UNDER THE BANNER
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
PAYTON/BUCHANAN LISTS: Tennessee State RB Charles Anthony and Grambling State QB Bruce Eugene are among a list of 16 I-AA players on the initial list of candidates for the 18th Walter Payton Award, given to the best offensive player in I-AA football. TSU DE Paul Thomas, Howard DB Antoine Bethea and Norfolk State LB Kevin Talley are among the initial 17 candidates for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the top defender in I-AA football. The "Payton Watch" and "Buchanan Watch" pages, which can be found at The Sports Network's website (www.sportsnetwork.com), keep track of the quest for the 18th Walter Payton Award and the 10th Buck Buchanan Award. The official lists will undergo three revisions (10/6, 11/3 and 11/21) prior to the distribution of ballots on November 22nd. Ballots will be mailed electronically to the media and I-AA sports information directors selected for the voting process on November 22, and will be due Wednesday, November 24. The top three finalists (in terms of votes received) for the Walter Payton Award will be invited to attend the presentation in Chattanooga, Tn., with the winner of that award not announced until the event.
NEW TU HOOPS COACH: Alabama A&M graduate and former
SIAC MVP, Ondray Wagner, was 
named the new head
basketball coach at Tuskegee University Thursday. Wagner has
served as an assistant for the last five years at Tuskegee to
Ben Jobe and Oliver Jones and
follows Jones as head coach. Before coming to Tuskegee, Wagner
served as graduate assistant at Alabama A&M. Following an
outstanding career at A&M where he was named 1988 SIAC MVP and
recipient of the John D. McLendon Award as the most outstanding player at a Historically
Black College or University, Wagner played in the USBL and
had tryouts with two NBA teams. He was inducted into the
A&M Hall of Fame in 2001. The Golden Tigers finished the
2003-2004 season at 15-13.
© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.