Thursday, July 1, 2010

In CIAA, the South's stout

No offense to the CIAA North Division, but the best preseason buzz is in the South. There’s Fayetteville State, the 2009 champion looking to break the league’s sorry postseason record of playoff futility. Shaw, the resident bully, is always in the title hunt. Winston-Salem State is back after a failed engagement with Division I, with its sights set on establishing dominance with a first-year head coach.

Fayetteville went 8-4 in 2009, including 8-1 against league competition, but struggled outside the CIAA. The Broncos lost close decisions to South Atlantic power Catawba and independent UNC Pembroke early in the season, and took a 42-13 beatdown by California (Pa.) in the first round of the Division II playoffs. Can FSU improve on last year’s magic, especially after losing offensive coordinator Connell Maynor to Winston-Salem?

Shaw (8-2) had championship aspirations before a 29-28 at Fayetteville left the Bears in second place – a spot they weren’t accustomed to in recent seasons. The Bears have the offense (42.1 points per game last season) to move up a step, however, with preseason honorable mention all-CIAA running back Raymond Williams and a line anchored by Lindy’s all-America Markus McElveen.

READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.

Pioneer Bowl enters into 3-year deal with Columbus

COLUMBUS, GA – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) have entered into a three-year deal to host the Pioneer Bowl in Columbus, Georgia.

The agreement, made in conjunction with the city of Columbus and the Columbus Sports Council, will begin with this year's contest marked for Saturday, December 4, 2010. All games will be played at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium, a 17,000-seat facility in the city of Columbus.

"Columbus is a bustling city and a perfect fit for the Pioneer Bowl," says CIAA Commissioner Leon G. Kerry. "The Pioneer Bowl is an important game for the HBCU and Division II football communities and we're glad that the city of Columbus is excited to partner in this tradition with us."




"I am extremely delighted about the opportunity to bring the Pioneer Bowl to a terrific host city. We will work hard to ensure that Pioneer XII offers our students, alumni and fans a rich and exciting bowl game experience," said SIAC Commissioner Greg Moore.

The Pioneer Bowl is the only NCAA sanctioned bowl game involving HBCU athletic conferences and one of only three sanctioned bowl games in Division II. Started in 1997, the game features teams from the CIAA and the SIAC. Last year's nail-biter saw Tuskegee University (SIAC) defeat Elizabeth City State University (CIAA), 21-7.

This year will mark the 12th installment of the bowl game and its first appearance in Columbus. Atlanta, GA, Mobile, AL, Charlotte, NC, and Columbia, SC, (2009) have all served as host cities to this historic game.

FOR MORE INFO, GO TO SIAC (www.TheSIAC.com), CIAA (www.TheCIAA.com),

Flythe ends time at Savannah State University

Dr. Claud Flythe ends 40 year career in higher education at Savannah State, Virginia State and Shaw Universities. Flythe is credited with SSU Tigers successful entry into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Claud Flythe's three-year term as Savannah State University's Vice President for Administration - and his 40-year career in higher education - ended Wednesday. "Relaxation will be No. 1 on my agenda," said Flythe, who has residences in Savannah and Virginia but is moving to Charlotte, N.C. When SSU President Earl Yarbrough began his tenure July 1, 2007, hiring Flythe was first on his agenda. He created a position for Flythe to oversee SSU's athletic program, facilities operations and public safety.

Yarbrough, who worked with Flythe at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va., convinced Flythe to come out of retirement. Athletically, Yarbrough charged Flythe with three primary tasks:

-- Get the athletic department fully certified by the NCAA.

-- Get the football team through its NCAA-imposed three-year probation.

-- Get the Tigers into a conference.

Flythe accomplished all three goals, crowned by SSU's admittance to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference on March 10, 2010. "We," Flythe said, deflecting credit. "We did all three of those things."

READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.

Winston-Salem State to play home game in High Point

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Winston-Salem State University is bringing college football back to High Point for the first time in 60 years. The 2010 Furniture City Gridiron Classic will feature the WSSU Rams against the Virginia Union Panthers Saturday, Aug. 28, at Simeon Stadium, the largest stadium in High Point. High Point College played its last football game in 1950, but the Panthers played at Albion Millis Stadium.

Simeon Stadium is usually host to high school football and soccer games. But 15 years ago, WSSU Athletic Director William "Bill" Hayes, then head football coach of North Carolina A&T State University, worked with High Point community leaders Ed Price and Ray McAllister to bring an Aggie game to High Point. "I worked with Price and McAllister to build the strongest Scout Reach program in America right here," Hayes said. "We tried to get a game here because young people were always interested in sports, but we never could make it happen."



READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.

NCCU settles into MEAC















DURHAM, N.C. -- For the past three school years, the N.C. Central athletic program has been like a one-man band, traveling wherever it could to get a gig while just trying to make ends meet. Today, however, the Eagles have landed. NCCU officially is now among the 14 members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, a league the school left in 1979 when the conference moved up to Division I. Savannah State also joins the league today as a provisional member. NCCU is rejoining the MEAC as a part of its continued effort to become a full-fledged Division I athletic program. NCCU was accepted into the conference on Sept. 10, 2009, but actually becomes a MEAC member today.

"It occurred in September, but for the actual day to be here, it's even more exciting," NCCU athletic director Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree said. "Finally, we maybe can all take in a big breath of fresh air." The Eagles certainly can use some fresh air, having bounced around for three years as an independent, looking for games anywhere and everywhere. With the move to the MEAC, they join a conference with the likes of North Carolina A T, Winston-Salem State, Hampton and Norfolk State.



READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.

USC, UCLA Recruit Signs With Texas Southern
















Houston,Texas - Defensive end Marquis Jackson, who had verbally committed to play college football at USC, told FOX 26 Sports Tuesday he signed scholarship papers to play at Texas Southern University. Jackson, who played junior college football at the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California in 2008, did not play last season. By choosing to play for the Tigers Jackson will not get the opportunity to be reunited with his twin brother, Malik, who has played defensive end for the Trojans for the past two years.

Jackson said the fact that USC has been placed on probation by the NCAA had nothing to do with his decision. "I just signed to Texas Southern University, I signed my commit letters," said Jackson. "The things that are going on at SC had no influence on my decision. I felt like TSU was the best place for me." Jackson had originally committed to play at UCLA before switching to USC and then ultimately signing with TSU. "It felt like home," Jackson said. "I felt the love. I felt the family connection. I'm from Cali and I thought it was time for a change.

Jackson has three years of eligibility left to play college football. He is a 6-4/222 Rivals 2-star DE transfer from College of the Canyons/Birmingham Senior H.S., Van Nuys, CA.

READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.

New Howard University coaches have local ties

A new coaching staff with a strong Prince George's County connection will try to reverse the fortunes of the downtrodden Howard University men's basketball program. The Washington, D.C., school, part of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, last month hired Kevin Nickelberry as its head coach. Last week, Nickelberry named former Laurel High School coach Keith Coutreyer and former DeMatha High star Travis Lyons to his coaching staff.

Coutreyer will be Howard's associate head coach after spending the past two seasons as an assistant at Hampton University. Prior to that, he spent 13 years at Laurel — five as an assistant and eight as the Spartans' head coach. He guided Laurel to the Class 4A state semifinals in 2008 before taking the job at Hampton that summer. "It's real exciting to have an opportunity to be back in the area you now, where you have your roots in terms of basketball," Coutreyer said. "You have ties in the basketball community that you've developed over time, and hopefully those ties can help get guys to come to Howard."

Coutreyer and Nickelberry have known one another for 20 years, going back to the early 1990s when Nickelberry was the head women's coach and assistant men's coach at Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University) in Takoma Park, while Coutreyer was playing there. Lyons, who grew up in Hyattsville, was one of the area's top players during his high school career. As a senior in 1993-94, the 6-foot-4 forward averaged 16 points, 8.7 rebounds and four assists per game. He went on to play at Manhattan College, where he had an experience his freshman year that has influenced his coaching career. He's spent the past 10 years as an assistant coach at Manhattan and Fordham University.

READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.