Monday, August 1, 2011

Southern University moving forward after tough ‘10

Baton Rouge, LA - At the intersection of Swan Avenue and Scenic Highway, less than a mile from A.W. Mumford Stadium, a homemade sign hangs underneath the window of a sports apparel shop. Painted in sloppy blue letters, the sign reads: “Just get it done.”

That was the slogan adopted by Stump Mitchell’s first football team at Southern University.

As fans and alumni painfully remember, there was only one problem: When it came to winning games, the Jaguars didn’t get it done. After the final whistle at the Bayou Classic, players slowly walked off the field inside the Superdome and headed toward the tunnel, looking upward, toward thousands of empty seats.

The Jaguars had clinched a 2-9 record, the worst season in school history.

SU key football dates - Wednesday: Players report...Thursday: Practice begins... Aug. 14: Media day...Aug. 22: Classes begin...Sept. 3: Season opener, at Tennessee State...Sept. 10: Home opener, vs. Alabama A&M.

READ MORE

NSU quarterback makes preseason first team

NORFOLK, VA - In just one offseason, Norfolk State quarterback Chris Walley has gone from criticized to recognized. The NSU senior is 1 of 3 Spartans on the preseason All-MEAC first team, joining offensive tackle Kendall Noble and defensive tackle Josh Turner. Linebacker Corwin Hammond was named to the second team. The teams were announced at the MEAC's preseason luncheon Friday.

It's the first time an NSU quarterback has earned the preseason recognition. Heading into last year, the Spartans' quarterback competition was the focus of training-camp conversation - and Walley's start was poor.




While learning a new offense and rotating through an uninspiring selection of wide receivers, the Spartans spent much of the season near the bottom of the MEAC in passing. Walley, a junior college transfer, passed for fewer than 55 yards in consecutive weeks during the middle of the season.

He rebounded, though, averaging more than 240 yards in his final three games ...

READ MORE

North Carolina Central excited to return to MEAC as D-1 member

NORFOLK, Va. — The Eagles of N.C. Central are expected to do better this football season than their staunch rival from Greensboro, those N.C. A&T State University Aggies. That’s the good news for NCCU. The bad news, announced Friday during the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference annual football luncheon, is NCCU is predicted to finish in the bottom half of the conference they just rejoined.

Head coaches and sports-information directors from the MEAC pegged NCCU to finish seventh among the 11 teams that play football in the league, while A&T was picked to finish ninth.

NCCU was a founding member of the MEAC in the early 1970s and then left in 1979 for the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association when the MEAC moved to Division I. The Eagles have been going through the process of reclassifying as a D-I program since 2007 and this will be their first year as a full member pending more approval step by the NCAA in August.



READ MORE

Southern-FAMU to be shown by Versus

Atlanta, GA - The Atlanta Football Classic between Southern and Florida A&M will be televised by the cable network Versus, according to a release from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

SU and FAMU will play at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 24 in the Georgia Dome. It is the first meeting between the longtime rivals since FAMU held off the Jaguars in a 52-49 shootout at A.W. Mumford Stadium in 2008. The teams have played 58 games since 1941, according to school records. The Rattlers hold a 33-24-1 edge.

The Atlanta Football Classic is one of two Southern games to appear on national television this season.

READ MORE

MEAC to use instant replay for televised games

NORFOLK, Va. — To this day, there is still some debate about one play three seasons ago that might have changed the postseason fate for Florida A&M in Joe Taylor's first season as head football coach.

At the crux of matter is a pass by quarterback Eddie Battle that was ruled a fumble, enabling South Carolina State to score the first six points on its way to a 20-point halftime lead. FAMU mounted a furious second-half comeback but the momentum swing caused by the questionable call was too much to overcome in a 28-21 loss.

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference commissioner Dennis Thomas on Friday said the league will be implementing the use of instant replay, a move that he hopes will alleviate calls such as the one that still haunts FAMU. Instant replay will be available this season to teams whose games are televised, Thomas said during the conference's media day at the Waterside Marriott.

READ MORE

SIAC Championship debate

ATLANTA — Albany State’s road to its sixth SIAC football title in the past decade will be a little rockier than normal. Yes, the Rams were named preseason favorites to repeat as conference champions at Wednesday’s SIAC Kick-Off Luncheon at Fox Sports Grill in Atlanta.

But there is a new factor in this year’s conference — a championship game.

In the past, the team with the best regular-season conference record was crowned as the SIAC champ. This year, the 10 teams are divided into two five-team divisions — East and West — and the winner of each division will face off in the inaugural SIAC Championship game Nov. 12.

Teams will play a seven-game conference slate, including all four divisional opponents and three rotating non-divisional opponents. Every two years, one non-divisional opponent will rotate on, and off, each team’s schedule over a 10-year period, and each team will play its non-divisional opponents an equal number of times.

READ MORE

Battle For Atlanta: Clark Atlanta Panthers vs. Georgia State Panthers




BATTLE DATE: FRIDAY, SEPT. 2, 2011 GEORGIA DOME, ATLANTA, GA 7:30 p.m. ET