The "unofficial" meeting place for intelligent discussions of Divisions I and II Sports of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC).
America's #1 blog source for minority sports articles and videos. The MEAC, SWAC, CIAA, SIAC and GCAC colleges are building America's leaders, scholars and athletes..
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- SC State will begin preparing for the 2015 football season Thursday (Aug.6) when players report to the campus for orientation, team seminars, and physicals. The Bulldogs will conduct their first two practices in helmets Friday (Aug.7) and Saturday (Aug.8) —at 9:30 a.m.
SC State will also conduct, single workouts in shorts and helmets on Sunday (Aug. 9) and Monday (Aug.10) at 9:30 a.m. First workout in full pads begin Tuesday (Aug.11) at 9:30 a.m., with two-a-day practices, on an alternating basis, beginning Wednesday (Aug.12), with the morning workout set for 9:30 a.m. and an evening session beginning at 7:10 p.m., on Friday (Aug. 14) as well.
Coach Buddy Pough's team will hold its annual "Press and Picture Day" Saturday (Aug. 15), beginning at 9 a.m. at the O.C. Dawson Stadium before conducting its first preseason scrimmage at 3:10 p.m. The team will take Sunday off before resuming practice Monday (Aug.17) at 9:30 a.m., followed by evening practice at 7:10.
The team's annual "Meet the Players Day", sponsored by The STATE Club, will be held August 22th at 3:30 p.m. and will be preceded by the second preseason scrimmage at 1 p.m.
The Bulldogs open the 2015 season on Sept. 6 in the 11th Annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge against SWAC foe Arkansas Pine-Bluff in Orlando, Fla. Kick-off is 3 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPNU/ESPN3.
Pough's team was picked to finish second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the third straight season in a preseason poll of head coaches and sports information directors.
Season tickets to SC State's five home games are still available for more information go online to www.scsuathletics.com or contact the SC State Ticket Office at 803-536-8579 or 1-800-298-9157.
2015 Bulldog Preseason Football Information
Thursday Aug. 6-Players report/Orientation/Seminars/Physicals/Team Meeting/Sports Information-6:30 p.m.
Friday Aug. 7- 9:30 a.m. (Helmet) #1
Saturday Aug. 8-9:30 a.m. (Helmet) #2
Sunday Aug. 9-9:30 a.m. (Shells) # 3
Monday Aug. 10-9:30 a.m. (Shells) # 4
Tuesday Aug. 11-9:30 a.m. (Full) #5
Wednesday Aug. 12-9:30 a.m. (Full) #6 and 7:10 p.m. (Shells) #7
Thursday Aug.13-9:30 a.m. (Full) # 8
Friday Aug. 14-9:30 a.m. (Full) #9 and 7:10 p.m. (Shells) # 10
Saturday Aug. 15- Picture/Media Day
Scrimmage # 1-3:10 p.m. # 11
Sunday Aug. 16- OFF
Monday Aug. 17-9:30 a.m. (Full) # 12 and 7:10 p.m. (Shells) #13
Tuesday Aug. 18-OFF (Classes Begin)
Wednesday Aug. 19-7 a.m. (Full) #14
Thursday Aug. 20-7 a.m. (Full) #15
Friday Aug. 21- 7 a.m. (Full) # 16
Saturday Aug. 22- Scrimmage # 2- (Full) 1 p.m. #17
MEET THE PLAYERS DAY-3:30 p.m.
Sunday Aug. 23-OFF
COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina --After losing close to 35 players off last year’s football team, Coach Kienus Boulware didn’t know what to expect when the CIAA’s preseason coaches’ poll came out.
“I was surprised,” Boulware said about the Rams being selected to win the conference title.
The Rams, the four-time defending Southern Division champions, lost to Virginia State in the CIAA championship game last season. The Rams finished 9-2 and missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons but will enter this season with a 28-game regular-season win streak against conference opponents.
“I guess the biggest surprise was that Virginia State wasn’t picked to repeat, but they did have a coaching change, so I guess that’s why,” Boulware said.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Of the 128 Division I football programs, only seven finish debt-free year after year, according to the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
“At the nation’s most prominent universities, intercollegiate athletics have always played a dual role in campus life,” according to a Knight Commission report. “On the one hand, they are managed for the benefit of student-athletes. On the other, they inspire the interest and passions of thousands, if not millions, of fans. For most teams at most institutions, these roles can be reconciled. But in high-profile sports, tensions often surface between the core mission of universities and commercial values.”
Smith says that, in many cases, athletics drive the bus at schools classified for their research and scholarship.
But Dr. William Broussard, who has served as an athletics administrator for two small Division I schools, Northwestern State University and, most recently, Southern University, says the allure of playing at the Division I level is one that keeps teams trying to step up to the plate.
“NCAA distributions, allocated to support gender equity and academic support initiatives, translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of student-athlete success,” says Broussard. For Southern and other historically Black colleges in the Mideastern Atlantic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Atlantic Conference (SWAC), the numbers are even greater. On top of the broad NCAA distributions for which these schools are eligible, he adds, there are additional competitive grant programs for extra support for which 80 percent of the teams are eligible.
Revenue vs. profit
Broussard acknowledges that “many decry the HBCU pursuit of NCAA Division I excellence because of funding disparities which create competitive gulfs between them and PWIs,” but said “there are notable benefits to [the] continued pursuit” of competition at the Division I level.
NORFOLK, Virginia -- Norfolk State has scheduled football games against three Colonial Athletic Association teams, including the school’s first ever against James Madison University and the University of Richmond, according to contracts obtained from NSU by The Virginian-Pilot under The Freedom of Information Act.
The Spartans have home-and-home contracts with JMU and William and Mary and have added a single game at Richmond. The Spartans will play at Richmond and William and Mary in 2016, host the Tribe and travel to JMU in 2017, then host the Dukes in 2018.
JMU has played two previous games in Norfolk, losing the 1985 Oyster Bowl game to Georgia Southern and losing at ODU, 23-20, in 2012 before the Monarchs moved up to the Football Bowl Subdivision.
JMU has a sizable local alumni base and drew a large number of followers for the game at ODU. JMU was 9-4 last season and is picked to finish second in the CAA.
NORFOLK, Virginia -- Norfolk State head football coach Latrell Scott bolstered his receiving corps with the addition of transfer wideout Quinta Funderburk, who has signed a grant-in-aid to play for the Spartans.
The 6-3, 200-pound Funderburk, who last played at Syracuse University, has one year of eligibility remaining.
Funderburk, a native of Chesapeake, Va. and former star at Oscar Smith High School, has spent the last three years at Syracuse. He originally signed with Arkansas after his high school career.
"Quinta gives us another big, athletic target in our passing game," Scott said. "We're glad he has the opportunity to come home and finish his college career."
Funderburk enrolled at Arkansas in the spring of 2011 but did not play for the Razorbacks during the 2011 season. He then transferred to Syracuse, where he sat out the 2012-13 year per NCAA transfer rules. Funderburk played in 12 games over the last two seasons for the Orange, catching three passes for 50 yards.
Funderburk earned his bachelor's degree in child and family studies from Syracuse earlier this summer.
At Oscar Smith, Funderburk made 65 catches for 1,464 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior in 2010. He was named to the VirginiaPreps.com all-state first team and was an All-Tidewater first-team pick by the Virginian-Pilot, as well. Funderburk was part of Oscar Smith's VHSL Group 6A state championship team as a sophomore in 2008, and made 62 catches for 1,150 yards and 12 scores while helping the Tigers reach the state semifinals as a junior in 2009.
Matt Michalec, Asst. AD/Communications COURTESY NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
NORFOLK, Virginia -- Old Dominion has added Hampton University, VMI and the University of Buffalo to its future football schedules, the school will announce this morning, said sources who asked not to be identified.
Hampton will play at ODU next season on a date to be announced, but the deal includes more than just football. ODU also has agreed in principle to play the Pirates home-and-home in men's and women's basketball, though it hasn't been determined which season they'll play.
That marks a scheduling coup for Hampton because Conference USA teams generally don't go on the road to play opponents from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
VMI, which has a large alumni base in Hampton Roads, will play at ODU in 2018, the same year the Monarchs host Virginia Tech for the first time.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- William Broussard will not be returning as Southern athletic director.
His four-month reassignment as an assistant to the president for institutional advancement became permanent Monday.
The permanent assignment wasn’t surprising after the SU Board of Supervisors abruptly and without explanation reassigned Broussard in March for the period from April 1-Aug. 1.
Broussard, though, said late last week he was prepared to resume his duties as athletic director Monday morning. But he reported Monday morning to the office of Southern President Ray Belton, and the SU system issued a brief statement Monday afternoon.
“The SU System received a request, July 31, 2015, from Dr. William Broussard that he continues in the role as assistant to the president for institutional advancement,” the statement began. “The University supports the request.
“Head SUBR men’s basketball coach Roman Banks will continue to also serve as interim SUBR director of athletics until further notice.”
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- I had written an article that I never published entitled FAMU is Not Ready for Change. It was going to chronicle some of the mishaps by the new President, the Board of Trustees, and many in the FAMU community. I find that I am one of those angry black men caught up in the fray. No, not one of those who wants to lynch the president or trash the Board of Trustees. Rather, I am just sick and tired of all the drama, misperception, rumors, and lack of cohesion from within the FAMU community.
There is a lot to fix at FAMU.
Regardless of who has been in leadership, financial aid has always been a point of contention as far back as I can remember. Unqualified individuals holding jobs by favor and in some cases collecting pay checks without doing the work; the lack of courtesy and professionalism among peers; adjunct professors waiting months to get their paychecks; buying your cap and gown in anticipation of the graduation ceremony only to receive word in the middle of the semester that you need to complete another class—forgive me while I digress; a Board of Governors that views diversity as a race issue rather than an issue of economics; a list of things small and large, administrative and budget, these should be the focus instead of personalities.
NEW ORLEANS – The Bayou Classic team announced today that the 42nd Annual Bayou Classic will once again be broadcast on NBC, but this year will move to the broadcast company’s cable network – NBC Sports Network. The agreement between The Bayou Classic and NBC Sports Group extends the broadcast of the Bayou Classic on NBC Sports Network for another year.
NBC Sports Group has been the home of The Bayou Classic since 1991.
“The landscape of television sports is changing and it is important to us that the Bayou Classic continue to be an integral part of that landscape,” said Dottie Belletto, President of New Orleans Convention Company, Inc. (NOCCI), the management firm of the 42nd Annual Bayou Classic. “Coming off one of Bayou Classic’s best and most dramatic seasons in decades, we could not be more proud to extend this historic partnership and are excited that this extension offers enhanced opportunities that allow us to bring Bayou Classic to fans on more platforms than ever before.”
Also new for 2015, the kickoff time for the Annual Bayou Classic has been moved from its traditional 1:30 pm CST to a new kickoff time of 4:00 pm CST. This is also a change from earlier dissemination of a 2:00 pm CST kickoff.
“This later kickoff time makes this the first time the Bayou Classic will see a prime-time matchup both in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and on broadcast,” added Belletto. “While our relationship with NBC Sports is longstanding, this new relationship opens up additional avenues to expand the breadth of Bayou Classic-related sports programming both in the game broadcast and in advance promotions and marketing efforts.”
About The Bayou Classic
The Bayou Classic ( www.mybayouclassic.com) features one of America's greatest college sports rivalries, bringing the fans and alumni of Southern University and Grambling State University to New Orleans for a celebration of football, family and the traditions and pageantry surrounding Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Proceeds from the annual series of Bayou Classic events provide support to the campuses’ athletic programs and fund scholarships through the SU System Foundation and the GSU Foundation. The 42nd Annual Bayou Classic will be played on Saturday, November 28, 2015.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern University Athletics and Cumulus Media have agreed to terms on a deal which includes the broadcasting of more than 20 sporting events on the SU Sports Radio Network during the 2015-16 season.
The Jaguars 2015 season opener against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 5 in Ruston will serves as the first official broadcast between the two parties since 2012.
As a part of a new two-year agreement, Cumulus Radio Baton Rouge, will provide full broadcast coverage of all Southern University football games on KQXL 106.5 F.M. in Baton Rouge. Six home Southwestern Athletic Conference men's basketball games, four women's home conference basketball games and four home SWAC baseball games will air live on WXOK 1460 A.M.
WXOK will also serve as the home of the SU Coaches Radio show.
"We at Cumulus Radio Corporation are ecstatic to be the official home of Southern University Athletics," said Pat Galloway, Vice President Market Manager for Cumulus Radio Baton Rouge.
"Southern University has been providing students with an outstanding education since 1880 and is an extremely important part of the Baton Rouge community. Nearly half of our staff attended Southern University and, simply put, we love the Jaguar nation, and can’t wait to broadcast Southern University sporting events to over 263,100 listeners."
Listener who reside outside of the SU Sports Radio Network are urged to tune in to the live audio stream of the game broadcast carried exclusively on GoJagSports.com. Jaguar fans will have access to the audio stream by logging on to GoJagSports.com from their personal computer or laptop and on their mobile device or tablet through the GoJagSports.com app, which is scheduled to launch this fall.
"Southern University, along with SU athletics, has been closely associated with the Cumulus Baton Rouge family and I am excited to be apart of renewing this partnership," said Roman Banks, SU interim athletics director. "The Cumulus Media brand is well established as an industry leader in the Baton Rouge Community and has served Southern University greatly for many years. With football returning to KQXL and basketball and baseball finding a home on WXOK, I am extremely confident that the Jaguar Nation will be pleased with the direction this relationship is heading in."
When the Jaguar football team takes the field in Joe Aillet Stadium Sept. 5, veteran broadcaster Chris Powers will deliver the play-by-play account with former SU head coach and Shreveport native Gerald Kimble providing the color commentary. Former All-SWAC quarterback and the 1992 SWAC freshman of the year, Eric Randall completes the three-man broadcast team as the sideline reporter offering field-level game insights. Henry Batiste returns to lead the group as the executive producer with statistician Elliot Darensburg and audio engineer Matt Gilmore.
For more information log on to GoJagSports.com for the latest news, scores and updates on Southern Jaguar athletics. Fans can also access the latest information on SU athletics through social media by following @SouthernUsports on Twitter and Instagram or liking the Facebook page at Facebook.com/SouthernUJaguars.
Taylor was inducted into JSU's Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
AUBURN HILLS, Michigan – Stanley Johnson's No. 1 fan won't be around to watch him make his NBA debut for the Detroit Pistons this fall.
Johnson's mother, Karen Taylor, was a professional basketball player herself who played a major role in her son becoming the Pistons first-round pick (eighth overall) in this year's NBA draft.
But Johnson will make his NBA debut with a heavy heart after confirming in a tweet that his mother has died.
Karen Taylor played college basketball at Jackson State University, is a member of the school's Hall of Fame, and played professionally in Europe for five years before focusing on her son's development.
According to a story by Sports Illustrated, Taylor formed an AAU team when Johnson was 5 years old – the So Cal Tigers – and he played with the group until he was 14. Johnson's mother was his first coach and she granted her son no favors.
GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- The 2015 football season is in full swing for Grambling this week when players report Wednesday for the first practice of fall camp Aug. 7
During the next five days, The News-Star is counting down the top five positions battles and storylines to watch for.
Grambling, which is coming off a 7-5, has been picked to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division title. The Tigers open the season Sept. 5 at California.
Biggest question to answer: Who will replace Tyree Hollins and LeAndre Vallot in the secondary?
Who’s in the mix: Dwight Amphy (5-10, 175); Jameel Jackson (6-1, 200); Tyler Oliver (5-9, 182); Jordan Stargell (6-1, 190); Guy Stallworth (6-3, 215); Deion Bonner (6-0, 180); Abu Conteh (6-2, 205).
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Brian Jenkins won't have as much practice time as a head coach would prefer for his first season at Alabama State.
Due to poor Academic Progress Rate reports sustained under former coach Reggie Barlow, the Hornets will have just 16 hours a week to practice during the season. Schools usually have 20 hours a week to practice.
This should go into effect when ASU starts school Aug. 19. Daily and weekly practice restrictions do not apply during preseason practice prior to the first day o
f class or the first game, whichever comes first.
ASU starts practice Wednesday. So the Hornets can have normal practice time for two weeks. Then it'll be limited, which will make it more challenging to prepare for a schedule that starts off tough.
LORMAN, Mississippi -- Does anyone in the SWAC have it better than Jay Hopson these days?
The fourth-year Alcorn State coach has done wonders in his time in charge of the program, making everyone forget the storyline (when he was hired in May 2012) about being a white head coach in the historically black SWAC. Now he’s just a good coach that won a SWAC championship in 2014, and comes into August with 16 returning starters.
Of those guys returning, none is as important to the program — not just getting it to this point, but in its efforts to repeat as SWAC champs in 2015 — as quarterback John Gibbs Jr. He enters his senior season with 33 career starts, which has to be near the top of any list of returning quarterbacks nationally.
GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- North Carolina A&T, who is picked to win the MEAC football championship in 2015, will open camp 4 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 6 on the practice field behind the Aggie Stadium facility.
The football players will report to camp on Aug. 5 at noon. The Aggies are coming off a 9-3 season in which they posted a 6-2 conference record that helped them win a share of the MEAC title, their first in 11 years. The Aggies also earned their first national ranking in 10 years when they entered the STATS FCS poll at No. 24 following their 34-0 win over Savannah State on Nov. 15.
“I’m looking forward to getting started,” said fifth-year head coach Rod Broadway. “I still love this game and I still love competing. And I think we have a chance to be a pretty good football team. But this is a funny business. One injury could change everything.”
The Aggies have three two-a-days on their camp schedule, Wednesday, Aug. 12, Friday, Aug. 14 and Monday, Aug. 17. Camp breaks on Aug. 18 and classes begin on Aug. 19. A&T’s annual Fun Fest is Aug. 22 at 2 p.m.
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- While Florida A&M’s football team reported for the first day of fall football camp, Milton Overton Jr., the university’s new athletic director, settled into his new office.
Overton officially started his tenure Monday. He’ll be meeting with coaches and members of the athletic department throughout the week, and Thursday he’ll provide an update to FAMU’s Board of Trustees.
Baseball coach Jamey Shouppe, who was a member of the committee that interviewed the top three AD candidates in June, said he’ll have his one-on-one meeting with Overton on Tuesday, though he – and a few other coaches – had a couple of minutes with the new AD on Monday.
“We’re just excited,” Shouppe said.
“There’s so much room for growth and (Overton) is just a good guy. It starts with the character of a man and he just has a good aura about him. I’m looking forward to seeing where FAMU can go with him and President (Elmira) Mangum at the helm.”
NORFOLK, Virginia -- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced its 2015 football schedule featuring eight regular season matchups scheduled to be televised on ESPN, ESPNU, and ESPN Classic, as well as carried on ESPN3. The nationally televised games are a part of the MEAC's ongoing partnership with ESPN.
"We are excited about the 2015 football television schedule that offers our fans many ways to stay tuned in to their favorite MEAC football team," said MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas. "Our television partnership with ESPN continues to showcase our talented student-athletes, coaches and institutions through multiple ESPN platforms and further illustrates this tremendous partnership we have built over the years with the Worldwide Leader in Sports."
The 2015 television schedule kicks off with the 11th annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney featuring South Carolina State and the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Arkansas Pine Bluff. The game will be televised live on Sunday, September 6 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The ESPNU Thursday night lineup includes matchups featuring Florida A&M at South Carolina State on Sept. 17 and South Carolina State at Bethune-Cookman on Oct. 8th. Both games are slated to start at 7:30 p.m. and will air live on ESPNU and WatchESPN. .
A unique Friday night ESPNU telecast will feature Hampton and Howard at RFK Stadium. , as a part of the Nation's Football Game Classic, on September 18.
The Saturday slate begins with the Chicago Football Classic, featuring Morgan State and Howard on Saturday, Sept. 26 beginning at 3:30 p.m. CT. Bethune-Cookman will host North Carolina Central in Daytona Beach on Oct. 3 beginning at 4 p.m. and Delaware State will travel to North Carolina A&T State on November 14 beginning at 4 p.m. All games will air live on ESPN3 and taped delayed on ESPNU.
The 2015 MEAC schedule wraps up with the Florida Classic featuring Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M. The game will air live on ESPN Classic and ESPN3and re-air on ESPNU at a later time.
The MEAC will participate in the Inaugural Celebration Bowl this year pitting the champion of the conference against the champion of the SWAC in a post season bowl game on Saturday, December 19 in Atlanta, Georgia. The matchup will be televised live at Noon on ABC.
All games will also be available for viewing on computers, smartphones, tablets, Xbox and Apple TV via the WatchESPN application.
2015 MEAC Football Television Schedule
Date
Game
Network
Time
SUNDAY
Sept. 6
MEAC/SWAC Challenge
South Carolina State v. Arkansas Pine-Bluff
JACKSON, Mississippi -- This matchup wasn't short on emotions last year when Mississippi Valley State coach Rick Comegy, who coached at Jackson State the previous eight seasons, made his return to Jackson.
It also produced a stunning outcome, too, as the Delta Devils claimed their first victory against JSU since 1994.
It was only the sixth time MVSU had beaten the Tigers in 62 meetings between the two programs. The loss was one of the lowest points of JSU's 5-7 season, which was the first under coach Harold Jackson.
Emotions will likely be running high once again this fall, but both teams are different now. The core of JSU's team is another year older and Comegy is still trying to install a winning culture at MVSU.
The Tigers will likely keep all eyes on Delta Devils quarterback Quantavius Peterson, who showed some promise in 2014.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- As a freshman, Southern quarterback Austin Howard grew up in a hurry. The West St. John product led the Jaguars to their first SWAC victory of the 2014 season on the road at Prairie View A&M and didn’t look back from there, leading his team to an 8-1 conference record.
Now in year two, Howard is going into fall camp as the starter and is already showing signs of becoming even better.
"You can see the confidence," said head coach Dawson Odums. "That’s what I think experience breeds: confidence. You’ve been through the fire. You’ve been in that fox hole. You’ve gotten hit. You’ve been up. You’ve had to come back. You’ve been down. You’ve made comebacks. You’ve gotten beat.
"You’ve had someone to put their arm around you. You’ve had to grow up on the job. That creates confidence, especially if you have success under all that adversity. And that’s really the thing about Austin. He doesn’t have any lack of confidence."
GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- There is a little more than a month left before the North Carolina A&T football team opens the 2015 season against Shaw University at Aggie Stadium. Ahead of the 2015 MEAC season, head coach Rod Broadway sat down with ncataggies.com to discuss a wide range of topics. From Tarik Cohen’s summer-time celebrity, to the sharing of the 2014 title, to his philosophy on stopping the run, it is apparent coach Broadway is ready for the 2015 season to get underway. Broadway needs four wins to reach 100 for his career.
Ncataggies: Does the loss to N.C. Central in the last game of the season a few months ago still bother you?
Broadway: “Just when I think of. There was a lot at stake in that game. But let’s start off with giving those guys credit. They played well. I thought we had a chance to win that game, but we just weren’t good enough that day. So of course it’s painful when you look back. You’ve got a chance of winning a conference championship outright. If you win you’re probably black college national champions, and you’re going to the playoffs. There was a lot lost in that game, but that was last year, and we’re looking forward to this year to see if we can get better.”
Ncataggies: How do you, your staff and the players feel about sharing a championship that you were in position to win outright? Are they disappointed or are they proud to have at least a portion of the title?
Broadway: “It’s a little of both, really. When you’re where we were five years ago, winning one ballgame out of 11, to where we are now with nine wins, that’s a big accomplishment. Sharing a title isn’t what we wanted, but it’s better than 1-10. We definitely wanted to win it outright, but we take a lot of pride in winning nine ballgames after three years of probation (The NCAA sanctions occurred before Broadway was head coach). You have to give credit to our coaching staff, our players and everyone associated with the program. They took great pride in getting this program back on its feet. Were we disappointed in sharing the title? Yes. But we’re also pleased with where we are. When we stated four years ago, no one thought we were in the position to compete for a championship after coming off 27 straight losses. Just getting to the point where we are expected to do well is a great accomplishment by our guys and our coaches.”
ALWAYS WATCH IN 1080p HD, WIDE SCREEN
Ncataggies: What will it take for you to win the MEAC outright? Broadway: “With us, it starts with staying healthy. If we stay healthy we should have a pretty good football team. There are some things we want to try to do and need to do to get better. With the type of speed we have, we need to create more mismatches and get the ball in the hands of guys who can make plays. We also need to work on our down and distance situations a little better, so we can execute a lot better. We also have to be better mentally and physically. There are a lot of steps we need to take to improve.”
Ncataggies: Describe what it is like going into a season where not much is expected of you versus going into a season where expectations are high.
Broadway: “You go from hoping you have a chance to knowing you have a chance. That’s the difference. We know if we play well we’ve got a chance in every game. Before we had to play well and the other team had to make some mistakes for us to win. Athletically, we’ve gotten to a place now where we can compete with everyone we play as far as talent is concerned with the exception of Carolina (They play on the Division I FBS level with more scholarships and resources). We’re at the point now where we should be pretty good. We’re in year five of the program, so if everything goes as planned we should have a decent football team. But this business is funny. One injury can change everything.”
Ncataggies: How do you get the team focused on this year instead of reveling or fretting over what happened in 2014?
Broadway: “A lot goes into that. Attitude. Work Ethic. Not getting complacent. Willing to be hungry. Willing to work toward what you want and not expecting people to give you something. Just because you were decent last year doesn’t mean you’re going to be decent this year. It’s a totally different ballgame and a totally different team, so we have to prepare our guys to play well.”
Ncataggies: When was the first time you saw the Tarik Cohen perform the backflip while catching a football?
Broadway: “The first time I saw it was when (assistant coach Shawn) Gibbs showed it to me on the computer. Then a couple of days later he came back and showed me the one with him catching two footballs while coming out of a backflip. I think what makes him special is his will and his work ethic. He works as hard as anyone we’ve got. He’s probably one of our most talented players. But he’s got the heart of a champion. When you combine those things with talent and athleticism, you’re going to get a pretty good player.”
Ncataggies: Did you think when you were recruiting Tarik he would have such a positive impact on the program and the university at large? I mean those social media videos and TV appearances garnered the school a lot of publicity.
Broadway: “If you watched him in high school, the only question we ever had about him was his size. We have to give (assistant coach Trei) Oliver credit for finding him. He stayed on me and kept telling me: ‘Coach, we need this guy. We need this guy.’ Coach Oliver went down and saw him play and tried to convince me to take him. At first I was a little hesitant about his size, so I went down there to visit him so I could see him in person and see what his body looked like. Once I visited with him, my mind was set. He was a guy we wanted in our program. Of course since he’s been here, he’s been nothing but outstanding. What he has done for this football team is amazing, but not only that, what he has done for the university is tremendous. He’s gotten us publicity and coverage that we can’t afford to buy at our place. But you know what? It’s also been good for him. Not only did we benefit from it, but he benefited too, which is the way it should be.”
Ncataggies: You lost two All-Americans on the offensive line in (center) Ronald Canty and (guard) William Ray Robinson III. How hard is it going to be to replace those guys?
Broadway: “We’re going to miss those guys. That’s been one of our challenges since we’ve been here, trying to get enough offensive linemen. We’ve failed miserably at that. The guys we’ve signed have been decent, but we haven’t grown at offensive line in terms of numbers like I expected. Our goal was to have 15 offensive linemen in camp each year. We’ve never reached that goal. We have to continue to recruit guys and get them in our program, and not just in our program, but we need to develop them and keep them once they get here so that when you lose an R.J. Canty or a Wil Robinson, it’s not going to have that much of an effect on you because you’ve been training guys to replace them.”
Ncataggies: How important is it that you hired a coach to exclusively work with quarterbacks? Broadway: “Chris (Barnette) is really working on the fundamentals and technique. And that’s thing. We need to go back to the basic fundamentals. We’re going to work on them every day, 30 minutes a day. We need those fundamentals to show up on game day. Over the last few years we’ve just reverted back to too many bad habits. Good habits are what we need to see on game day. I’m anxious to see how those guys look once the season starts.”
Ncataggies: Defensively, you return eight of the 11 guys that led the nation in turnovers gained. Broadway: We should be better defensively. We have a lot of guys on the team who got to play last year on the defensive side. We’ve got some depth up front now on the defensive line, we’ve got bodies at linebacker, we just need someone to take the lead and take charge of the position. And we’ve got a good leader in (senior cornerback) Tony McRae. He comes to get the job done every day.”
Ncataggies: Your philosophy on defense has always been to stop the run. Why is that?
Broadway: “There’s not enough quarterbacks that can beat you throwing the ball. This is an athletic conference where the quarterback is going to hurt you the most by running the ball. But if you get them in a position where they have to throw, I don’t think too many quarterbacks on any level can beat you. You can get a plan to stop a one-dimensional football team. Now whether you can keep a quarterback in the pocket in this league is a different story. But if we can keep them in the pocket, I don’t think there is one out there that can beat us. There may be. We’re going to see because we’re going to make you beat us with the pass.”
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
The former Grambling State Tiger, Coach Roosevelt Richardson, Jr., will end his college coaching career with 45 seasons as a head coach.
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida -- Roosevelt Richardson Jr. whose association with Florida Memorial University and Miami Dade College goes back to the early 1970's has announced that he will retire as the head men's & women's cross country and track & field coach at the end of the 2014-15 school year. His retirement marks the end of a remarkable career that spanned a total of 45 seasons as head coach.
He started his head coaching career in the fall of 1970 with Miami Dade College track & field/cross country team and came to Florida Memorial University in the fall of 1997 and turned the program around in less than three years. At the time of his retirement, he will have logged 45 years as a head coach and he will have the longest tenure in Florida Memorial men's & women's cross country and track & field history and as the most successful head coach.
Coach Richardson closes out eighteen years at Florida Memorial University. In that period of time, 44 members of his teams have become NAIA All Americans and 15 have become NAIA Indoor / Outdoor Track National Champions. Under his direction, Ms. Brandy Dames became the first female All American and Ms. Sallie Green the first female National Champion in the history of Florida Memorial University.
Coach Richardson received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Grambling State University and his Masters of Arts Degree from the University of Northern Colorado. He has received many prestigious honors and awards during his career, some of which are:
· Selected as a starter for the Carifta Games, 1976
· Elected USA Florida Head Coach for Partners International Meets, 1982 and 1983
· Received Key to Miami for his work with Partners International Meets, 1982 and 1983
· Selected FCAA Conference/NJCAA Regional Cross Country and Track Coach of the Year six times
· Inducted into the USA Florida Track and Field Association Hall of Fame
· Chosen Distinguished Grambling State University Alumni, EOC in 1990
· Selected Florida Sun Conference Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, 1999
· Selected NAIA Men and Women's Region 13/14 Coach of the Year, 2002
· Selected The Sun Conference Women's Track Coach of the Year, 2006, 2010
· Selected NAIA Region 13 Coach of the Year, 2006, 2010, 2011
.Selected The Sun Conference Men's Co-Coach of the Year, 2011
"I was truly blessed to be here so long," said Richardson, "I have enjoyed my time here and one thing I always appreciated from the various directors of athletics was the freedom and ability to run the cross country and track & field programs in the image we wanted. Those were people who said 'work hard and get the job done' and I was happy to be able to do that."
"Coach Richardson has been a fixture at Florida Memorial for a decade and a half, and his boundless enthusiasm and passion to mentor our student-athletes will be deeply missed," said Robert Smith, director of athletics. "Coach Richardson has made a significant investment of time, talent and treasure at Florida Memorial. He has compiled an impressive resume' of success and positively impacted the lives of countless athletes and colleagues during his coaching career."
COURTESY FLORIDA MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
AJ WILLIAMS HEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH HARRIS-STOWE STATE UNIVERSITY
Saint Louis, Missouri -- Harris-Stowe State University Head Coach Alfred "AJ" Williams will be hosting the first Basketball Fundamentals Camp for High School male Athletes August 8, 2015. The Camp will be hosted at Harris-Stowe State University in the Emerson Performance Center Gymnasium.
Harris-Stowe State University Men's Basketball Elite Camp When: August 8,2015 Where: Emerson Performance Center on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University Cost: $40. Open to any and all Boys Grades 9 to 12. Time: 9am-4pm
Elite Camp Description
Harris-Stowe State University Men's Basketball Program is having an Elite Basketball Camp. The Elite Camp is to help sharpen skills and fundamentals for the upcoming basketball season and a great opportunity to get on the radar for Harris-Stowe State University Men's Basketball Program. The camp will resemble the experience of a high-level intensive collegiate basketball practice. There will be individual instruction, station work, lectures, 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 situational drills and full court game play. This experience will help potential student-athletes understand the level of commitment, dedication, and hard work required to play at the collegiate level.
To register, please send an email to: hornetsmbb@hssu.edu to reserve your spots. Sign up quickly, because spots are limited.
COURTESY HARRIS-STOWE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
TORONTO, Canada -- Jeffery Henderson produced a world-leading 8.52m in the long on Wednesday at the Pan American Games in Toronto's York University stadium.
Coming to Toronto as the world leader, Henderson took an early lead with 8.54m, assisted by a 4.1m/s tailwind. When the wind calmed down, he sealed his victory with a wind-legal world-leading 8.52m in the sixth and final round.
"I just wanted to get my performance down," said Henderson, who took USA's first title in the men's long jump at the Pan American Games since Carl Lewis' victory in 1987. "I came out with a win; that's all I wanted to do. I wasn't worried about the competition even though it was great competition. World Championships are next for me. That's my next focus."
COURTESY FLORIDA MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Court papers were filed Thursday in Hinds County Chancery Court on behalf of more than half of the members of the Jackson State University Prancing J-Settes dancing team suspended from the squad for the remainder of their academic careers at the university.
The Prancing J-Settes are a widely popular part of the Sonic Boom of the South marching band’s halftime show at JSU football games.
Jackson State University wouldn’t confirm nor deny the suspensions. “The Prancing J-Settes are and will continue to be an important student organization and an integral part of student life at Jackson State University. The university does not comment on internal disciplinary actions,” said Charles N. Smith, associate provost for Student Affairs.
Edna Jones Stringer, an attorney and mother of one of the suspended J-Settes, said the nine J-Settes were booted from the 16-member squad in June after a hazing allegation was made last year. They cannot have any role with the J-Settes during the remainder of their time at the school. The school also assessed a $300 fine against each student, Stringer said.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- The Southern football team reported to campus Sunday to get ready for the start of preseason camp. But the Jaguars will be heading off campus for the first several practices beginning Monday afternoon.
A delay in the construction of the Jaguar Park practice facility has forced Southern to practice at the Louisiana Leadership Institute on Hooper Road, just a few miles from campus.
The Jaguars practiced at Louisiana Leadership late last season after the expiration of daylight savings time caused the end of practice to occur after sunset. The existing practice field has no lights, and the current construction makes it unusable until the project is complete.
“The good thing is we’ve been over there before, so we know the plan, we know the layout,” coach Dawson Odums said. “We’re not going to a facility that we’re not comfortable being a part of. It’s a really easy transition. We load up on the busses, head over, get our work in and come back and continue to do that until we get our practice facility ready to go.”
