UNDER THE BANNER
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
DUBIOUS DISTINCTION: The Savannah State men's team became only the second Div. I program in
50 years to go through the season without a win
when the Tigers fell to Florida A&M, 49-44 Monday
night. And they're getting more publicity than they
bargained for. ESPN provided cut-ins to Monday's game and
every other major media outlet is covering the story.
Head coach Edward Daniels' Tigers actually had a chance
to pull out a win Monday as they were tied at 41 with just
under two minutes remaining. FAMU, however, went ahead to
stay 12 seconds later. The loss, their closest of the season,
completes an 0-28 campaign for SSU, the first winless
season since another black college program, Prairie
View, matched the dubious distinction with a similar 0-28 mark in
1991. SSU lost its games this year by an average of 23 points.
"They gave it their best shot all year, but we just needed
some additional help," said Daniels. Last season, the Tigers
won four games but had to forfeit each of those wins for using
an ineligible player. Officially, the school now has a
55-game losing streak.
KERR OUSTED AT SOUTHERN: Southern University
announced last week that the contract of 
Athletic Director
Floyd Kerr will not be renewed. SU Chancellor
Edward Jackson made the announcement Friday saying
the school wanted to move in a "new direction." During his four years
at Southern, the Jaguars won 18 conference titles and three SWAC Commissioner
Cups, the award given to the program that has the best overall performance in
conference sports. "My mission was
to the take the program to the next level," Kerr said in a story
last week in the Baton Rouge Advocate. "I feel very confident we've
achieved that." Kerr was selected in June by
Sports Illustrated as one of the 100 most important minorities in sports. He was 75th on the list.
He also served on two of the most powerful and
influential NCAA committees, the Division I men's basketball
selection committee and the issues committee. The school said
Kerr will serve as AD until June 30 of this year and then
be reassigned within the university.
MILLER STEPS UP AT NSU: Longtime Norfolk
State baseball coach Marty Miller, who
is also 
serving as acting athletic director, announced last week that
he is stepping down from his baseball duties. Miller also announced
that head assistant baseball coach Claudell
Clark has been appointed interim head coach. "This is one
of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make," said Miller, who
was appointed acting athletics director on Dec. 16 when former AD Orby Moss stepped
down. "I realized when we (the team) returned
from Savannah that I needed to make a decision about my future. We
got back at 4 a.m., then I had a meeting with (President) Dr. (Marie) McDemmond early
that day along with some other assignments I had to complete. It made me realize
that I wouldn't be able to put the necessary time into both
jobs." Miller just began his 33rd year as the Spartans'
baseball coach. In more than 32 years as head man, Miller's teams
at NSU compiled a record of 718-543-3 winning 17 CIAA championships before the Spartans joined the
MEAC. Miller is the winningest coach in CIAA history and a member of
the CIAA's John B. McLendon Hall of Fame as well as the
NSU Athletics Foundation Sports Hall of Fame. Miller was also
a star baseball player at NSU from 1965-68, earning
NCAA College Division All-American honors after batting .406
as a senior. The Spartans' on-campus baseball field is named
in his honor.
© 2005 Azeez Communications, Inc.