Ram Ramblings: Maynor heading to the SWAC and Alabama A&M

Coach Maynor eight year overall record is 65-31 as a head coach
Photo courtesy: Hampton University Athletics

NORMAL, Alabama -- Connell Maynor dominated the CIAA when he was head coach of Winston-Salem State, then he had mild success in the MEAC the last four seasons as head coach at Hampton.

Now, Maynor will try another conference, the SWAC.

According to multiple sources Maynor, 48, will be named the head coach at Alabama A&M later today.

Maynor was also in the running for the vacant Delaware State job but going to a new conference could be beneficial.

Maynor and his wife, Meryl, along with their daughter, Nicole, have been living in Kernersville. Nicole, who is a senior in high school, is going to N.C. A&T this fall.

According to sources, Jason Mai and Duane Taylor, who were both on WSSU’s staff when Maynor was coach here, could likely land on Maynor’s staff at Alabama A&M. Both were also on his staff at Hampton.

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No. 16 Virginia State Claims 82-72 Victory Over the Panthers of Virginia Union University

RICHMOND, Virginia -- The Virginia State University men's basketball team (15-1, 5-1 CIAA) claimed an 82-72 victory over the Panthers of Virginia Union to win the 23rd Annual Richmond Freedom Classic tonight at the Richmond Coliseum.

Trey Brown finished with a game-high 25 points on 7-of-16 shots from the field to go along with five rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Philip Owens posted a 13-point performance, to go with three rebound and one assist. Cyonte Melvin finished the contest with contributing 12 points.

The Trojans forced 18 Virginia Union turnovers in the contest. The win was also Virginia State's second over Virginia Union in Richmond where the Trojans secured a 74-59 victory last year at the Freedom Classic. Virginia State led by as many as 21 at 42-21 at the half, but Virginia Union (9-9, 4-2 CIAA) continued to fight by adding 51 points in the second half to cut the lead to 11 with 3:08 to go. From there, the Trojans continued to add points to the board ending the game 82-72.

James Paige paced Virginia Union with 21 points on 6-of-18 shooting, while William Jenkins and Todd Hughes added 16 points each. The Trojans started the game strong securing a 21-point advantage over the Panthers, a lead that they held the lead the entire contest.

The Trojans collected a 42-21 halftime advantage, with seven different Trojans scoring in the opening period.

Despite their turnovers, the Panthers managed to stay in the game in the second half due to their free throw shooting, as they connected on 27 of 34 shots in the second half. Virginia Union finished the contest shooting 73 percent from the free throw line. The Trojans finished the contest shooting 83 percent from the free throw line.

FIRST HALF DOMINANCE: Virginia State has scored 25 or more points in the first half of majority
of the games this season, scoring 42 in the first half tonight.

POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: The Trojans made it their 11th game this season with 15 or more points off turnovers, scoring 19 points off the Panthers' 18 turnovers.

UP NEXT: The Trojans will hit the road as they head to Murfreesboro, N.C. to face the Hawks of Chowan University on Saturday, January 20. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.

For the most up-to-date information on VSU men's basketball please visit www.govsutrojans.com and follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports.

BOX SCORE

VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY TROJANS ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Kerrick Jackson Looks to Bring Southern Baseball Back to Prominence

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Before there was Bethune-Cookman, their dominance in the MEAC, and their ability to punch above their weight against the big boys of college baseball in postseason play, there was Southern University doing the same in the SWAC.

Before there was Mervyl Melendez, a wizard of a coach in not one, but two HBCU conferences as the head coach of Bethune-Cookman and Alabama State, there was Roger Cador as the head coach at Southern.

And before more recent HBCU players such as Hiram Burgos and Peter O’Brien (albeit with a stop at Miami along the way) made their debuts in the major leagues, there was Southern’s Rickie Weeks, who a hit a cool .500/.619/.987 as a junior for Southern and became the first player from an HBCU school to win the Golden Spikes Award. And prior to that, there was Southern’s Fred Lewis, who carved out a nice seven-year major league career, most of which was spent with the San Francisco Giants. And before him, there was Southern’s Trenidad Hubbard, a ten-year MLB veteran. Anyway, you get the idea.

“In that time frame, every black kid wanted to go to Southern,” Michael Coker, Contemporary Reporter for BlackCollegeNines.com, a leading site covering HBCU baseball, told College Baseball Central. “He was getting the cream of the crop…He had a bunch of 30-win seasons and a couple of 40-win seasons. That’s unheard of in HBCU baseball.”

Under Cador’s leadership alone, a period of time that stretched from 1985 to 2017, the Jaguars collected 14 SWAC championships and made 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament.

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Brent reflects on Jackson State's 5-0 SWAC start

JACKSON, Mississippi -- After a grueling start against Texas Southern, coach Wayne Brent and the Jackson State Tigers are 5-0 in the SWAC. Even though the Tigers are missing a few key starters, they are still getting the job done.

"I think the biggest thing for us is anytime you come into a game and you got Paris Collins out of the game, you got Chace Franklin out of the game, you got Dontellus Ross out of the game, the character that our guys showed," Brent said. "You talking about guys at the beginning of the season were not counted in the scouting report, were not counted to give very much. They're just showing so much character and so much heart and will to win, I'm just so proud of them."

So why the sudden burst in wins? Well Coach Brent says the X factor in the past couple of games has been one player.

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Kentucky State football: Thorobreds to play Central State at home this year

FRANKFORT, Kentucky -- Kentucky State University President M. Christopher Brown II held several call-ins with university stakeholders informing them of the decision to exercise the Thorobreds’ home game status for this year’s football contest against Central State University.

The regularly scheduled SIAC game between Kentucky State University and Central State University will be played Sept. 22 in Alumni Stadium.

In years past, the two teams met in the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis.

“As an HBCU alum and now administrator, I know firsthand the importance of hosting prospective students and high school athletes on campus to allow them to see the quality of the facilities,” Brown said.

“Kentucky State has a beautiful campus with a lot of capital improvements that never get showcased by playing annually in Indianapolis. It is time for this game to come home. It is more beneficial to player morale, fan support and finances to rotate the game between the two campuses.”

Brown detailed the two-year process that led to his prior decision to discontinue the Circle City Classic.

“The City of Indianapolis and the Indiana Black Expo provide important cultural benefit to the residents by bringing in HBCU gridiron matches,” he said. “Recent records show a clear decline in both ticket sales and turnstile attendance.

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Morgan State alum 'fixed' H&M ad — just one example of his uplifting works

"I felt like I could say something with my artwork that would shift the narrative from negative to positive." -- Kyle Kow Yearwood

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- Freelance visual artist Kyle Yearwood grew up fixated on magic.

He was entranced with the Harry Potter novels and inspired by mystical and adventurous films like “Forrest Gump,” “ Big Fish” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” that challenged the depths of reality and imagination. But when it came to cultural figures that looked like him — an African-American male in Baltimore — the images weren’t as endearing, he said. It affected his self-esteem, he said.

“When we grow up, we're fed so many visions of what happiness is, and I think a lot of people when they become an adult, they wake up one day and it's not how they envisioned as a kid, especially being African-American. You get to a point where you live out all the things you heard about in terms of discrimination, lack of resources in your community, or just not feeling equal,” he said.

“The music I was listening to, the images of black people that I was shown, it wasn't empowering. It wasn't anything that made me feel good about myself, so I was really conditioned to not love myself.”

The Morgan State University alumnus has gone on to make a career of uplifting imagery, some of which has made a significant impact in social media: Last month, his piece “I heard the Black girls in Baltimore can fly,” which pictures three young African-American girls holding hands as they slowly propel higher and higher in the air within a Northeast Baltimore neighborhood, went viral.

This week, Yearwood went viral again after transforming a controversial H&M ad that depicted a young black boy in a sweatshirt that said “coolest monkey in the jungle.”

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UAPB comeback complete with 78-76 OT victory over Southern to advance to a perfect 4-0 in SWAC play

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- After trailing nearly the entire game, junior guard Martaveous McKnight missed a jump shot that would have tied the game as his team trailed by just two points at home in overtime; subsequently, after a Travon Harper rebound and a quick pass from Joe'Randle Toliver, McKnight hit the biggest shot of his short-lived Golden Lion career, a game-winning 3-pointer with just 12 seconds remaining in overtime as he catapulted his team to a 78-76 (OT) victory over Southern University on Greek Night in Southwestern Athletic Conference action at H.O. Clemmons Arena. The mighty Golden Lions advance to a perfect 4-0 in SWAC play for the first time in Coach Ivory's tenure.

"I remained focused and locked in," said McKnight. "I had to forget about all of the easy shots I missed earlier in the game. After I shot the first jumper, my teammates hustled for the rebound and dished it back out to me, so I had to reward them by sticking the shot," said McKnight, who was just named two-time SWAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week following his sensational performances in a two-game road trip in Alabama which resulted in two victories for UAPB.

The Golden Lions (4-14, 4-0 SWAC) scored the first bucket of the game which was a 3-pointer from McKnight. That was the only time that UAPB led all game until overtime. Toliver finished with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field to go along with 5-of-8 three pointers, but none bigger than the 3-pointer he drilled with just over one minute in regulation to bring his team within two points right after Southern (5-13, 1-4 SWAC) big man Sidney Umude dunked the ball to give his team a five point lead which at the time seemed to be the dagger.

McKnight scored 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from downtown. He also dished out 11 assists and grabbed four steals in the victory while fellow Golden Lion Trent Steen also scored 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and grabbed nine rebounds to go along with three blocks. Travon Harper and Terrance Banyard both chipped in with 11 points apiece.

Umude finished with a game-high 21 points and grabbed 12 boards in the loss for Southern while Jared Sam produced 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jamar Sandifer chipped in with 11 points on just 2-of-11 shooting from the field. With the loss, the Jaguars drop to 1-4 in conference play.

As a team the Golden Lions were outrebounded 46-38 but distributed 23 assists to just 13 for Southern. UAPB trailed 40-33 at the half but outscored the Jaguars 35-28 in the second half to force overtime. In the extra period, UAPB outscored Southern 10-8.

The Golden Lions basketball team returns to action on Monday, January 15 for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Special as it hosts Alcorn State University in SWAC play. The theme is "Take a Kid to the Game" Day as kids are allowed free entrance to the doubleheader if accompanied with an adult. Due to the possibility of inclement weather, tip-off for the doubleheader has been moved up to 2 p.m. for the Lady Lions and 4 p.m. for the Golden Lions.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT PINE BLUFF ATHLETIC MEDIA CO,MMUNICATIONS

Gold Rush roll at Tougaloo for 7th straight victory

TOUGALOO, Mississippi — Jalen David, one of six from Xavier University of Louisiana in double figures, scored a season-high-tying 15 points Saturday in an 83-72 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory against Tougaloo.

The Gold Rush (13-4, 2-0) have won seven straight, the GCAC's longest streak this season. XULA will visit Talladega at 7:30 p.m. Monday, with the winner taking sole possession of first place in the conference.

All five XULA starters scored in double figures. Joseph Williams, Rayshawn Mart and Jeff Dixon had 13 points apiece and Khalil McCoy scored 11. Reserve Mike Williams had 10 points. Mart and Dixon scored 11 points apiece in the second half, and Dixon had a game-high seven assists.

Anferee Parker scored 18 points, Carlo McDonald 14 and Tonzell Handy 11 for the Bulldogs (8-4, 1-1). Handy grabbed nine rebounds, and Parker had six assists.

McCoy made three 3-pointers to lead XULA to a 41-25 halftime advantage. It was the fourth straight game and the sixth time in the last seven games that the Gold Rush held a double-digit lead at the break.

Tougaloo cut XULA's lead to 55-53 on a Courey Davis 3-pointer with 8:39 remaining, but two McCoy free throws capped a 16-5 run that gave the Gold Rush a 71-58 advantage with 3:30 remaining.

XULA outshot the Bulldogs 50.8 to 41 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 35-29. Williams and Mart grabbed eight rebounds apiece.

The win streak is XULA's longest since winning eight in a row Jan. 10-Feb. 5, 2015.

Talladega improved to 3-0 in the GCAC with an 82-80 home victory against Philander Smith. The Panthers tied the score at 76 after trailing by 18, but Devonte Dixon's 3-pointer with 1:54 remaining put Talladega ahead to stay, 79-76.

BOX SCORE

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Late run carries Tougaloo to double-OT win vs. Nuggets

TOUGALOO, Mississippi — Montoria Atkinson scored a career-high 26 points Saturday, and Chesha Lewis led a rally in the second overtime that carried Tougaloo to an 81-76 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana.

The Gold Nuggets (7-7, 0-2) got career highs from Maya Trench with 23 points, Essence Wells with 20 points and nine rebounds and Mikayla Bates with 11 rebounds and eight steals.

Trench's 3-pointer gave XULA its largest lead of the game, 74-69, at 3:25 of the second overtime. But the Lady Bulldogs (7-7, 2-0) answered with 12 straight points, six by Lewis, to snap their 14-game losing streak against XULA.

The Gold Nuggets outscored Tougaloo 12-1 in the final 3:49 of regulation to tie the score at 63 and send the game into overtime. But XULA missed 17 free throws for the second straight game — four in a row to open the first overtime.

Tougaloo did not attempt a 3-pointer but went to the line 45 times and made 31. The Lady Bulldogs outshot XULA 42.4 to 30.3 percent from the floor. XULA was plus-11 in turnovers, committing 24 and gaining a season-high 35.

Atkinson, 8-of-12 from the floor and 10-of-13 from the line, also grabbed a season-best 17 rebounds. Debraia Bell had 21 points, a season high, and 10 rebounds, and Rashonae Rice had 10 points and eight rebounds.

It was the fifth time the Nuggets played multiple overtimes and the first time in five years.

Tougaloo is the lone unbeaten team in the GCAC after eight league games. XULA will stay on the road and play Talladega, last season's GCAC regular-season and tournament champion, at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Talladega, Ala.

BOX SCORE

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Legendary baseball coach Billy Reed (FAMU) lived a life of courage, integrity

"He was a granddaddy first, and not a baseball coach, to his grandson," said Blanc, referring to her son, Eric Blanc II (a FAMU baseball player).

TAMPA, Florida -- As a teenager in the late 1940s, when Jim Crow remained the South’s two most notorious syllables, Billy Reed had to walk past Hillsborough High’s baseball field to get to all-black Middleton.

"Those (Hillsborough) students would hurl racial slurs, throw rocks and spit at him," recalled Dori Reed Blanc, one of Mr. Reed’s two daughters. "My father could have easily been bitter and harbored ill will. Instead, he persevered and focused on his goals."

Today, that same field is named in his honor.

"So the lesson here is if something bad happens to you … learn from it," Blanc said told a congregation of roughly 350 on Saturday at St. Lawrence Catholic Church. "Find strength from it, and one day in God’s time, there will be a positive outcome."

Blanc’s story highlighted a 90-minute "Home Run Celebration" for Mr. Reed, who died in a Tampa rehabilitation facility Dec. 30 at 86. A multisport athlete at Middleton and Florida A&M, Mr. Reed returned to his hometown and evolved into one of the most revered high school baseball coaches in bay area history.

In addition to coaching at Middleton and Hillsborough, Mr. Reed co-founded Belmont Heights Little League, which produced four World Series teams from 1973-81 and a handful of future big-league players.

Saturday’s mourners included former major-leaguers Gary Sheffield, Carl Everett and Jason Romano, all of whom played for Mr. Reed at Hillsborough, where he coached for roughly a quarter-century before retiring in 1997. Tony Saladino, whose 38-year-old Hills­borough County prep baseball tournament has earned national acclaim, also attended, as did Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

CONTINUE READING

Hill and Neal key Grambling State Lady Tigers in overtime win

GRAMBLING, Louisiana | Shakyla Hill and Monisha Neal reached double figures as the Grambling State University women's basketball team rallied to defeat Prairie View A&M, 81-79 in overtime in a Southestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday afternoon at the Fredrick C. Hobdy on Saturday afternoon.

Prairie View A&M (4-11 overall, 2-2 SWAC) led 14-13 after one quarter but Grambling State (7-9, 4-1) outscored the Lady Panthers in the second quarter, 21-17, to take a 34-31 advantage into the break. The Lady Panthers led at the end of the third quarter, 56-53, but the Lady Tigers rallied and got a 3-pointer by Ariel Williams to send the game into overtime tied at 72.

Hill paced the Lady Tigers with 24 points, on 12-of-19 shooting, with eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Neal contributed 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

Shala Dobbins registered 35 points, including 7-of-17 shooting and 21-of-27 at the free-throw line. She added nine rebounds and seven assists to pace the Lady Panthers Dominique Newman tallied 22 points, four rebounds and six steals.

Turning Point
Grambling State trailed, 54-51, heading into the final quarter, but Prairie View A&M used a 8-0 run, capped by a Newman 3-pointer to grab a 62-55 advantage with 8:24 left.

The Lady Tigers trimmed the margin to 62-61 after a bucket by Alexus Williams with 6:27 left, and tied the game at 65 after a Hill layup with 4:32 remaining.

The Lady Panthers took a 72-69 lead after a Dobbins layup with 2:06 left, but Grambling State kept fighting and with 31 seconds remaining, Ariel Williams sank a 3-pointer to tie the game at 72.

Grambling State had one final opportunity to win the game in regulation as the Lady Tigers forced a stop on the defensive end, but Neal's shot as time expired fell short to send the game into overtime.

In the extra period, the Lady Tigers raced out to a 78-73 lead after a Hill layup with 1:51 remaining, but the Lady Panthers cut the deficit to 81-79 after a Newman 3-pointer with 1:11 left.

Despite closing the gap to two points, Prairie View A&M couldn't get any closer as the Lady Tigers picked up their second consecutive conference win.

Inside The Numbers
* Grambling State shot 42.9 percent (30-of-70) from the floor and 69.2 percent (18-of-26) from the free-throw line.
* Prairie View A&M was 22-of-69 (31.9 percent) from the field and 31-of-39 (79.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
* The Lady Tigers finished with 43 rebounds, including 32 coming off the defensive glass.
* The Lady Panthers tallied 52 rebounds, with 18 coming on the offensive end.
* Grambling State finished with 29 bench points, 44 points in the paint, 27 points off turnovers and six fast break points.
* Prairie View A&M registered 26 points in the paint, six bench points, 27 points off turnovers and 14 second-chance points.
* There were 14 ties and 17 lead changes.

BOX SCORE

News & Notes
*Shakyla Hill was honored between the men's and women's basketball game for her 1,000-point plateau she reached on Dec. 10 during a loss at Alabama.
* Monisha Neal now needs just 32 points to reach 1,000 points for her career.
* Saturday's game was Military Appreciation Day at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

Up Next
The Lady Tigers will take on Texas Southern in a SWAC match up on Monday. Tip-off for the SWAC Digital Network game is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /gramblingstateathletics (Facebook), @gramblingathetics01 (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.

GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Jackson State Tigers Rally To Beat Texas Southern in O.T.

JACKSON, Mississippi — Maurice Rivers tossed in 26 points, Julian Daughtry scored a career-high 22 and Treshawn Bolden added a double-double to rally Jackson State to an 85-80 overtime victory over Texas Southern on Saturday.

Bolden finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers of Jackson State (8-10, 5-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference), who remained atop the conference standings with their fifth straight win.

Demontrae Jefferson poured in a career-best 34 points for the Tigers of Texas Southern (3-14, 3-1), who had a three-game win streak snapped. The junior guard, who added eight rebounds and seven assists, came into the game averaging 23.5 points per game. He has topped 20 points in all but one game this season. Donte Clark chipped in with 18 points and seven boards, while Trayvon Reed scored 10 and was a rebound short of a double-double.

Texas Southern led 43-31 at halftime in a game that featured 61 fouls, 71 free throws, but just 19 turnovers.

Texas Southern shot 39 percent from the floor, 23 percent from distance and hit 26 of 37 free throws. Jackson State made 41 percent from the floor, 31 percent from distance and made 19 of 34 from the foul line.

BOX SCORE

Next Up: The Tigers return to action Monday, when JSU hosts Prairie View A&M in SWAC action at the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center.

JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

XULA to host Women in Sports Forum Feb. 2

NEW ORLEANS — An accomplished group of women leaders from the sports industry will be featured Feb. 2 at Xavier University of Louisiana during the 2018 Women in Sports Forum.
     
The event — a dynamic program of keynotes, panel and roundtable discussions — is designed to empower young girls and women who are interested in pursuing a career in the sports industry.
     
XULA's Convocation Center Annex (7800 Washington Ave., New Orleans LA 70125) will be the forum venue. Event hours will be 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and will include lunch. Registration is free for high school and XULA students, $30 for college students and $50 for everyone else. Registration is available online at www.wisfnola.eventbrite.com or on the day of the forum.
     
"I am committed to creating an easily accessible space for young women to learn from the leaders in the sport industry," said XULA Associate Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator Dr. Ashley Baker, the forum founder. "The Women in Sports Forum is something I would have loved to have attended when I was younger. So I created it.
     
"Our forum theme this year is 'community over competition.' For women in a male-dominated industry, it is important for us to work together, support one another and help prepare the next generation of young women who want to do what we do."
     
Said XULA Director of Athletics & Recreation Jason Horn, "The inaugural 2016 event was a solid success, and our campus is honored that Dr. Baker asked Xavier to sponsor and host the 2018 event. Throughout my career in athletics, I have always been a proponent of professional and personal growth of careers in sports. The Xavier community is excited to host the Women in Sports forum in 2018."


   
Forum speakers will be:

     •  Dr. Kiki Baker-Barnes, Dillard University director of athletics
     •  Dr. Natasha Brison, Texas A&M University assistant professor of sport management
     •  Kirsten Elleby, University of New Orleans assistant athletics director for student-athlete enrichment and senior woman administrator
     •  Dr. Courtney Flowers, Texas Southern University assistant professor
     •  Shirelle Jackson, University of Miami senior associate athletic director for student-athlete development
     •  Monica Lebron, Tulane University deputy athletics director
     •  Dr. Becca Leopkey, University of Georgia assistant professor
     •  Dr. Joyce Olushola Ogunrinde, University of Houston assistant professor
     •  Courtnie Prather, Loyola University of New Orleans assistant director of athletics
     •  Breanna Robinson, Miami University assistant director of student-athlete academic support
     •  Dr. F. Michelle Richardson, Alabama A&M University assistant professor
     •  Shana Renee Stephenson, THE MAJORS
     
This year's forum will be held in conjunction with the 32nd annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which celebrates the extraordinary achievements of women and girls in sports.
    
 Baker hosted her first Woman in Sports Forum in April 2016 in Detroit with more than 150 young women in attendance. ESPN's Jemele Hill was the 2016 keynote speaker. Baker plans to expand the event to reach more young women.

2018 Women in Sports Forum New Orleans
Theme:  Community Over Competition
Date:  February 2, 2018
Time:  9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Location:  Xavier University of Louisiana Convocation Center Annex, 7800 Washington Ave., New Orleans LA 70125
Presented by/Hosted by:  Ash B Consulting
Event Social Media Hashtag:  #WISFNOLA
Twitter  @wsportsforum
Registration:  Free for high school and XULA students, $30 for college students, $50 for everyone else
Registration Link:  www.wisfnola.eventbrite.com
For More Information:  womeninsportsforum@gmail.com

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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XULA to offer clinics in February, March and April

PDFs:  Registration Form (2 pages)   •   Clinics Flyer 

Unique stat line propels XULA Bates to GCAC weekly award

NEW ORLEANS — It's back-to-back wins for Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week award.

Mikayla Bates, a 5-foot-7 junior guard from Baton Rouge, La., and a graduate of University Lab School, is the GCAC winner for Jan. 1-7 after producing 16 points, seven rebounds and six steals Jan. 2 in a 71-56 victory at Paul Quinn.

Bates is the only Gold Nugget in the last 14 seasons to reach 16 points, seven rebounds and six steals in the same game. Bates for the season is XULA's No. 3 scorer with 7.5 points per game, No. 2 in rebounds per game at 5.5 and the team leader with 3.1 steals per game. Bates ranks 10th in NAIA Division I in that latter category and is 16th in total steals with 40.

The GCAC award is the first for Bates. Backcourt teammate Maya Trench was the recipient for Dec. 25-31. It's the first time since the end of the 2015-16 season — Trana Hopkins, then Whitney Gathright — that the Gold Nuggets produced back-to-back winners.

Back-to-back victories on the court have been more difficult for the Gold Nuggets to achieve recently. XULA, which dropped three of its last four decisions and four of its last six, will travel to Tougaloo, Miss., for a 3 p.m. Saturday GCAC matchup against Tougaloo. The Gold Nuggets are 7-6 overall and 0-1 in the league after losing 66-62 Monday at Edward Waters.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Southern's 2018 football schedule to feature just 10 games. 'We were dealt a limited hand'

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- For the first time in more than a decade, the Southern football team will play fewer than 11 regular-season games.

The Jaguars’ 2018 schedule features 10 contests. It is the first time since 2005 Southern will not play a full 11-game schedule, the blame for which Southern athletic director Roman Banks laid with the Southwestern Athletic Conference office.

“We were dealt a limited hand,” Banks said.

A SWAC spokesman did not respond to the Advocate's request for comment Friday.

Southern 2018 football schedule
*home games in bold

Sept. 1: @ TCU
Sept. 9: @ Louisiana Tech
Sept. 15: vs. Langston
Sept. 22: vs. Alabama A&M, (at Ladd Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama)
Sept. 29: vs Alcorn State (homecoming)
Oct. 13: @ Prairie View A&M
October 20: vs Texas Southern, (State Fair Showdown, Dallas)
Oct. 27: vs. Jackson State
Nov. 10: vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff
Nov. 24: vs Grambling, (Bayou Classic, New Orleans)

CONTINUE READING

Legendary Coach Alonzo S. "Jake" Gaither Authorized Biography Published After 40-Year Delay

ORDER

Agile, Mobile, Hostile: The Biography of Alonzo S. "Jake"Gaither, is the complete untold story of the extraordinary life of Jake Gaither, the legendary coaching icon of Florida A&M University.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- When Roosevelt Wilson first decided to write a biography about Alonzo “Jake” Gaither 40 years ago, it was about setting the record straight.

At the time Gaither, Florida A&M University's legendary football coach and a College Football Hall of Famer, was upset about another book that was published about him in 1977.

Gaither, FAMU's head coach from 1945 to 1969, and Wilson discussed the book at length.

A noted black journalist George E. Curry, one of the first African Americans to work for Sports Illustrated, came to Tallahassee to interview Gaither for the book "and Jake hated it,” Wilson said. “He said it misrepresented everything, that the guy misquoted him, and it literally brought him to tears.

“I said, ‘Well somebody needs to do an accurate account of this thing.’ I kept putting it off. I decided to do it because the other book bothered him so. I just started gathering information.”

If the process got started more than four decades ago, why is the book, titled “Agile, Mobile and Hostile,” just now seeing the light of day?

“I guess you could call it a lost manuscript because I just forgot I had it,” Wilson said with a laugh. “After doing all that work, I just forgot it.”

CONTINUE READING

Virginia State Women’s Basketball: Rolling out to 15-0

ETTRICK, Virginia - “The coach is the main reason why I came here.”

Alexis Smith, who went to Division I-level Drexel University in Philadelphia for three years and then afterward sat out for a year, remembered talking to Virginia State head coach James Hill Jr. over the summer and feeling that player-coach connection before she even joined the Trojans.

“And then, once I got here - so many transfers, but we gelled and clicked so well,” she said. “Even just coming here over the summer for a visit, all three of the coaches (Hill, Chiante Wester and Anthony Mills), we all just gelled.”



It was the kind of connection, Smith said, that you can’t just find everywhere.

Endia McKinney had been with VSU all four years, but this year, the difference she noticed with the team this time around was the chemistry.

“We worked well together,” she said. “Past teams, we had a lot of talent, but we didn’t always gel the way this team gelled so quickly...we learned how each other played so well, that and we listened to our coaches.”

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Coach AnnMarie Gilbert has Virginia Union women soaring again ...Panthers at 14-1

RICHMOND, Virginia -- AnnMarie Gilbert has admittedly high standards when it comes to success for her women’s basketball team at Virginia Union.

Anything more than five losses in a season would qualify as a big disappointment for the third-year coach, and it’s a dilemma the Panthers have yet to face under Gilbert’s direction. Virginia Union lost three games in 2015-16 and registered its fifth loss of the season last year in the NCAA championship game against Ashland to finish 28-5.

But the team Gilbert is fielding this season is different.



Long gone are Kiana Johnson, who was national player of the year two seasons ago, as well as Lady Walker and Brittany Jackson, two stalwarts of last season’s national runner-up team. Gilbert said she thought, “Do you have enough to continue to perform at the national level?”

The internal fears of not having enough talent were compounded when the Panthers, ranked second nationally in the preseason, dropped their first game of the season on a neutral floor to Edinboro University. But with 14 straight wins since that loss to the now-No. 14 Fighting Scots, those fears are beginning to appear unfounded.

“(Edinboro) cracked us that first game, and you’re sitting there wondering, ‘Where is Virginia Union? What is our identity? Are we still a national contender?’ ” Gilbert said.

“For them to rattle off 14 games in a row — pretty decisively — is really impressive because it’s a totally new group.”



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Simmons' first month at FAMU a 'whirlwind'

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Willie Simmons’ fist month at Florida A&M has been the expected whirlwind.

That’s how life rolls in a new job accompanied by homecoming euphoria.

“Being from here is one thing, but actually being on campus and in a working capacity is something totally different,” the Rattlers’ head football coach said Friday.

Buoyed by characteristic optimism and unbridled faith, Simmons is determined to rebuild the Rattlers’ struggling football program and introduce a culture woven in consistency. One day and thread at a time.

Take this week, for example.

Simmons – the Tallahassee native and former Quincy Shanks star quarterback – held his first team meeting last Sunday as players returned from the holidays.

Simmons, 37, had the opportunity to meet players, put names and faces together, and talk about his philosophy that stresses accountability – academically, athletically, socially and spiritually.

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