty-three of the last twenty-five seasons – dating back to the 1990 season.

"We take great pride our incredible support our fans provide our member schools and student-athletes. The emotional connections which our schools enjoy with their alumni, fans and the communities which they serve is the primary reason our league has led NCAA Division II football attendance twelve consecutive years – and twenty-three of the last twenty-five years," said Gregory Moore, commissioner of the SIAC. "What is important to also bear in mind is that our robust fan support has also been critically important to helping the SIAC to also rank first in NCAA DII by almost every objective digital and social media metric by a fairly wide margin (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and monthly unique visitors)."

Since 1990, the SIAC led Division II football's average attendance twenty-three times, including totaling 300,000 on seventeen occasions. According to the NCAA.com website, seven SIAC schools ranked in the top thirty in attendance leaders – led by Tuskegee (2nd), Albany State (5th) and Miles (9th) last season.


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2014 NCAA DIVISION II FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE TEAM LEADERS

Rank School G Attendance Average
1. Grand Valley St. 5 58,497 11,699
2. Tuskegee 5 49,799 9,960
3. Pittsburg St. 6 58,878 9,813
4. North Ala. 6 54,389 9,065
5. Albany St. (GA) 3 23,256 7,752
6. Winston-Salem 5 37,609 7,522
7. Northwest Mo. St. 6 44,840 7,473
8. Tarleton St. 3 22,141 7,380
9. Miles 6 44,017 7,336
10. Henderson St. 5 35,904 7,181
11. Midwestern St. 5 35,484 7,097
12. Fort Valley St. 5 33,439 6,688
13. Central Mo. 6 39,444 6,575
14. West Tex. A&M 5 32,874 6,574
15. Colorado St.-Pueblo 8 51,008 6,376

Rank School G Attendance Average
16. Saginaw Valley 6 37,723 6,287
17. Slippery Rock 5 31,056 6,211
18. Tex. A&M-Commerce 6 36,757 6,126
19. Tex. A&M-Kingsville 5 30,567 6,113
20. Lenoir-Rhyne 6 36,553 6,092
21. West Ga. 6 34,796 5,799
22. Indianapolis 5 28,371 5,674
23. Delta St. 6 33,715 5,619
24. Clark Atlanta 6 33,694 5,616
25. Morehouse 3 16,576 5,525
26. Benedict 5 27,613 5,523
27. Virginia Union 6 32,536 5,423
28. Valdosta St. 5 25,735 5,147
29. Shippensburg 5 25,616 5,123
30. Arkansas Tech 5 25,527 5,105

2014 NCAA DIVISION II FOOTBALL CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
Total 2014 Change

Rank Division II Teams Games Attendance Average In Avg.
1. Southern Intercollegiate# 12 62 388,787 6,271 963
2. Lone Star# 7 38 226,987 5,973 -626
3. Gulf South# 7 39 198,543 5,091 -308
4. Mid-America# 12 67 332,805 4,967 257
5. Great American# 10 53 174,473 3,292 -439
6. South Atlantic 8 41 122,339 2,984 -177
7. Central Intercollegiate 12 59 173,882 2,947 -458
8. Pennsylvania 16 87 248,748 2,859 -62
9. Great Northwest# 7 38 107,566 2,831 70
10. Great Lakes Intercol. 15 83 232,616 2,803 -386
11. Northern Sun 16 92 237,214 2,578 265
12. Rocky Mountain 10 56 131,802 2,354 98
13. Great Lakes Valley# 9 47 101,957 2,169 216
14. Mountain East 10 56 96,024 1,715 -211
15. Northeast-10 10 55 92,585 1,683 -170
Independents 6 32 69,559 2,174 -644

Conference attendance includes home games and neutral site contests between two teams in the same
conference. Independents total includes home game totals and neutral site games between two independent teams.

# Different alignment than in prior year.

ABOUT THE SIAC:

The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The primary mission and purpose of the SIAC is "to leverage intercollegiate athletics to the benefit of our student-athletes and to advance the overarching strategic interests of SIAC member institutions." The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Benedict College, Central State University, Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Paine College, Spring Hill College, Stillman College, Tuskegee University) which are located within a contiguous six-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors seven men's and six women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II.


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FAMU President Elmira Mangum to Make Four-city Trip to China as Part of Globalization Efforts

Dr. ELMIRA MANGUM,  Ph.D.
PRESIDENT
FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY

TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) President Elmira Mangum, Ph.D., will participate in a four-city tour of China in conjunction with the HBCU-China Scholarship Network.

The tour, set for May 30 - June 6, is a part of Mangum’s ongoing efforts to globalize FAMU. Last November, she traveled to Sao Paolo, Brazil as a part of the HBCU-Brazil Alliance, which focuses on expanding access and opportunities for Brazilians to attend college in the United States. FAMU currently serves students from more than 70 nations and has cooperative agreements with universities and organizations in Africa and India.

The HBCU-China Scholarship Network was initiated in 2013 when the presidents of several HBCUs met with the China Education Association for International Exchange and signed an agreement that acknowledged the initiative set forth by the Congressional Black Caucus and China’s Vice Premier Liu Yandong.

This collaboration between the Chinese government and HBCUs provides an opportunity for students at HBCUs to become competent in Chinese history and culture and will enhance their abilities to be successful in the global economy.

Mangum and delegates from seven other HBCUs will visit Beijing, Nanjing, Ningbo, and Shanghai. The visit is designed to enable administrators to solidify and develop relationships through the HBCU-China Scholarship Network.

“This trip shows the global reach of FAMU and HBCUs,” said Mangum. “Moreover, it demonstrates that HBCUs can provide students with the international experience they will need to compete in the 21st-century global economy. The trip to China goes hand-in-hand with my Passport Program, which is intended to ensure that every student who attends FAMU has a passport before they graduate. Acquiring a passport is the first step to obtaining a global education.”

About FAMU
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) is one of the largest single-campus historically Black colleges or universities in the nation. The University blends a strong research focus with a commitment to economic empowerment and community service.

The University was founded in 1887 as the State Normal School for Colored Students. Today, FAMU continues its mission to be a best-in-class, land-grant institution with a global reach that focuses on science, technology, research, engineering, agriculture, and mathematics.

FAMU contributes to a strong workforce by providing a high-quality, affordable education to students from diverse backgrounds.

The CollegeNet and PayScale Social Mobility Index (SMI) have recognized FAMU for its commitment to providing pathways for social and economic mobility. SMI ranks FAMU third among all colleges and universities in the nation for fostering social and economic opportunity. FAMU is also one of the top institutions for providing a high-quality education at an affordable price in Florida, according to The College Database (2013).

U.S. News & World Report lists FAMU as the nation’s top public historically Black college or university (HBCU) for 2015. The University was also recognized among the 2014 U.S. News & World Report “Best National Universities.” It is listed among The Princeton Review’s “Best in the Southeast” colleges for 2015.

For more information about FAMU, visit http://www.famu.edu.

UAPB goes into 2015-16 with no APR-related penalties

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- For the first time in four years, Arkansas-Pine Bluff has avoided penalties for poor Academic Progress Rates.

Most of the athletic programs at the university have reached the APR benchmark of 930, but none were penalized in any fashion by the NCAA, as the results for all Division I athletic programs were released this week. This also means that no UAPB team faces any postseason ineligibility for any reason going into the 2015-16 school year, now that five of its sports teams have served postseason bans for this school year only for lack-of-institutional control violations separate from APR issues.

Earlier this week, the NCAA publicly cited the women’s tennis team for ranking among the top 10 nationally in its sport in multi-year, or four-year, APRs. The team scored a perfect 1,000.

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Davis, former WSSU basketball star, has seen the world

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WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- For the first time in his professional basketball career Paul Davis is at a crossroads.

Davis, 27 and a former Winston-Salem State star, is torn between continuing his playing career and pursuing a coaching career.

“Some days I think I’d be fine in a coat and tie and sitting on the bench,” said Davis, a 6-9, shot-blocking machine who has played for eight different teams all over the world. “And then there are other days where I still want to play.”

What has Davis, a 2012 graduate of WSSU, thinking about his post-playing career is that he doesn’t have any solid offers to play abroad. After playing stints in Lithuania, Australia, Ireland, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Tunisia he admits to leading a charmed life.


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SWAC approves a seven-game football schedule starting in 2017; Annual Spring Meetings Completed

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- The annual Southwestern Athletic Conference Spring Meetings concluded Thursday in New Orleans as the league office hosted the Council of Presidents and Chancellors, Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators, Faculty Athletics Representatives, Director of Bands and various corporate partners for its 10 member institutions and the upcoming 2015-16 season.

The meetings launched on Tuesday with administrators discussing key topics, including the all new Celebration Bowl, gender equity, scheduling, revenue distribution and strategic planning.

The conference approved a new seven game conference football schedule starting with the 2017 season. The league’s current format is a nine game schedule.

The SWAC baseball regular season series will now be a Friday, Saturday and Sunday format migrating from the Saturday/Sunday layout. This goes into effect for the 2016 season.

In an effort to address the Academic Progress Report (APR) issues, academic support staff at member institutions will be required to become members of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A).

Sites for conference championships and tournaments were determined for 2015-16. The SWAC Football Championship has been set for December 5, while the 2016 SWAC Basketball Tournament is scheduled for March 8-12. Both will be held in Houston, Texas at NRG Stadium and the Toyota Center respectively.

The first official event of the 2015-16 year begins with the SWAC Football Media Day which is slated for July 17 in Birmingham, Alabama.


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2015-16 SWAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

11th Annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge – September 6 - Orlando, Florida

Basketball Tip-Off Media Teleconference – October 14 – Via Teleconference

Cross Country - October 26 - Clinton, Mississippi

Volleyball Tournament - November 20-22 – Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Football Championship - December 5 – Houston, Texas

Celebration Bowl – December 19th – Atlanta, Georgia

Indoor Track and Field Championship – February 20-21 – Birmingham, Alabama

Basketball Tournament – March 8-12 – Houston, Texas

Bowling Championship – March 25 – 27 – Arlington, Texas

Tennis Tournament – April 15 – 17 – New Orleans, Louisiana

Golf Championship – April 18 – 20 – Alexandria, Louisiana

Softball Tournament - May 4 – 7 - Decatur, Alabama

Outdoor Track and Field Championship – TBA - Huntsville, Alabama - TBA

Baseball Tournament – May 18 – 22 – New Orleans, Louisiana


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COURTESY SWAC MEDIA RELATIONS

Marlon Gibbs, FAMU Rattlers ready to face Florida Gators

Friday, May 29, 2015
Game 1: South Florida vs. Florida Atlantic – 1:00 PM (ESPN3)
Game 2: Florida A&M vs. Florida – 7:00 PM (SEC Network)

GAINESVILLE, Florida -- When looking for Marlon Gibbs in the dugout, it might be best to bring a picture for reference.

Florida A&M's soft-spoken outfielder doesn't do too much to draw attention to himself when he's sitting down. He'll sit, give words of encouragement to his teammates and wait for his chance on the field.

Once he's on the field, everyone knows exactly who he is. He's the one helping to set the tone for the Rattlers' offense, which recently lit up the MEAC tournament with 38 hits and 26 runs.

"I just try to stay humble," Gibbs said.

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Saint Augustine's Shaw brings home NCAA title, Makes Daddy Proud

 David Shaw Jr. won his first individual national championship
on Friday in the triple jump at the NCAA Division II Outdoor
Track and Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan. The 
St. Pauls native leaped a career-best 51 feet, 11 inches
 on his first jump to claim the title.
CIAA |Contributed photo

ST. PAULS, North Carolina — On Friday afternoon, David Shaw Sr. was sitting in his backyard, waiting to receive a call from his son, D.J., who was competing at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan.

When Shaw Sr. finally got the call from his 22-year-old son, there was a brief moment of silence on the other end.

“He sort of paused on me,” Shaw Sr. said. “Then finally he went to laughing and said, ‘Daddy, I won nationals.’

“We probably talked about 20 more minutes and I couldn’t have been prouder.”

David Shaw Jr., or D.J. as he’s commonly known, won the D2 men’s national championship in the triple jump at Grand Valley State University, his first individual title as a member of the Saint Augustine’s University track and field team.

“I couldn’t believe it, it was one of the best feelings ever,” said D.J., who leaped a career-best 51 feet, 11 inches on his first jump to claim the victory. “All I could do was thank God for opportunity. It’s every college athlete’s dream to win a national title.”

The St. Pauls native secured 10 points for the Falcons en route to the school’s third consecutive national team championship on Saturday, making D.J. a five-time national champion. The win also gave legendary coach George Williams his 36th national title, which is the most NCAA track and field championships for any coach, regardless of division.

Shaw Sr., a legendary track coach in his own right after 33 seasons at St. Pauls High School, ran track for Williams at Saint Augustine’s. That made his son’s national title even more special.

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