Coppin State athletics director steers athletes toward graduation

Ramsey was in Indianapolis, Indiana, last week for the NCAA Leadership Counsel meeting of which he is a committee member. During his stay, he met with the NCAA staff to conduct this interview.

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- When Derrick Ramsey became athletics director at Coppin State five years ago, the school’s Graduate Success Rate was 58 percent. Today, that number has grown to 75 percent, and Coppin State student-athletes average a 3.0 GPA.

This year alone, the rate climbed six percentage points—the biggest jump of Ramsey’s tenure.

“The thing I was up against at Coppin was I had to change the whole culture of the athletics department,” Ramsey said. “Prior to me coming there, the athletics department was a culture of eligibility, not graduation.”

Ramsey accomplished this shift through a holistic focus on academics that combines summer classes and classes over winter break with a fifth-year degree completion program and an innovative program that integrates campus faculty with the athletics department. In 2012 Coppin State was awarded an NCAA Accelerating Academic Success grant worth $900,000 over three years to assist with those initiatives.



The AASP grants are aimed at developing methods to help schools meet the requirements of the NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program. One of those standards calls for increasing the graduation rates and academic success of student-athletes at Division I institutions outside the Football Bowl Subdivision. Schools eligible to apply for the program are in the bottom 10 percent of resources as determined by per capita institutional expenditures, athletics department funding and Pell Grant aid.

“Now with this grant we’re able to compete with anyone in the country,” Ramsey said. “We’ve never had a semester over the last five years when we’ve been below a 3.0 GPA average.  Now with these monies we’re going into a higher gear.”

That higher gear means dedicating even more resources toward an integration program that pays for faculty to travel with teams. The grant allows Ramsey to pay for travel expenses as well as enrichment programs that help faculty understand the value of intercollegiate athletics.

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Rattler Report: Overview of FAMU athletics

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- Rattler Report: Overview of FAMU athletics: Doug Blackburn talks with Michael Smith, FAMU interim athletic director, about FAMU's athletic facilities in this week's Rattler Report.

CatEye Network' s Postgame Report B-CU Football vs South Carolina State.

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  -- CatEye Network' s Postgame Report B-CU Football vs South Carolina State. Featuring Terrence Gattling, Johnny Vickers C.J. Wilson, and Lericia Harris.

Banged-up SCSU Bulldogs not throwing in towel, Pough says

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  -- The “battle scars” are still very much fresh for South Carolina State two days after its 14-3 loss at Bethune-Cookman.

It’s a “Who’s Who” of Bulldogs dealing with a variety of injuries. While most – defensive ends Andrew Carter (ankle) and Malcolm Reed (back), wide receiver Tyler McDonald (thigh) and cornerbacks Darius Drummond (chest) and Mason Harris (leg) – are expected to play this Saturday at Savannah State, running backs Xavier Quick (shoulder) and Dondre-Lewis Freeman (knee) will remain on the sidelines, said head coach Buddy Pough Monday.

While S.C. State (5-3, 3-1) tends to its wounds, Pough said the team appears to have rebounded mentally from any lingering letdown from a loss that could deny it the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and a Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearance. While the odds of a conference title or even an at-large berth appear slim in Pough’s mind, he believes his team is not ready to “throw in the towel” on the rest of the season.

“I think we want to be ...

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Nuggets' magic number is 1 after beating Philander Smith

NEW ORLEANS -- Kerris Crier tied her career high of nine kills Monday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-21, 25-14, 25-16 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's volleyball victory against Philander Smith.

The Gold Nuggets (21-7) extended their school-record winning streak to 15 and reduced to one their magic number for winning a third consecutive regular-season championship. They can clinch the title with a victory against city rival Dillard in a 6 p.m. Wednesday match at the Convocation Center.

Crier, Jodi Hill and Claudia Haywood had three blocks apiece. Moira Kirk had seven kills and hit .417 in 12 attempts. Franziska Pirkl had 12 digs.

Zyra Wright had 13 kills, two aces, a block and eight digs for the Lady Panthers (9-22, 6-5), who have lost four in a row and six of their last seven.

Xavier rallied from a 13-9 deficit in the first set and clinched on Haywood's kill. Crier had two kills and two blocks, and Pirkl served two aces during a 10-0 run to start the second set.

Destiny Jackson's ace put the Gold Nuggets ahead to stay at 11-10 in the final set, and she set up Emily Reuther for her first collegiate kill to end the match.

Xavier outhit Philander Smith .209 to .000 and had a 35-24 advantage in kills. The Lady Panthers hit minus-.320 in the second set.

The Gold Nuggets have won a school-record 12 consecutive home matches, eight this season. They have won 32 consecutive GCAC regular-season matches and 38 in a row overall against conference opponents.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

Bethune-Cookman Marching Wildcats - Past Two Weeks

TSU's Spicer Shoots Career Low on Day One of Evansville Tournament

 

Photo courtesy of Tennessee State Athletics

 

NASHVILLE,

Tennessee -- Freshman Natalie Spicer carded a career best 82 during the first round of the Braun Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Evansville. Spicer guided the Tigers on a cool day at the Par-71, 6,012 yard Quail Crossing Golf Club in Boonville, Ind.

 

Spicer hit 11 fairways and 11 greens on her way to seven pars and a birdie as she finished at 11-over. The first-year just missed a hole-in-one on the par-3, 17th, as her tee shot stuck just outside of the cup. Spicer tapped in for her lone birdie. On the par-4, 6th, Spicer converted on an up-and-down to save par.

 

Amelia Dap finished four shots behind Spicer with a 15-over, 86. The redshirt-sophomore hit a 4-iron off the tee box at 11, 165 yards into the wind and landed inches from the flag setting up a tap in birdie. Dap continued solid play on the par-4, 4th, hitting the fairway and reaching the green in two. The Murfreesboro product two putted for par. Dap averaged less than two putts per hole on day one.

 

Laura Bremer and Kelly Merkel both entered the clubhouse with an 88. Bremer highlighted the round by sinking a 12-foot putt for birdie on the par-5, 3rd. The sophomore transfer finished with 12 fairways, six greens, 33 putts and an up-and-down on Monday.

 

Sarah Needleman shot a non-scoring 90.

 

The final round will begin with a shotgun start at 10:00am on Tuesday.

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION