SCSU’s Cy Alexander Resigns to Take Tennessee State Position
March 31, 2003
Orangeburg, SC --- South Carolina State’s Cy Alexander, who recently completed
his sixteenth season as Bulldog head basketball coach, resigned Monday to take
a similar
position at Tennessee State University. Alexander informed university officials
and his
team of his decision Monday morning.
All-Pro Photo
Cy Alexander
Bulldog athletics director Oliver “Buddy” Pough said the university was
appreciative of the job Alexander has done during his 16-year tenure and wished him
well in his new position.
‘It’s (Alexander’s tenure) been a great ride for the university,” Pough said. “We
enjoyed a great deal of success during his tenure here and we thank him for what he did
for our men’s basketball program and South Carolina State. And, we wish him much
success at Tennessee State.
“We will immediately develop a ‘wish list’ of candidates that we can speak with
in the coming days,” continued Pough. It is our hope that we can have a person in place
by the middle of April.”
Alexander called the decision to leave SCSU for Nashville a very tough one, and
one that he deliberated over for days.
“After officially being offered the job by Tennessee State,” Alexander said, “I
was faced with the toughest professional decision of my coaching career. Following
much thought, discussions with family and friends and prayer, I decided to accept the
position.
“I’ve had a wonderful 16 years at South Carolina State,” he continued. “It’s been
a very rewarding experience and I owe a great deal of gratitude to a number of people
all of the presidents and athletic directors that I served under, the overall SCSU family,
the Orangeburg community, my coaching staff, and most of all, the young men who were
members of all the basketball teams that I coached here.”
Alexander, who began his career at S.C. State in 1987 after 11 seasons as an
assistant at Howard, compiled a 277-202 record as Bulldog head coach. The Winston-
Salem native and Catawba College alumnus had 12 winning seasons and guided the
Bulldogs to five Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament titles and as many
appearances in the NCAA Championship.
His 2002-03 team finished 20-11 overall, captured the MEAC regular season title
with a 15-3 mark, and won the league’s tournament and its automatic bid to the NCAA
playoffs.
Alexander’s best season was 1988-89 when he won a school-record 25 games
during a 25-8 campaign.
