CIAA Announces 2017 All-Conference Basketball Teams

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  -- The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), with its Men's and Women's Basketball Coaches Association and Sports Information Directors Association, announces the 2017 Men's & Women's All-CIAA First Team and All-Rookie honorees. These outstanding student-athletes will be formally recognized today during the annual Tip-Off Awards Luncheon.

Virginia State University garnered three men's honorees with Elijah Moore, Richard Granberry, and Kevin Williams. Several teams warranted two selections each including Saint Augustine's University with Quincy January and Anthony Gaskins, Shaw University's Joshua Cassady and Benji Bell, and Chowan University's Jeremy Smith and Marco Haskins. William Crandell of Winston-Salem State University, Ray Anderson of Virginia Union University, and David Duncan of Livingstone College complete the All-Conference roster.

On the women's side, the VUU Lady Panthers led the way with four honorees in Lady Walker, Alexis Johnson, Brittany Jackson, and Jayda Luckie. Virginia State's Taylor Daniels and Nandi Taylor, Chowan's Jordan Payne (Chowan), Johnson C. Smith's Blaire Thomas, Fayetteville State's Yakima Clifton, Winston-Salem State's Kandace Tate, Bowie State's Kyah Proctor, and Livingstone's Zena Lovette rounded out the 12-team list.

The Men's All-Rookie Team includes Robert Colon (Winston-Salem State), Josh Bryant (Fayetteville State), Roger Ray (Livingstone), John Maynor (Elizabeth City State), and David Belle (Bowie State).

The women's All-Rookie team consists of Malia Rivers (Johnson C. Smith), Kaaliya Williams (Saint Augustine), Mariah Coker (Chowan), Kyaja Williams (Bowie State) and Shantel Bennett (Fayetteville State).

Men's Front Court
#1 Quincy January Saint Augustine's
#20 Elijah Moore Virginia State
#32 Richard Granberry Virginia State
#10 Jeremy Smith Chowan
#22 William Crandell Winston-Salem State
#15 David Duncan Livingstone
#13 Joshua Cassady Shaw

Men's Back Court
#3 Ray Anderson Virginia Union
#1 Benji Bell Shaw
#3 Kevin Williams Virginia State
#0 Anthony Gaskins Saint Augustine's
#3 Marco Haskins Chowan

Women's Front Court
#20 Lady Walker Virginia Union
#15 Jordan Payne Chowan
#23 Alexis Johnson Virginia Union
#42 Blaire Thomas Johnson C. Smith
#3 Kandace Tate Winston-Salem State
#32 Taylor Daniels Virginia State

Women's Back Court
#3 Kyah Proctor Bowie State
#3 Brittany Jackson Virginia Union
#10 Zena Lovette Livingstone
#1 Nandi Taylor Virginia State
#0 Jayda Luckie Virginia Union

Men's All-Rookie Team
#20 Josh Bryant Fayetteville State
#4 Roger Ray Livingstone
#1 Robert Colon Winston-Salem State
#20 John Maynor Elizabeth City State
#11 David Belle Bowie State

Women's All-Rookie Team
#1 Malia Rivers Johnson C. Smith
#5 Mariah Coker Chowan
#30 Kaaliya Williams Saint Augustine's
#14 Shantel Bennett Fayetteville State
#10 Kyaja Williams Bowie State

CIAA Player, Rookie, and Coach of the Year honors will be announced during today's Tip-Off Luncheon.

For more information regarding the 2017 CIAA Basketball Tournament, visit ciaatournament.org. Follow the CIAA on social media via Facebook (TheCIAA), Twitter (@CIAAForLife), Instagram (@CIAASports), or download the CIAA mobile app available for Apple and Android devices.

CIAA MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Jeter's 'football journey' leads to CIAA Hall of Fame

RICHMOND, Virginia -- Golf is DeWayne Jeter's game now.

Check that.

Golf is his addiction.

If the temperature's above freezing, chances are he's strolling out of his home along the fifth hole at Kiln Creek and hitting some balls or playing a round.

Even Jeter's timeshares, in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Massanutten, are geared toward golf. And at 78 he carries a single-digit handicap, so don't try to hustle him.

But the sport of Jeter's youth was football. It was football that took him from Duquesne High School near Pittsburgh to Virginia State University, and it's football taking him to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Hall of Fame.

Jeter and the other members of this year's class will be inducted Friday in Charlotte, N.C., in conjunction with the CIAA's renowned basketball tournament.

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South Carolina State Announces 2017 Football Schedule

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- South Carolina State will play 11-games during the 2017 football campaign, the University announced Monday. The Bulldog slate includes five road games and six home contests to be played at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

Three non-conference contests, including a fourth trip to the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, and eight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference contests make up the 2017 schedule.



SC State opens the campaign Sunday, Sept. 3, against Southern in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge at Baton Rouge, La. Coach Buddy Pough's team will be making its fourth appearance in the game, which previously was played in Orlando, Fla, before being moved to campus sites last year. The Bulldogs have posted a 3-0 record in the game with wins over Alabama State (27-14) in 2005, Grambling (34-31) in 2009 and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (35-7) in 2015.

"I'm very excited about the six home games we have this upcoming season, it will give our fans a chance to see us play," said head coach Buddy Pough. "When you look at the schedule we have our work cut out for us we play some talented teams."

Other non-conference contests include Charleston Southern, Sept. 9, in the home opener at O.C. Dawson Stadium and Johnson C. Smith, Sept. 16 (Business and Industry Day), also in Orangeburg.

The Bulldogs begin MEAC play on the road Sept. 23 against the reigning MEAC Champion North Carolina Central Eagles in Durham, NC, and then return home for two more league games -- North Carolina A&T State (Former Student-Athlete Appreciation/Greek Day) Sept. 30, and Morgan State (Youth/ROTC/Military Appreciation Day) Oct. 7.

Pough's team will follow its two-game home stand with back-to-back road games at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach Oct. 14, and Delaware State at Dover, Del. Oct. 21.

SC State hosts Howard and first-year head coach Mike London in its Homecoming game Oct. 28, followed by a bye week Nov. 4. The Bulldogs close out their home schedule Nov. 11 against Hampton (Senior Appreciation/High School Band Day) before facing Savannah State on the road Nov. 18 in the regular-season finale at Savannah, Ga.

Pough's team finished the 2016 season 5-6 overall and tied for third at the MEAC at 5-3.


2017 S.C. State Football Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time
9/3/2017 Southern University (MEAC/SWAC Challenge) Baton Rouge, LA
9/9/2017 Charleston Southern University Orangeburg, SC ­6 p.m.
9/16/2017 Johnson C. Smith University Orangenburg, SC ­ 6 p.m. 
9/23/2017 North Carolina Central University Durham, NC
9/30/2017 North Carolina A&T State University Orangeburg, SC ­ 6 p.m.
10/7/2017 Morgan State University Orangeburg, SC ­ 2 p.m.
10/14/2017 Bethune­Cookman University Daytona Beach, FL
10/21/2017 Delaware State University Dover, DE
10/28/2017 Howard University (Homecoming) Orangeburg, SC ­1:30 p.m. 
11/11/2017 Hampton University Orangeburg, SC ­1:30 p.m. 
11/18/2017 Savannah State University Savannah, GA

Home Games are in bold

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

New Orleans UYA hosts Urban Invitational

NEW ORLEANS -- For the fourth consecutive year, MLB's Urban Invitational was hosted at the Urban Youth Academy in New Orleans. Saturday began with Play Ball, a youth-oriented program rooted in teaching baseball's fundamentals, then featured a six-team, round-robin tournament, featuring Alcorn State's 11-3 win over Prairie View A&M, and Grambling State's 11-5 win against Southern University.

In Saturday's other Invitational matchup at the University of New Orleans' Maestri Field, UNO captured an 8-5 win over the University of Illinois-Chicago during the weekend set, televised on MLB Network.

"You see the passion and energy from these teams, with the way that they play and how excited they are to be here, playing on MLB Network," said Del Matthews, MLB senior director of baseball development. "This is fun. This is what it is all about."

The goal for MLB's expanding youth-oriented initiatives -- a primary focus for MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred -- is to keep baseball pertinent in the lives of its pupils. To Matthews and Darrell Miller, vice president youth and facility development for Major League Baseball, that is what Saturday was actually all about.

"Keep playing," Miller said. "Make sure baseball is a part of their life. It doesn't have to be all of their life, it doesn't have to be all they do. But if it's a part of their life, that's valuable to us."

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Influence of Grambling coach remains strong

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- Grambling State University is a small college in north Louisiana. Despite the size, it’s home to legendary figures in the sporting world.

None bigger than Eddie Robinson.

It’s been almost ten years since Coach Eddie Robinson passed away, nearly 20 since he last coached a game. But as the year’s pass, his legend grows. It’s because of how he lived.

“There’s no question. It is alive and well” said former Grambling State University football player Lee Fobbs.

Jim Crow laws influenced whom Robinson recruited and what teams his squad could play. During a time of institutionalized discrimination Robinson excelled.

“It’s pretty amazing that someone could start with so little and make so much” said GSU President Rick Gallot.

Robinson was hired in 1941 by Ralph W.E. Jones, to coach players just a few years younger than he was.

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Catholic High's Tre Square reconnects Southern football with recruiting hotbed

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- It’s about a 20-minute drive from Catholic High’s campus in Baton Rouge’s garden district to A.W. Mumford Stadium — give or take a few minutes, depending on traffic.

Over the years, the Bears produced some of the best football talent to come out of the capital from former NFL pro bowler Warrick Dunn to current LSU running back Derrius Guice.

But in Catholic senior defensive end Tre Square’s lifetime, the Jaguars struggled to find players willing to make the less than 9-mile trip across town.

The last Catholic Bear to suit up for the Jaguars was tight end Brian Washington in the early 2000s.

Washington signed with Southern in 2002, eventually rising to take a starting spot. He was a part of Southern’s most recent Black National Championship team in 2003.

Square doesn’t remember much of Washington’s career, but he was there.

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Roger Cador won't leave until Southern baseball is back on its feet, but he knows the end is getting closer

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Roger Cador won’t die in a Southern uniform. He simply refuses.

After 32 years at the helm of Southern baseball, Cador watched the program grow out of a stolen grocery basket filled with nothing but a few dirty uniforms and a handful of used balls to become one of the most successful historically black college programs in the country.

In 1987, Southern became the first HBCU to win a game in the NCAA tournament. In 2003, Rickie Weeks won the the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation’s top amateur player.

Cador is a legend in the baseball community, but all things come to an end. Cador just hopes it’s on his own terms, whenever that may be.

“I’m not looking to die (in this position),” he said. “Now, I may go out tomorrow and die, but that’s not my goal. My goal is not to die in this program. And I’m not going to hold over this program and make them think it’s my program. I want that to be known. I have no plan of dying in this program.”

Cador has been open about his exit strategy. The Jaguars are struggling to get out from under the NCAA’s thumb after the lack of institutional control ruling it handed down last year. In preparation for the ruling, Cador purged his roster before the start of last season, which helped limit the number of scholarships the Jaguars lost.

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