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PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- For the first time in four years, Arkansas-Pine Bluff has avoided penalties for poor Academic Progress Rates.
Most of the athletic programs at the university have reached the APR benchmark of 930, but none were penalized in any fashion by the NCAA, as the results for all Division I athletic programs were released this week. This also means that no UAPB team faces any postseason ineligibility for any reason going into the 2015-16 school year, now that five of its sports teams have served postseason bans for this school year only for lack-of-institutional control violations separate from APR issues.
Earlier this week, the NCAA publicly cited the women’s tennis team for ranking among the top 10 nationally in its sport in multi-year, or four-year, APRs. The team scored a perfect 1,000.
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- For the first time in his professional basketball career Paul Davis is at a crossroads.
Davis, 27 and a former Winston-Salem State star, is torn between continuing his playing career and pursuing a coaching career.
“Some days I think I’d be fine in a coat and tie and sitting on the bench,” said Davis, a 6-9, shot-blocking machine who has played for eight different teams all over the world. “And then there are other days where I still want to play.”
What has Davis, a 2012 graduate of WSSU, thinking about his post-playing career is that he doesn’t have any solid offers to play abroad. After playing stints in Lithuania, Australia, Ireland, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Tunisia he admits to leading a charmed life.
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- The annual Southwestern Athletic Conference Spring Meetings concluded Thursday in New Orleans as the league office hosted the Council of Presidents and Chancellors, Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators, Faculty Athletics Representatives, Director of Bands and various corporate partners for its 10 member institutions and the upcoming 2015-16 season.
The meetings launched on Tuesday with administrators discussing key topics, including the all new Celebration Bowl, gender equity, scheduling, revenue distribution and strategic planning.
The conference approved a new seven game conference football schedule starting with the 2017 season. The league’s current format is a nine game schedule.
The SWAC baseball regular season series will now be a Friday, Saturday and Sunday format migrating from the Saturday/Sunday layout. This goes into effect for the 2016 season.
In an effort to address the Academic Progress Report (APR) issues, academic support staff at member institutions will be required to become members of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A).
Sites for conference championships and tournaments were determined for 2015-16. The SWAC Football Championship has been set for December 5, while the 2016 SWAC Basketball Tournament is scheduled for March 8-12. Both will be held in Houston, Texas at NRG Stadium and the Toyota Center respectively.
The first official event of the 2015-16 year begins with the SWAC Football Media Day which is slated for July 17 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Friday, May 29, 2015 Game 1: South Florida vs. Florida Atlantic – 1:00 PM (ESPN3) Game 2: Florida A&M vs. Florida – 7:00 PM (SEC Network)
GAINESVILLE, Florida -- When looking for Marlon Gibbs in the dugout, it might be best to bring a picture for reference.
Florida A&M's soft-spoken outfielder doesn't do too much to draw attention to himself when he's sitting down. He'll sit, give words of encouragement to his teammates and wait for his chance on the field.
Once he's on the field, everyone knows exactly who he is. He's the one helping to set the tone for the Rattlers' offense, which recently lit up the MEAC tournament with 38 hits and 26 runs.
David Shaw Jr. won his first individual national championship
on Friday in the triple jump at the NCAA Division II Outdoor
Track and Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan. The St. Pauls native leaped a career-best 51 feet, 11 inches on his first jump to claim the title. CIAA |Contributed photo
ST. PAULS, North Carolina — On Friday afternoon, David Shaw Sr. was sitting in his backyard, waiting to receive a call from his son, D.J., who was competing at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan.
When Shaw Sr. finally got the call from his 22-year-old son, there was a brief moment of silence on the other end.
“He sort of paused on me,” Shaw Sr. said. “Then finally he went to laughing and said, ‘Daddy, I won nationals.’
“We probably talked about 20 more minutes and I couldn’t have been prouder.”
David Shaw Jr., or D.J. as he’s commonly known, won the D2 men’s national championship in the triple jump at Grand Valley State University, his first individual title as a member of the Saint Augustine’s University track and field team.
“I couldn’t believe it, it was one of the best feelings ever,” said D.J., who leaped a career-best 51 feet, 11 inches on his first jump to claim the victory. “All I could do was thank God for opportunity. It’s every college athlete’s dream to win a national title.”
The St. Pauls native secured 10 points for the Falcons en route to the school’s third consecutive national team championship on Saturday, making D.J. a five-time national champion. The win also gave legendary coach George Williams his 36th national title, which is the most NCAA track and field championships for any coach, regardless of division.
Shaw Sr., a legendary track coach in his own right after 33 seasons at St. Pauls High School, ran track for Williams at Saint Augustine’s. That made his son’s national title even more special.
MIAMI, Florida -- The University of Maryland Eastern Shore has been recognized by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for having the league's highest graduation success rate (GSR) for the sixth consecutive year. UMES earned an 88% Graduation Success Rate for student-athletes that competed from 2004 to 2007.
It is a great honor to win this award for the sixth straight athletic season," said UMES athletic director Keith Davidson. "It shows how successful our athletic program has truly been. The graduation success our student-athletes have had shows the quality of people we are recruiting and that the university is doing its part in preparing student-athletes for life after college."
UMES earned the highest GSR among MEAC members from 1999-2002, with a 77% GPR, and 2000-2003, with an 84% GSR. In 2001-2004 they had a 90% GSR, in the 2002-2005 and 2003-2006 cohort, they posted an 89% rate both years.
The GSR measures graduation rates at Division I institutions as well as those transferring into those schools, according to the NCAA. The rate was created to reflect mobility of college students in graduation data.
In addition to the recognition, UMES was presented a check for $25,000 from the MEAC for the achievement.
At the reception where UMES was recognized, the conference also announced the All-Sports Award winners. Hampton University won its 14th-straight Mary McLeod Bethune Women's All-Sports Award while Bethune-Cookman University won its second straight Talmadge Layman Hill Men's Award.
The All-Sports Award highlights the overall strengths of the conference's men's and women's athletic programs. Each winning institution was presented with a $20,000 check during a reception at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in South Beach, Miami on Wednesday evening, May 27.
With the resurgence of men's basketball and baseball, and strong outings from track and field, including the men's cross-country championship, the Hawk's men's teams skyrocketed up the standings for the Talmadge Layman Hill Men's Award. UMES took second place overall to the Wildcats, posting 75 total points, trailing the 86.2 amassed by Bethune-Cookman. The Hawks scored in double figures in all three track disciplines, baseball and basketball, posting no sport tally worse than eight points. The conference awards 14 points for a first-place finish, second earns 12 points and so on down the line. Tied teams split the totals. UMES and Bethune-Cookman were the only two programs to amass more than 69 points.
Last season the men were fifth overall and in 2012-13 they were last at 13th, showing the leaps the program has made in just a short period of time.
On the women's side the Hawks took seventh overall in a more closely contested category. They tallied 73.5 points, getting double figure production from cross-country, volleyball and bowling, who won their eighth MEAC title in March. No UMES program scored lower than 6.5 points meaning no program finished worse than eighth place out of the 13 conference schools. They missed sixth place by just 1.5 points. Hampton won with 94 points.
"I think this speaks to the commitment of our department in all of our core values. Academics is the priority and we have shown that year in and year out. Now athletics are taking shape and we are seeing meaningful progress across the board in all of our sports," said Davidson. "Those two areas along with our efforts in the community are what are key for us to producing student-athletes who are productive members of society beyond their time in Princess Anne."
COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE SPORTS INFORMATION
2014-2015 Talmadge Layman Hill Men's Award: Bethune-Cookman
MIAMI, Florida -- Hampton University won its 14th consecutive Mary McLeod Bethune Women’s All-Sports Award and Bethune-Cookman recorded its second straight Talmadge Layman Hill Men’s Award, the conference announced on Wednesday.
The All-Sports Award highlights the overall strengths of the conference’s men’s and women’s athletic programs. Each institution was presented with a $20,000 check during a reception at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in South Beach, Miami on Wednesday evening.
“I would like to congratulate Bethune-Cookman University including President Dr. Edison Jackson, Director of Athletics Lynn Thompson, and the administrators, coaches, student-athletes and support staff for winning the 2015 Talmadge Layman Hill Award,” said MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas. “I also extend congratulations to Hampton University and President Dr. William R. Harvey, Director of Athletics Eugene Marshall and all of the outstanding individuals including staff, coaches and student-athletes who were involved in the women’s programs winning the Mary McLeod Bethune Award.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore was recognized during the reception as the 2014 recipient of the MEAC Highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for the sixth straight year. In addition to the recognition, UMES was presented a check for $25,000. UMES’ 88-percent GSR is the highest among MEAC institutions spanning the 2004-07 cohorts.
2014-2015 Mary McLeod Bethune Women's All-Sports Award: Hampton
Hampton’s women’s programs totaled 94 points in the All-Sports tally. The Lady Pirates won conference titles in Indoor Track and Field and Women’s Basketball. Hampton also finished second as conference runners-up in Outdoor Track and Field.
Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M finished tied for second place with 88.5 points. This is the third straight year that the Lady Rattlers athletic programs have finished second in the tally. North Carolina A&T State finished third (78 points) and Norfolk State edged out Morgan State by five-tenths of a point to finish fourth respectively.
Bethune-Cookman continues to strengthen its men’s programs, totaling 86.2 points to secure its second overall All-Sports trophy. The Wildcats earned a share of the football title and finished first in Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field. B-CU also garnered runners-up finishes in men’s tennis, golf and baseball.
Maryland Eastern Shore finished second on the men’s side with 75 total points and North Carolina A&T State and North Carolina Central finished tied for third with 68.7 total points. Hampton concluded the season fourth (63.5) and Florida A&M (62) rounded out the top five finishers.
Points are awarded in a descending order beginning with 14 points for champions or first place regular season finishes. The second place team receives 12 points. Tied teams split the point total.
The Mary McLeod Bethune and Talmadge Layman Hill Awards
The Mary McLeod Bethune Award, named after the founder of Bethune-Cookman College, awards the top overall women’s athletic program during the course of one full academic year. The first Mary McLeod Bethune award was giving in 1987 to Delaware State University. Hampton leads all MEAC schools with 14 Women’s Awards. The men’s All-Sports Award is named after the late Talmadge Layman Hill, a former player and coach at Morgan State, and former Chairman of the MEAC Steering and Planning Committee, as well as the conference’s first President. Howard University was the recipient of the first Talmadge Layman Hill Award in 1972. South Carolina State holds the men’s record with 11 awards from 1973-84.
PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- For the first time in four years, Arkansas-Pine Bluff has avoided penalties for poor Academic Progress Rates.
