FAMU student talks to WFTV about hazing

Tallahassee, Florida -- Only WFTV reporter Daralene Jones spoke with a student at Florida A&M University who said she was rushed to the emergency room after being hazed. Bria Hunter said the incident happened just days before band member Robert Champion died in Orlando earlier this month.

Hunter said some band members felt as if they had to join one of the underground groups known as the "Clones," "Red Dogs" and "Gustapos," so they can be accepted by veteran band members.

Champion, 26, mentored several members of the famed FAMU band, before he was hazed to death, including Hunter.

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Norfolk State Spartans must rebuild fast to contend in 2012

NORFOLK, Virginia -- The Norfolk State football team will have to replace the mood, and the mind, that led the Spartans to unprecedented success this season.

The Spartans' road to a repeat championship will have to include the biggest rebuilding job in the MEAC. Norfolk State listed 22 seniors on its roster this season, the most in the conference. Among the upperclassmen were the core of its defense, along with Josh Turner and Chris Walley, likely the two most important players on the roster.



"You know the thing in the middle of a wheel? What's that called, the axle?" coach Pete Adrian asked. "That's what Josh is. He's the one that makes it all work."

Turner is probably the biggest - 315 pounds big - loss of the seven graduating senior starters and four All-MEAC members on defense. That also includes leading tackler Corwin Hammond.

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Calls to end hazing ring out at drum major's funeral

Decatur, Georgia (CNN) -- Somber chords sounded at a funeral service Wednesday for a drum major whose death has sparked an investigation of hazing allegations at his Florida university. Criticisms of hazing and rallying cries for change echoed throughout the three-hour church ceremony.

"I call on every mother, every father, every niece, every uncle: Do what is necessary now to stop this tragedy so that it will never happen again," the Rev. John Tatum shouted into a microphone as he pointed at hundreds of people packed into the pews at Beulah Missionary Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia.



Authorities have not specified what caused 26-year-old drum major Robert Champion's death after a performance earlier this month with the Marching 100 band from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). Officials said hazing was involved, and his family has said it plans to sue the school "to get answers."

Speaking at Wednesday's service, FAMU President James H. Ammons pledged to ...

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Who Should Be Blamed for Hazing? Students

Commentary by Tonyaa Weathersbee
BlackAmericaWeb.com

Jacksonville, Florida -- Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion died last month – likely from hazing. Now the survival of a lot of other things at the historically black university is looking shaky as well.

The famed Marching 100, a band that has performed at Super Bowls, at the Grammys and in Paris, has been suspended. Their performance at Carnegie Hall is off. So are performances by the music department.

And the band director, Julian White, a former neighbor of mine here in Jacksonville - so dedicated to his art that his life story probably ought to be written in musical notes instead of words - must now fight to salvage his job and his legacy.

Things weren’t supposed to turn out like this.

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NSU coach Adrian fires offensive coordinator

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Norfolk State offensive coordinator Joe Blackwell won't be back with the Spartans next season. Norfolk State head coach Pete Adrian said Wednesday that he chose not to retain Blackwell and told the team during a meeting earlier in the week. Norfolk State's assistant coaches are on year-to-year contracts.

"I'm not going to go into it," Adrian said. "It's something I felt like I had to do. Stuff goes on behind the scenes. Let's put it like this, there's more that goes into coaching college than Xs and Os."

Blackwell has changed his phone number since providing it to The Pilot last season and could not be reached for comment. Adrian said he expects to retain the rest of his staff.

Blackwell's offense averaged ...

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Pioneer Bowl XIII: Johnson C. Smith University vs. Miles College

Pioneer Bowl Game Notes (pdf format)

PIONEER BOWL football tickets can be purchased at the JCSU Ticket Office in Biddle Hall (3rd Floor) or call 704-378-1145. Tickets can also be purchased at the game.

Columbus, GA – The Johnson C. Smith University football team has accepted the invitation to participate in the 13th Pioneer Bowl to be held Saturday, December 3rd at A.J. McClung Stadium in Columbus, Georgia at 1:00 p.m. (EST). JCSU will face Miles College from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) as the road team in this match-up.

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, Saint Augustine's College (CIAA) trumped Fort Valley State University (SIAC), 20-9.

JCSU closed out the regular season with a 31-0 victory against Livingstone College in the annual Commemorative Classic. The win moved the Golden Bulls to third in the CIAA Southern Division with 5-5 overall record and 4-3 in the conference mark.

This is the first non-losing season for Johnson C. Smith since 2006. That year, JCSU finished 7-3 in the standings and received a Pioneer Bowl bid. Unfortunately, even with the game played in Charlotte, NC, Tuskegee won the game 17-7. Until now, that has been the only bowl game appearance for the Golden Bulls.

Miles College, led by Head Coach Reginald Ruffin, finished first in the SIAC West Division with a 5-2 record in conference play. The Golden Bears won their first SIAC Championship by defeating Albany State University to finish with a 7-4 overall record.

A bowl game victory would be the icing on the cake of a reinvigorated year of JCSU football. Head coach Steven Aycock led his squad to their first winning conference record in five seasons. Aycock was elected CIAA Coach of the Week three times this season.

On the field, CIAA Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback Keahn Wallace (Homestead, FL) has led the Golden Bulls and the conference in yardage. Wallace led the CIAA in total offense, while completing more than 58 percent of his passes and throwing for 1,946 yards with 16 touchdowns. He also averaged 48.4 yards per game running the ball to go with five rushing touchdowns. Wallace averaged 264.7 yards of total offense per game, leading the category by more than 23 yards.

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JSU's Coach Comegy receives extension, raise

Coach Rick Comegy

Jackson, Mississippi - Jackson State University has renewed Rick Comegy’s contract as the Tigers head football coach through 2013.

JSU Athletics Director Dr. Vivian L. Fuller made the announcement at an 11 a.m. press conference Wednesday, Nov. 30, in the Sports Hall of Fame Room of the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center.

“Coach Comegy and his staff have an excellent track record of on-the-field success at Jackson State,” said Fuller. “Moving forward under his leadership, I expect the JSU Tigers to be champions in sports, in the classroom and in the Jackson community.”

Having just completed his sixth season with the Tigers, Comegy looks forward to his two-year extension.

“I want to thank Dr. Meyers and Dr. Fuller for having confidence in me and my coaches. I’m thankful that they believe in us to continue what we’re building here at JSU,” said Comegy. “I love my job, I love my kids and I love JSU.”

“We all look forward to Coach Comegy’s continued leadership of Jackson State’s football program,” said Meyers. “I am confident that he will lead our student-athletes to even greater success on the field and in the classroom.”

Comegy, 58, completed his six years at Jackson State with a 41-26 record and ended this last season with a 9-2 record. His teams won a SWAC championship in 2007 and returned for SWAC championship play in 2008.