BCSP X-28: BCSP Notes

BCSP Notes . . .

Gettin' Ready for the CIAA
Bowie State has clinched one first round men's tournament bye but the other three are still up for grabs as teams head into the final week of regular season play in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Luke D'Alessio's BSU Bulldogs are at 21-3 overall, 8-1 in the CIAA East Division and have clinched one of the byes that goes to the regular season winners and runners-up in each division. BSU has two wins over both second-place Virginia Union (19-4, 6-1 E) and third-place Shaw (10-14, 4-4 E) with one divisional game to go. VUU can claim the second E. Div. bye either by defeating Shaw on Tuesday (2/17) or by winning at Elizabeth City State Saturday.

The West Division byes will be determined by the outcome of this week's games. Four teams, Fayetteville State (15-9, 6-2), St. Augustine's (17-8, 7-3), Johnson C. Smith (13-12, 5-3) and N. C. Central (11-11, 5-3) are still in the running for the two byes. On the women's side, Shaw (23-2, 9-1) and Virginia Union (20-5, 7-2) have clinched the top two spots in the East with Fayetteville State (13-10, 7-2) in for one West Division bye and J. C. Smith (14-11, 5-3) poised to get the other.

The 59th CIAA Tournament gets under way Monday, Feb. 23 at the RBC Center in Raleigh with first round women's play beginning at 1 p.m. The women's quarterfinals play will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 24 beginning at 1 p.m.

Men's opening round play starts Wednesday at 1 p.m, with quarterfinals to follow on Thursday beginning at 1 p.m. Both men's and women's semifinals are scheduled for Friday (1, 3 7 and 9 p.m.) with both finals Saturday (7 and 9 p.m.).

FAMU Appears Headed Back to MEAC
The Florida A&M Board of Trustees voted 7-5 last week to delay the school's move of football to Division I-A and return to Division I-AA.

No definitive timeline for moving to Division 1-A was determined last week, but University President Dr. Fred Gainous did stress that reinstatement of football in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference would be pursued.

To that end, MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis Thomas was in Tallahassee Monday and met with Gainous and other top administrators for two hours. Thomas said Tuesday there were still some issues to be addressed related to the Rattlers returning to the conference. He expects some type of official announcement by the end of this week or the beginning of next week.

Gainous recommended at least a three-year delay to address some critical issues affecting the move, such as stadium renovation, enhancement of student-athlete graduation rates and fund-raising for the athletic program, in addition to making sure that the institution's financial future was not affected adversely.

"I am asking the Board to give consideration to delay the process of moving to Division 1-A, so that we may build up the infrastructure of the department to better move forward In isolation, there is a strong desire to make this move, but we must remain true to the academic mission of this university to educate students and not mortgage the future of the institution," Gainous said.