Cheyney Wolves To Play at Alabama State in Turkey Day Classic

CHEYNEY, Pennsylvania -- Cheyney University football will head to Montgomery, Alabama to face Alabama State University on Thanksgiving Day in the 94th Annual Turkey Day Classic on Thursday, November 23, 2017 at ASU Stadium on the Alabama State campus.

The contest scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m., (2:00 p.m. in Alabama), will mark the first meeting between two of the nation's oldest Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU). Cheyney University celebrating its 180th Anniversary as the nation's First HBCU founded in 1837 and Alabama State, who are commemorating their 150th year anniversary, founded in 1867.

The Turkey Day Classic features a week of activities and acts as the homecoming game for Division I Alabama State out of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) eastern division. The Hornets have hosted the Turkey Day Classic every year since 1924.

The Turkey Day Classic is the longest running HBCU Classic in the nation, and has featured just seven different opponents including Tuskegee (1924-'70, '72-'85, '88-'90, and '93-2012), Mississippi Valley State ('71), Clark Atlanta ('86), Johnson C. Smith ('87 and '91), Fayetteville State ('92), Stillman (2013-14) and Miles (2015-16).

Cheyney Head Coach Chris Roulhac, Albany State '70, competed against Alabama State as a member of the Albany State football teams. "I look forward to going back to Alabama State and being a part of this historic event." Roulhac sees this as a great opportunity to grow the Cheyney brand and understands the significance of the contest. "It's an honor to travel to Alabama for the 94th Annual Turkey Day Classic, and to play in their new stadium, in our 180th year as they celebrate their 150th."

The Wolves are in the midst of spring practice and have an open practice scheduled for tomorrow Saturday, April 22, inside O'Shields-Stevenson Stadium at 1:00 p.m. as part of the Community Day festivities at Cheyney University.

The Annual Blue-White Scrimmage to close out the spring will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 29 inside O'Shields-Stevenson Stadium.

To see the official Turkey Day Classic release from Alabama State University, click HERE.

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Albany State Rams football set to showcase talent in spring scrimmage

ALBANY, Georgia — The Albany State football program believes they have the talent in place to withstand the personnel changes that may come.

Interim head coach Anthony Kelly said he expects a number of players on both sides of the ball to give Rams’ fans a taste of what’s to come in the annual Blue-Gold Spring Scrimmage Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Albany State University Coliseum.

Under center will be former Monroe High School standout Charles Stafford and Billy Cobb, who is returning this season from injury. Both players have overcome obstacles, but it is Stafford who is expected to get the nod when the season officially begins. Kelly said he’s already seeing what made him such an impressive signee out of high school.

“We are now beginning to see the kid we recruited from Monroe High School a few years ago,” he said. “You see the arm strength, you see the poise as he stands in the pocket and gets rid of the ball. You see the leadership in terms of he’s leading the offense. He’s a little bit more vocal. He’s showing the confidence that we have expected from him, that you would want from a quarterback. He’s just matured.”

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Tuskegee second in Division II football attendance

TUSKEGEE, Alabama -- For the 14th consecutive year, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) led all NCAA Division II conferences in football attendance.

In Division II, there was a record-breaking attendance of over 3.2 million across the 930 games with an increased average of 3,459 per game.

Tuskegee was second among Division II teams with an average attendance of 10,130. Miles (9,624), Fort Valley State (8,850), Morehouse (8,370) and Albany State (8,057) rounded out the top 10.

In 2016, the SIAC recorded an attendance of 376,763 fans throughout 49 games. The average attendance at SIAC games last season was 7,689.



The SIAC has led all NCAA Division II conferences in football attendance for 25 of the last 27 seasons, dating back to the 1990 season. Since 1990, the SIAC has led NCAA Division II football attendance 25 times including totaling an attendance of at least 300,000 on 19 occasions.

“The support shown to SIAC student-athletes and member institutions underscore the unique and special relationships which SIAC schools share with their students, alumni and fans,” said SIAC Commissioner Greg Moore.

“We take great pride in these relationships as well as various game day traditions that bring families together and engage our respective college and university communities in such a positive manner.”

Among the most well attended games last season were the Chicago Football Classic (34,003) between Clark Atlanta and Central State, Kentucky State at Tuskegee (25,691), the Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic (23,612), Fort Valley State at Morehouse (22,476), and the Circle City Classic (21,024) featuring Central State and Kentucky State.

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Hampton lacrosse coach, players to hold clinic in Baltimore on Saturday

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- When Lloyd Carter steps on the field Saturday morning at Carroll Park, he will have flashbacks of many other days spent there.

As a former head coach at Northwestern High in the late 1990s, he and City coach Anthony Ryan spent a lot of time working with young African-Americans to develop and spread the game of lacrosse.

Nothing has changed much through the years.

Carter, 58, is returning to the city as head coach of Hampton University, the first team at a historically black college or university to play at the Division I level.

Carter and his Hampton players, in conjunction with Charm City Youth lacrosse, will hold a clinic to teach skills, run scrimmages and then speak to the children about the importance of an education.

"We're going to board the bus around 5 or 5:30 and get there to work," Carter said on Thursday. "We tried to work something out last year, but got started too late. But this year, we worked on a time and this is a good way to help others."

"I've done this before with Blax Lax [a club team he formed with Ryan in 2002]and this is my way of reaching back into the community," said Carter, who played lacrosse at Morgan State University in 1977 until the school dropped the program in 1981. "It's a win-win situation for everybody."

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End to N.C. Central’s spring practice has championship feel

DURHAM, North Carolina – The North Carolina Central football program will look to the 2017 season Saturday afternoon before taking a look back at its 2016 success in the evening.

The Eagles will first conclude spring practice with their annual “Maroon vs. Gray” intrasquad game at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium. Then members of last year’s team will be honored and presented with MEAC championship rings at a ceremony inside McDougald-McLendon Arena.

Coach Jerry Mack guided the Eagles to a 9-3 overall record and an 8-0 mark in the MEAC. They went on to play in the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl, losing to SWAC champion Grambling State 10-9.

Mack said his team’s goal this spring has been to develop younger players for new roles and to improve the fundamentals of the veterans.

The Eagles figure to be especially strong on defense, where ,,,

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Richard selected NAIA National Player of the Week

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Antoine Richard was named NAIA National Player of the Week in men's tennis Wednesday — his third honor in two days.

Richard, a freshman from Laval, Quebec, and a graduate of Le Tremplin School, was named Tuesday as Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Wednesday at XULA's Athletic Honors Night, Richard received the Male Athlete of the Year award.

Richard earned the NAIA award after winning 5-of-6 decisions April 10-16, including a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) victory against West Florida's Alex Peyrot, the third-ranked singles player in NCAA Division II. Richard became the first NAIA singles player of 2017 to beat an NCAA Division II opponent with a top-10 national ranking, and he gave Peyrot his only home singles loss of 2017 (nine decisions).

Another notable effort was in the Gold Rush's 7-2 home victory against William Carey, the NAIA's sixth-ranked team. Richard won in doubles and singles, including a 6-1, 6-0 triumph against NAIA No. 14 Vladyslav Ladygin.

Richard is the ninth XULA athlete to receive NAIA National Player of the Week, the fourth in men's tennis and the first in that sport since Corey Huggins in 2012. Richard's GCAC award is his third of the season.

The Gold Rush, 10-5 and ranked second in the NAIA, will travel to the University of New Orleans for the regular-season finale at 2 p.m. Monday.

XULA's NAIA National Players of the Week
Season Sport Name Year Date
2009-10 Women's Basketball Brittany Powell Senior Jan. 18-24, 2010
2010-11 Men's Tennis Zach Taylor Junior April 25-May 1, 2011
2011-12 Men's Tennis Loic Didavi Junior April 2-8, 2012
2011-12 Men's Tennis Corey Huggins Junior April 9-15, 2012
2011-12 Women's Tennis Kourtney Howell Sophomore April 23-29, 2012
2012-13 Women's Tennis Olivia West Sophomore March 25-31, 2013
2014-15 Women's Tennis Caroline Vernet Freshman March 30-April 5, 2015
2015-16 Women's Basketball Trana Hopkins Senior Feb. 22-28, 2016
2016-17 Men's Tennis Antoine Richard Freshman April 10-16, 2017

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Nuggets sign 2 more, including state-champ sprinter

\NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana announced Friday the signing of Ariel Bell of White Castle, La., and White Castle High School and Lauryn Taylor of Sairburn, Ga., and Booker T. Washington High School to athletic scholarships. Both will compete in volleyball; Bell also will be a sprinter in women's track.

Bell is a three-time LHSAA Class 1A outdoor state champion in the 100-meter dash. In 2016 she tied the 1A meet record of 11.91 seconds in that event. In volleyball she was first-team all-district as a senior. Bell is a 5-foot-7 outside hitter.

Taylor, a 5-9 right-side/outside hitter, helped Booker T. Washington reach the quarterfinals of the GHSA Class AA state playoffs her senior year. Academically she ranked among BTW's top five percent each of her four years, and she has compiled 400 hours of community service.

Bell — XULA's fourth volleyball signee for next season — will major in business, and Taylor will major in chemistry/pre-pharmacy.

XULA is a member of the NAIA and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.

2017-18 XULA Volleyball Signees
Name Pos. Ht. Yr.* Hometown High School
Ariel Bell # OH 5-7 Fr. White Castle, La. White Castle
Eva Le Guillou S 5-9 Fr. Velizy-Villacoublay, France Emmanuel Mounier
Jaida Dowd OH 5-8 Fr. Aurora, Ill. Metea Valley
Lauryn Taylor RS/OH 5-9 Fr. Sairburn, Ga. Booker T. Washington

* XULA athletic classification in 2017-18
# also will compete in track and field

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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