I have officially committed to Morgan State university & am very excited to go play for @CoachFredT ! #GoBears @MsuBearFootball 
Saturday, January 7, 2017
3-Star QB Juwan Adams' transfer leaves Jackson State in a bind
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Even before quarterback Juwan Adams decided to transfer following his freshman season at Jackson State, the Tigers had question marks on the offensive side of the football.When they couldn’t get a push up front, which was all too often for a run-first offense, they struggled to score. A lot of that had to do with injuries to key personnel, but it was also the result of pedestrian quarterback play.
Tony Hughes and his staff hoped that Adams — a three-star recruit from North Pike and the crown jewel of their first recruiting class — was going to change that. That hope disappeared earlier this week with the freshman’s decision to transfer to Southwest Community College.
“He let us know Tuesday that he had decided to transfer,” Hughes said. “We’re disappointed, but we know he’s doing what he feels is best for him and his family at this point in time.”
Adams has not commented publicly and did not respond to multiple calls and texts requesting comment for this story, leaving us to speculate on the reasons behind his decision to leave.
He'll rejoin his former high school teammate Javian Jackson, who originally signed with Jackson State before landing at Southwest.
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Virginia Union Moves Up To #3 In NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll
RICHMOND, Virginia -- The Virginia Union University women's basketball team continued their climb in the WBCA/USA Today Top 25 rankings by being ranked third in the nation in the latest poll, released on Tuesday, January 3, 2017.
The Lady Panthers are now third in the nation behind Ashland University (14-0) and Emporia State University (12-1). There are a total of 322 colleges playing women's basketball at the NCAA Division II level.
The ranking marks the highest place a VUU women's team has occupied since the 1982-83 team finished the season as National Champions (last year's squad finished the season ranked #4).
The Lady Panthers are also the only CIAA team to be ranked in the WBCA/USA Today poll.
VUU also captured the top spot in the latest D2SIDA Atlantic Region Poll, released on Tuesday, January 3.
Virginia Union is undefeated at 11-0 overall and 1-0 in the CIAA, and sit atop the Northern Division of the CIAA.
The Lady Panthers travel to Raleigh, N.C., to face Shaw University in a rematch of the 2016 CIAA Championship Game at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 5.
WBCA NCAA DIVISION II TOP 25 COACHES POLL - January 3, 2017
| Rank | School (Record) | Points | First-Place Votes | Last Week's Rank |
| 1 | Ashland (14-0) | 598 | 22 | 1 |
| 2 | Emporia State (12-1) | 556 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Virginia Union (11-0) | 512 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Bellarmine (10-1) | 490 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Angelo State (10-0) | 486 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 | Pittsburg State (11-1) | 485 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Alaska-Anchorage (10-0) | 476 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 | California, PA (11-1) | 444 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Colorado State-Pueblo (13-0) | 422 | 0 | 9 |
| 10 | Lincoln Memorial (11-0) | 405 | 0 | 10 |
| 11 | California Baptist (13-2) | 362 | 0 | 11 |
| 12 | Drury (11-2) | 297 | 0 | 14 |
| 13 | Arkansas Tech (7-1) | 267 | 0 | 15 |
| 14 | Winona State (12-2) | 261 | 0 | 16 |
| 15 | Seattle Pacific (11-1) | 228 | 0 | 13 |
| 16 | Lewis (11-2) | 200 | 0 | 17 |
| 17 | Bentley (11-3) | 194 | 0 | 12 |
| 18 | Wheeling Jesuit (9-1) | 186 | 0 | 18 |
| 19 | Columbus State (8-0) | 156 | 0 | 23 |
| 20 | Central Oklahoma (11-1) | 104 | 0 | 19 |
| 21 | Grand Valley State (9-3) | 98 | 0 | 21 |
| 21 | North Georgia (10-1) | 98 | 0 | 24 |
| 23 | Clayton State (9-2) | 80 | 0 | 22 |
| 24 | Minnesota State-Moorhead (11-1) | 71 | 0 | NR |
| 25 | Northern State (10-2) | 65 | 0 | 25 |
Others receiving votes: Eckerd (10-2) 52; Saint Mary's, TX (11-2) 29; Adelphi (11-2) 28; Simon Fraser (12-2) 24; Queens, NY (10-3) 17; Central Missouri (10-1) 17; Regis, CO (10-2) 11; West Florida (9-2) 11; Limestone (7-3) 10; Anderson, SC (8-2) 9; Glenville State (9-1) 8; Caldwell (10-3) 7; Fort Hays State (11-2) 7
D2SIDA ATLANTIC REGION POLL
1. Virginia Union - 40 points - previously 2
2. California - 35 - 1
3. Wheeling Jesuit - 31 - 3
4. Mercyhurst - 30 - 4
5. Glenville State - 24 - 5
6. Edinboro - 20 - 8
7. IUP - 15 - 9
8. Chowan - 10 - 6
9. East Stroudsburg - 7 - 10
10. Bowie State - 5 - NR
VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
Football Is Forever: The Money-Losing Drug These Schools Can’t Quit
Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t let go
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For the University of Massachusetts Amherst, moving into the top echelon of college football looked a lot like going pro.
Robert Holub, then the university's chancellor, announced the change at the 68,000-seat Gillette Stadium, 90 miles east of campus. Just like the NFL’s New England Patriots, the Minutemen would play at Gillette, selling more tickets to make up for the increased costs of big-time football. “We promise national excellence and prominence to the citizens of the Commonwealth,” Holub said in April 2011.
Five years later, the school’s plan appears, at best, naively optimistic. The projected revenue has failed to materialize, and the athletic department now relies on more financial support from the university than it did before its football team joined the Football Bowl Subdivision. Fewer than 15,000 fans on average attended UMass home games this season. The Minutemen no longer belong to a conference and won’t play a single game at Gillette in 2017.
“I see nothing changing in terms of the financial viability, the attendance or the conference opportunity,” said Max Page, a UMass architecture professor who co-chaired the faculty senate’s Ad Hoc Committee on FBS Football in 2014. “It’s going to continue to drain money from the core mission of the university. And there’s no end in sight. How many years do we do this?”
Quite possibly forever. Once a school fields a top-division football team, it’s nearly impossible to reverse the commitment. UMass is one of 10 schools to join the FBS since 2009, and most are struggling financially. In theory, they have alternatives—drop down to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), known until 2006 as Division I-AA, or cut football entirely. Neither is a panacea, as the University of Idaho and the University of Alabama at Birmingham are learning.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For the University of Massachusetts Amherst, moving into the top echelon of college football looked a lot like going pro.
Robert Holub, then the university's chancellor, announced the change at the 68,000-seat Gillette Stadium, 90 miles east of campus. Just like the NFL’s New England Patriots, the Minutemen would play at Gillette, selling more tickets to make up for the increased costs of big-time football. “We promise national excellence and prominence to the citizens of the Commonwealth,” Holub said in April 2011.
Five years later, the school’s plan appears, at best, naively optimistic. The projected revenue has failed to materialize, and the athletic department now relies on more financial support from the university than it did before its football team joined the Football Bowl Subdivision. Fewer than 15,000 fans on average attended UMass home games this season. The Minutemen no longer belong to a conference and won’t play a single game at Gillette in 2017.
“I see nothing changing in terms of the financial viability, the attendance or the conference opportunity,” said Max Page, a UMass architecture professor who co-chaired the faculty senate’s Ad Hoc Committee on FBS Football in 2014. “It’s going to continue to drain money from the core mission of the university. And there’s no end in sight. How many years do we do this?”
Quite possibly forever. Once a school fields a top-division football team, it’s nearly impossible to reverse the commitment. UMass is one of 10 schools to join the FBS since 2009, and most are struggling financially. In theory, they have alternatives—drop down to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), known until 2006 as Division I-AA, or cut football entirely. Neither is a panacea, as the University of Idaho and the University of Alabama at Birmingham are learning.
CONTINUE READING
Could FSU Football’s Game vs. Delaware State be Worst in Program History?
FSU will pay Delaware State a $475,000 guarantee for the game
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Last week, FSU football announced that they had found a 12th team for their schedule next season. After presumably looking across the nation for an opponent they would pay hundred of thousands of dollars to come to Tallahassee and get beat, the Seminoles settled upon…drumroll please… The Delaware State Hornets!
That’s right, ladies and gentleman – a team that went 0-11 last season as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (the same one Tallahassee neighbors FAMU play in) will be the team Florida State will be beating up on come November 18th in the home finale next season.
It’s no secret that the ‘Noles have started to adopt the SEC schedule theory of playing at least one cupcake each season – usually from the FCS group. The Hornets – who lost by an average of 25 points a game last season and had just three defeats of 10 points or less – will be the ninth FCS team FSU has played since Jimbo Fisher’s first year in 2010 (and the third MEAC team).
The argument from FSU officials and Fisher himself is going to be the fact that the 2017 schedule is already chalk full of battles. The Seminoles start the year with Alabama in Atlanta while including home games against Louisville and Miami to go along with road games at Clemson and the season finale at Florida.
CONTINUE READING
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Last week, FSU football announced that they had found a 12th team for their schedule next season. After presumably looking across the nation for an opponent they would pay hundred of thousands of dollars to come to Tallahassee and get beat, the Seminoles settled upon…drumroll please… The Delaware State Hornets!
That’s right, ladies and gentleman – a team that went 0-11 last season as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (the same one Tallahassee neighbors FAMU play in) will be the team Florida State will be beating up on come November 18th in the home finale next season.
It’s no secret that the ‘Noles have started to adopt the SEC schedule theory of playing at least one cupcake each season – usually from the FCS group. The Hornets – who lost by an average of 25 points a game last season and had just three defeats of 10 points or less – will be the ninth FCS team FSU has played since Jimbo Fisher’s first year in 2010 (and the third MEAC team).
The argument from FSU officials and Fisher himself is going to be the fact that the 2017 schedule is already chalk full of battles. The Seminoles start the year with Alabama in Atlanta while including home games against Louisville and Miami to go along with road games at Clemson and the season finale at Florida.
CONTINUE READING
College Football Teams Are Risky and Expensive—and Schools Keep Adding Them
Universities still think the sport’s benefits outweigh the costs
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- At many schools, the costs of football are starting to challenge the benefits. It’s expensive, it doesn’t always make money, many academic faculty resent it, and the ongoing debate over health risks and players’ labor rights put universities in an awkward position.
Taken together, football could look like the kind of hassle a university president might try to avoid.
Yet few do. In the past eight years, 57 colleges and universities have started an NCAA football program. The University of Alabama, at Birmingham, restored its team to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Another 11 joined the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA), and the rest are competing at lower levels—Divisions II or III. For all but UAB, there’s little money to be made from TV or ticket sales.
In the past decade, annual football expenses at a typical FCS school have increased from less than $2 million to $3.5 million. In the same period, revenue has expanded from $430,000 to $1 million. Middle-of-the-road FCS programs—a division that includes University of Maine, Colgate, Portland State—are losing millions on football altogether.
In spite of all this, East Tennessee State University still decided to add football in 2015. The team costs about $4 million to field, one-quarter of the overall department budget. Encouraged by the school’s president, students approved a $125 fee that would cover $2.8 million of the football team’s costs. “That was the only way we could do it,” said Richard Sander, originally a consultant on the football revival and later hired as the school’s athletic director.
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Why TV Riches Aren’t Enough to Keep College Football Alive Anymore
Programs and conferences have sacrificed ticket sales for media money. What happens when that dries up?
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The business model of college football, long a financial boon to universities, is breaking down. A weeklong look at the pressures of rising costs, falling revenue and what, if anything, universities can do about it. Read the rest of the series here.
College football is sloshing around in television money. You can see it in inflated coaching salaries and practice facilities that feature spas, juice bars, and movie theaters. Clemson’s football players are getting a mini-golf course and an indoor slide.
One athletic director, in little Las Cruces, N.M., is trying to rebalance the scales. For the next couple of years, Mario Moccia plans to do all he can to keep the New Mexico State University Aggies off TV. Think of it like an NFL broadcast blackout.
“I’m choosing not to do damage to myself,” Moccia said. He suspects more people will come to the games if they can’t watch from home and the school will make up any lost revenue at the gate. Only 5 percent of the Aggies' $29 million annual athletic budget comes from TV, and Moccia figures it’s worth experimenting.
It's hard to overstate how unusual Moccia is. The pursuit of TV money has led programs and conferences to make all kinds of concessions, and while that might make short-term sense -- media money is guaranteed, ticket sales are not -- it threatens to irritate and alienate the fan base over the long term.
CONTINUE READING
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The business model of college football, long a financial boon to universities, is breaking down. A weeklong look at the pressures of rising costs, falling revenue and what, if anything, universities can do about it. Read the rest of the series here.
College football is sloshing around in television money. You can see it in inflated coaching salaries and practice facilities that feature spas, juice bars, and movie theaters. Clemson’s football players are getting a mini-golf course and an indoor slide.
One athletic director, in little Las Cruces, N.M., is trying to rebalance the scales. For the next couple of years, Mario Moccia plans to do all he can to keep the New Mexico State University Aggies off TV. Think of it like an NFL broadcast blackout.
“I’m choosing not to do damage to myself,” Moccia said. He suspects more people will come to the games if they can’t watch from home and the school will make up any lost revenue at the gate. Only 5 percent of the Aggies' $29 million annual athletic budget comes from TV, and Moccia figures it’s worth experimenting.
It's hard to overstate how unusual Moccia is. The pursuit of TV money has led programs and conferences to make all kinds of concessions, and while that might make short-term sense -- media money is guaranteed, ticket sales are not -- it threatens to irritate and alienate the fan base over the long term.
CONTINUE READING
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