UNDER THE BANNER
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
SWAC TO HONOR LEGENDS: The SWAC Alumni Association will present its Lifetime Achievement
Award to Davey L.
Whitney, Sam Jefferson and William J. "Billy"
Nicks (posthumously) at its fourth annual Legends Reception
Dec. 12 at the Sheraton Hotel in Birmingham, Ala. The award is given to
individuals in recognition for their contributions to athletics in the
Southwestern Athletic Conference. Whitney, former men's
basketball coach at Alcorn State, compiled a 567-357
career-record in 32 seasons, including five at Texas
Southern. He led Alcorn State to 12 national postseason
tournament appearances, including five trips to the NCAA
tournament, two trips to the NIT and five NAIA appearances.
Whitney retired following the 2002-03 season. Nicks, who
was inducted into the National Football Foundation
College Football Hall of Fame in 1999, compiled a 189-55-9
record at Prairie View and Morris
Brown. His teams at Prairie View won five black national championships, eight
SWAC championships and were undefeated five times. He is
the only college coach to win a national championship in
each decade of his career (the 1940s, '50s and '60s). Nicks died
in 1999 at age 94, shortly after his induction into the
National 
Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame.
Jefferson was Jackson State's first
full-time sports information director and held that position for 29 years before
retiring in 2002. He was named SWAC Sports Information Director of the Year
and unprecedented eight times, including six consecutive times from
1997-2002. He also served as president of the SWAC SIDs and Black College Sports Information Directors
Association (BCSIDA) in addition to serving on the
CoSida (College Sports Information Directors Association)
Board of Directors being a member of several committees
within that organization. The SWAC Alumni Association
was founded four years ago. Its purpose is to support the
Southwestern Athletic Conference events, promote its legacy,
and preserve its athletic heritage. Former athletes in all
sports from all member institutions are eligible for membership,
as are head coaches, assistant coaches, athletic trainers
and athletic administrators, referees and employees of the
conference office. For information about becoming a
member, contact Roscoe Nance, SWAC Alumni Association
coordinator by phone at 800-872-3410, extension 3722 or by
e-mail at scomobile@aol.com.
© 2003 Azeez Communications, Inc.