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NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY BGMM MEDIA

FAMU looks to set tone with season opener against Texas Southern

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- For the first time since 2011, Florida A&M gets to open a football season within the confines of Bragg Memorial Stadium.

Also – for the first time since head coach Alex Wood took over prior to the 2015 season – the Rattlers aren’t opening the year with a money game against an FBS opponent.



FAMU opens its season with SWAC foe Texas Southern at noon on Saturday. The SWAC and the MEAC are similar in that they’re both populated with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In fact, they’re so similar, the champions of the two conferences meet in the annual Celebration Bowl in Atlanta.

So Saturday’s game, dubbed the Jake Gaither Classic and set to be broadcast live on ESNPU, is a chance for FAMU to set the tone in Wood’s third year at the helm.

“We’re excited about, one, opening at home,” Wood said. “And two, a chance to display what our team’s going to be about, at least initially for 2017 on ESPN.

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5 Most Important Games for GSU

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- Head coach Broderick Fobbs won’t tell you Grambling State is trying to defend its Southwestern Athletic Conference football championship from 2016. It’s a new season with a new team, and this year’s group hasn’t won anything yet, is what the fourth-year Tigers coach would say.

So instead of the word “defend,” let’s just stick with repeat. The much-anticipated 2017 season for the G-Men faithful kicks off in 11 days and GSU hits the road to capture back-to-back SWAC and HBCU titles Saturday, Sept. 2 versus Tulane at Yulman Stadium at 7 p.m.

As the season draws near, here’s my list of the top five most important regular season games for Grambling State as it pursues the program’s 26th SWAC and 16th HBCU national championship:

5. Clark Atlanta (Chicago Classic), Sept. 30 at 3:30 p.m. at Soldier Field

The first of four neutral site contests on the 2017 schedule takes the Tigers to historic Soldier Field, home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears, to close out the first month of the season to play Division II HBCU foe Clark Atlanta in the 20th annual Chicago Classic.

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UMES Hires Former Assistant Brian Hollamon to Lead Hawks Baseball Program

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday (August 21), appointed alumnus, one-time Hawks assistant and long-time Parkside High School coach Brian Hollamon to be its head baseball coach following the termination of former coach Charlie Goens.

“We feel strongly that this is a move that will take our team in the right direction to both compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and to have a strong and reliable recruiting footprint on Delmarva and throughout the region,” Davidson said. “Brian is someone who puts his all into everything that he does and he has always shown a genuine desire to see this program be successful.”

Hollamon was a graduate assistant with the Hawks from 1996-99 when he earned a Masters of Education in Guidance and Counseling from the university.

“I am very excited for the opportunity,” Hollamon said of his return to the Maroon and Gray. “When I coached here, I enjoyed my time and I’m looking forward to getting back to what we were building. From the moment I had to tell the players in 1999 that I wouldn’t be returning, I have had a desire to one day come back.

“I’m glad to not only be back at the university, but also excited to be with some quality players who make up the current roster.”

Over the last 14 seasons at Parkside, where he was also a guidance counselor, Hollamon has built a perennial power in the Bayside Conference, while consistently producing players who go on to play baseball at all levels including Division I.

Former Ram Hunter Parsons will be a junior on the University of Maryland pitching staff next season, while left handed pitcher Grant Burleson and fellow lefty Sean Fisher will be freshmen at College Park. Matt Smith, a 2016 graduate of Parkside will be entering his sophomore season at Towson University.

He has coached a number of players who went on to be Hawks including Zach Townsend, Dylan Bell, Cody Cauffman and Jamar Cadejuste.

Brian Hollamon coached for the Hawks as an assistant from 1996 to 1999
Hollamon coached the Hawks as an
assistant from 1996 to 1999
“Our team at Parkside High School was always first and foremost about the kids: Watching them grow, watching them develop and watching them move on and do bigger and better things,” Hollamon said. “Now the opportunity for me is to continue that growth and watch these young men develop and go on to whatever they want to do after the graduate from college. Our goal is going to be to not only give them an opportunity to play baseball, but also get their education and be successful human beings.”

Hollamon led the Rams to 14 straight winning seasons from 2003-2017. Parkside won three Bayside South Titles, one Bayside crown, two Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association 2A East Region Sectional Championships, four Maryland 2A East Regional Championships, and most notably made two MPSSAA 2A State Finalist Appearances (2009, 2014).

“My time away from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore has changed me as a coach,” Hollamon said. “I had the experience of 18 years at the high school level. That makes you learn and grow and understand what players need and what they want including what they want from the college level. I had the experience of knowing and developing those kids and getting them ready for college and now that is what I’ll be looking for from the high school coaches who I will have relationships with in recruiting.”

He was named Bayside South Coach of the Year three times (2006, 2008, 2011) and District 8 coach of the Year twice (2009, 2014). In 2015, he coached in the prestigious Brooks Robinson High School All-Star Game and that same year he was recognized by the Maryland State Association of Baseball Coaches as the Amateur Coach of the Year for his work in high school and American Legion Baseball.

“I think the quality of baseball on the Eastern Shore is pretty solid,” Hollamon said. “Obviously we don’t have the number of players in a small area you would find in a more highly populated area, but within just the state of Maryland you have some really good baseball players and you can put a good product on the field, not to mention Virginia, Delaware and the players that are available throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region that may want to come to Maryland Eastern Shore and play baseball.”

The graduate of Sussex Central High School in Georgetown, Delaware, played four years of baseball at Division III Salisbury University where he was team captain from 1992-1995 and earned a bachelor’s in Marketing and Management. He was named team MVP and earned All-Conference honors at shortstop.

Following his stint with the Hawks, Hollamon moved on to become the head coach at Mardela High School from 1999-2003.

Hollamon also coached with American Legion Post 64 in Salisbury as an assistant before taking over the team in 2015, and played 22 seasons for the Semi-Pro Perdue Chicks of the Eastern Shore Baseball League.

Hollamon lives in Delmar, Delaware with his wife Jodi and daughters Josie and Jordyn.

Goens spent one season with The Shore where the team went 12-40 and lost its first two games as the host team in the MEAC Baseball Tournament, played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

“We thank Charlie for his work with the program, but it became clear to us during the season that we needed someone at the helm that is invested in this institution, in baseball in the region, in our student athletes and in the Eastern Shore community at large,” Davidson said. “We feel that Brian gives us exactly that along with the stability to lead the program into the future.”

Goens came to the Hawks from Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia. He replaced John O’Neil who won 32 games in two years as acting head coach from 2014-2016.

O’Neil stayed on as an associate head coach for the 2016-17 season, but will not return to the program.

Hollamon will put his own coaching staff in place in the coming weeks.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE SPORTS INFORMATION

Alabama A&M tackles tough schedule with new No. 1

NORMAL, Alabama -- By the time Alabama A&M gets to its first conference game of the season, the Bulldogs will be battle-tested or worn out. Maybe both.

Alabama A&M starts the season on the road against three NCAA FBS opponents - UAB, Vanderbilt and South Alabama - before kicking off its SWAC schedule against Texas Southern on Sept. 23.

The Bulldogs were picked to drop to fourth in the SWAC's Eastern Division in the league's preseason poll after placing second last season.

But another preseason selection list would seem to indicate Alabama A&M has more talent than a next-to-last-place team. Four Bulldogs were first-team choices on the All-SWAC preseason squad - running back Jordan Bentley, linebacker Kenneth Davis, defensive back Tere Calloway and place-kicker Nick Carden. The other four SWAC East teams had five preseason first-team selections combined.

The all-star selections are the core of a team that returns seven starters on offense, including the entire interior line, and eight on defense.

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Luke Johnson breaks down the SWAC's 2017 football outlook

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- FOUR KEY GAMES

Grambling at Tulane, Sept. 2: This has no bearing on the SWAC race, but it should be a barometer of how good Grambling is. Can the Tigers pull off an upset against a rebuilding FBS team on the road?

Southern at Alcorn State, Sept. 23: This is the
SWAC's biggest early season matchup, as two teams that figure to contend meet up in Week 4. Southern snapped a long losing streak to Alcorn State in Lorman last year. Can the Jaguars top the Braves again?

Jackson State at Prairie View, Sept. 30: Two of the league’s dark-horse candidates meet in Texas, and the contrasting styles should be interesting, with Jackson State’s tough defense matching up against a potent Prairie View offense.

Southern vs. Grambling, Nov. 25 in New Orleans: The Bayou Classic is always appointment viewing, but will it carry the same weight as last year’s game between rivals unbeaten in SWAC play? That’s likely up to Southern, since Grambling looks like the heavy favorite to win the league.

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Judge rules FAMU doesn't have to pay fired basketball coach Clemon Johnson

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- A Leon County circuit judge has sided with Florida A&M University in a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by former men's basketball coach Clemon Johnson, who was fired in April 2014 after three years in the job.

Judge James Shelfer this month issued a brief order granting summary judgment to the university. Johnson, a former Florida A&M and NBA basketball player, argued, in part, that he had a four-year guaranteed contract and that the university breached it by firing him a year early for “convenience.”

FAMU argued in court documents that it followed university regulations in deciding not to reappoint Johnson.

Johnson was fired in April of 2014 in the third year of a four-year contract after leading the Rattlers to a 14-18 record in his final season. He was let go a week after Kellen Winslow was introduced as the school's athletic director.

Winslow resigned Dec. 15, 2014.

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