BCSP Notes . . .

She was selected in the Veteran category.

Coachman-Davis, an Albany, Ga., native who earned a trade degree from Tuskegee and a bachelor's degree at Albany State, was the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal making history and gaining international attention by capturing the high jump title with a record-setting jump of five-feet, six-and-one-eighth inches (5' 6 1/8") during the 1948 Olympic Games in London.

She was the only American woman to win a track and field event at the Olympics that year and the first American woman to ever win a gold medal in track and field.

She was coached by fellow Track and Field Hall of Famer, Cleve Abbott, the former track and football coach at Tuskegee.

Coachman Davis won 10 consecutive U.S. titles in the high jump and national titles at 50-meters, 100-meters and as a member in the 400-meter relay on the Tuskegee championship team. Many believe she would have dominated the 1940 and 1944 Summer Games, which were cancelled because of World War II.

Coachman-Davis earned her bachelor's degree from Albany State after returning from the 1948 games. As a collegian, she was a member of three Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) championship basketball teams.

From 1938 to 1948, she won 10 consecutive AAU high jump titles, a record which still holds today.

Coachman retired from competing in sports after winning the gold medal. In 1949, she received a B.A. degree in home economics from Albany State and began teaching high school physical education in Albany, Georgia. She also taught at South Carolina State College, Albany State College, and Tuskegee High School. She created the Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation to help other athletes and former Olympians adjust to life after the games. In 1975, she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. She was also inducted into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame, Bob Douglas Hall of Fame, Helm's Hall of Fame, the Georgia State Hall of Fame and the Tuskegee Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2004 cumulatively owns 26 gold, seven silver and four bronze medals and includes Florence Griffith-Joyner and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. The class is comprised of six individuals and one team, a Paralympian, a Veteran and a Special Contributor.

The award show-style induction ceremony for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate will be held July 1, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, and will air in a nationally-televised special on USA Network.

The July 1 induction will mark the first new class to be added to the Hall since 1992.

NCCU's Robinson named coach at Junior Nationals
North Carolina Central University head women's basketball coach Joli Robinson was among a trio of collegiate head coaches selected by the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee to serve as court coaches at the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team Trials held June 20-23 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Robinson, who has established herself as the winningest Lady Eagle basketball coach in her eight years at NCCU, will be responsible for conducting drills, coaching scrimmages and working with players who will be vying for spots on the 2004 USA Junior World Championship Qualifying Team.

The 2004 Trials will feature approximately 30 of the nation's top 18-year-old and younger players (born on or after Jan. 1, 1986) and will be used to select finalists for the 2004 USA Basketball Women's Junior World Championship Qualifying Team.

Team finalists will regroup in Denver for training camp July 22-28, where the eventual 12-member team will be announced. Following three days of training in Florida at a site to be determined July 29-31, the 2004 USA Junior National Team will travel to Mauagquez, Puerto Rico, for the Aug. 4-8 FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament. The top three finishing teams will earn qualifying berths to the 2005 FIBA Junior World Championship, slated to be played in Tunisia in July.

Allen out at Tennessee State
Tennessee State has fired head women's basketball coach Sharon Allen following a 1-25 record in her only season as coach. Allen had replaced Valencia Jordan who was reassigned last year.

Tracee Jones has been named interim coach. She had filled in prior to Allen's arrival and will resume that position while TSU looks for its third coach in four years.

Williams gets FVSU hoops post
Fort Valley State University has hired Travis L. Williams as its new men's basketball coach. Williams, a native of Tifton, Georgia, will be the 14th coach in the history of the program.

Travis comes to Fort Valley State from Chicago State University where he was an assistant coach last season.

"I'm looking forward to coaching and working with the players and producing a program that is balanced both academically and athletically," said Williams. "The team and myself will be very active in the community and we will be taking part in several outreach programs."

Williams will be taking over a team that went 14-15 and advanced to the second round of last season's SIAC Tournament.

Prior to working at Chicago State, Williams was an assistant coach at Georgia State for four years under legendary head coach Lefty Drissell. At Georgia State, Williams played a very instrumental role in the Panthers putting together four winning seasons, two of which were 20-win campaigns and led to berths in the NCAA (2000-01) and NIT (2002) tournaments.

Williams has had a very successful career in basketball both as a player and a coach. As a senior in high school, he led the Tift County Blue Devils to a 19-9 record and a berth in the AAAA Final Four. He also excelled in track where participated in the high jump.

From there he went on to Georgia State University where he became one of only 12 players to score 1,000 points in school history. He also holds several other records for the Panthers, and earned TAAC Academic All-Conference honors.

Travis completed work on his Bachelor of Arts degree in business management while still playing for Georgia State. He also earned his Master of Science degree in sports administration at Georgia State.

FAMU hoop extensions
Florida A&M University has announced that effective July 1, head basketball coaches Debra Clark and Mike Gillespie, Sr. have been granted contract extensions through the 2007-08 season with financial incentives for postseason accomplishments.

Clark had her base salary increased from $85,680 to $110,000, after the Lady Rattlers posted back-to-back winning seasons overall in 2003 and 2004; finished among the top four in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in each of the past two seasons, while reaching the semifinals of MEAC Tournament in each of the last two years.

Gillespie had his base salary increased from $101,400 to $125,000, following the men's program's back-to-back winning conference records for the first time in 10 years (2003, 2004); the school's first overall winning season since 1992 (17-12 in 2003), topped off by a MEAC Tournament title plus an NCAA Tournament victory this past season.

© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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