BCSP Notes . . .
Husband joins wife at top of Alabama State hoops
Alabama State named Lewis
Jackson its tenth head men's basketball coach last week, catapulting the former player and assistant coach to the top of the
program he helped build into a Southwestern Athletic
Conference powerhouse.
"Every athlete dreams of coming home where it all started." Jackson said. "Today, my dream became a reality."
Jackson replaces Rob Spivery, who resigned last month to take the head coaching position at Southern University. He was chosen from a group of several qualified candidates, including ASU assistant women's coach Clayton Harris and Indiana University assistant coach Thad Fitzpatrick. Citing uncertainty with the search for a permanent head coach, Joe Proctor, Spivery's top assistant who had been named interim head coach at ASU after Spivery's departure, announced a week earlier his resignation to become an assistant to Spivery at Southern.
"We had three great coaches as finalists but Coach Jackson had an outstanding interview and his interview put him over the top," said ASU athletic director Patrick Carter. "We think he'll do a good job for us and be very successful."
Jackson has been an assistant at Alabama State since the 2000-01 season and was integral in the team's success. The Hornets won two SWAC tournament championships and earned NCAA tournament berths after those victories while also appearing in two more conference championship games in that time span.
Now, Jackson has to set his own course outside of Spivery's shadow.
"We want to continue to get quality players in, ones who can adjust to the style we want to play. Our main thing is playing good, solid defense. That's the key to winning. It allows you to get some easy baskets on the offensive end," Jackson said. "It's tough to follow the last 4-5 years. But it's a task I'm ready to take on."
In ascending to the men's head coaching position, Jackson joins his wife women's head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson atop the ASU basketball family.
"It's not a big deal. It's something that sounds good with media," Jackson said. "But she's done an excellent job and I have the task of working with our student-athletes. We both have jobs and we'll both go about taking care of those tasks."
Jackson started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Alabama State from 1992-95 under the late James Oliver, Sr. In the next five years, he served as a basketball instructor and in 1998, he coached The Challenge an Amateur Athletic Union team that featured some of the top high school talent in the country including future ASU stars Alvin Pettway and Tyrone Levett.
As strong as his coaching résumé has been, Jackson's credentials as a player are equally as impressive.
As a high school player at Wetumpka High, Jackson led his team to back-to-back state championships and was chosen the most valuable player of the state tournament in both of those seasons.
Jackson then selected Alabama State to continue his career and became one of the best in school history. After breaking into the starting lineup four games into his freshman season, he went on score 2,203 points now fourth on ASU's all-time scoring list.
After his senior season in 1984, he was chosen SWAC Player of the Year, the Black College Basketball Player of the Year and a Black College All-American. He was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the third round and received an invitation to tryout for the United State Olympic basketball team. He would ultimately play professionally in Australia, Canada and the Philippines before retiring in 1990.
In 1999, Jackson was inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. A year later, he was selected for the Alabama State University Hall of Fame. His number 33 is retired by Alabama State and Wetumpka High retired both numbers Jackson donned 34 and 35.
Bethune-Cookman gets historic softball ranking
MEAC runner-up Bethune-Cookman
College earned the No. 23 spot in the final ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll, released last Thursday. The
Wildcats (49-19) received 56 votes to earn their first-ever national ranking.
Bethune-Cookman made headlines after capturing their first NCAA Regional Championship, winning the Florida Regional at the University of Florida on May 22. B-CC's remarkable season came to an end in the Super Regionals, where the Wildcats nearly upset host Texas in game one, losing 1-0 in nine innings. The Wildcats dropped game two 6-1.
The Wildcats, who lost in the finals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Softball Championship to Florida A&M, earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, marking the first at-large softball bid for any MEAC member or historically black college/university (HBCU). Bethune-Cookman had captured the last five MEAC softball titles.
B-CC's Jackson to try out for national team
The Amateur Softball Association, the
National Governing Body of Softball in the United States
and USA Softball announced that Bethune-Cookman
College junior shortstop, Amber Jackson, is among the
40 athletes invited to participate in the 2005
Women's National Team Selection Camp, June 13-17, at the
Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista , CA . 
A three-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Jackson led the 2005 Wildcats in batting average (.455), hits (95), runs (75), total bases (167), walks (32), home runs (14), on-base percentage (.527), slugging percentage (.799) and runs batted in (68). She also had 33 stolen bases on the season. The Fontana , Ca. native finished her junior season landing first team All-Southeast Region honors, while also earning a spot on the All-American second team.
"This has been an incredible season for us as a program. We have accomplished so much as individuals and as a team, and this is just another "first" for Bethune-Cookman Softball, as well as softball in the MEAC," said Bethune-Cookman College Head Softball Coach Laura Watten. "I can't say enough about Amber and I am extremely excited for her. She has absolutely earned and deserves this opportunity with all of her unwavering dedication and hard work. Amber will represent herself, the college and the conference like a true champion." "I'm so excited to have this opportunity," stated Jackson . "I'm looking forward to what I can learn from this experience. I also want to show them how we have fun and I want to bring that to the National Team."
An 18-member national team and 16-member elite team will be selected from this camp to represent the United States in the various international events in 2005. The National team will participate in an exhibition versus Australia on July 12 in Irvine , Calif. , the World Cup of Softball July 14-18 in Oklahoma City , and the Japan Cup July 16- August 5 in Yokohama, Japan. The Elite team will participate in the Canada Cup June 29-July 11 in Surrey, B.C., and the Inter-Continental Spain Cup July 20-July 28 in Madrid, Spain.
MEAC office move to Va. Beach official
Mid Eastern Athletic Conference Commissioner
Dennis Thomas announced last week that the conference is officially relocating its headquarters to
Virginia Beach this August. The move ends the conference's 23-year stay in Greensboro, N.C.
The MEAC will occupy 6,800 square feet of office space on the 11th floor of the Armada/Hoffler Tower of the Virginia Beach Town Center. The Town Center spans more than 17 blocks in the Pembroke area of Virginia Beach.
The Virginia Beach City Council appropriated $50,000 to the city's development authority Tuesday to assist the MEAC with the move. Armada/Hoffler will chip in another $60,000, while the state will also give the MEAC money to relocate.
"All of the (MEAC) presidents consented to the move," said Hampton University President William Harvey, chairman of the MEAC Council of Presidents in a story in the Hampton Daily Press. "This is a much better facility and is more centrally located. Seven of the (11) schools are within a 3-to-31/2-hour drive of the new conference headquarters."
Thomas said the move will benefit Hampton Roads in a variety of ways. He said the MEAC office will employ 12 people, seven full-time and five part-time, and at least two MEAC championships will move to the area beginning with the 2005-06 school year.
Thomas, the MEAC commissioner since 2002, is the former athletic director at Hampton and owns a home in the area. He believes the new offices will help the conference secure more sponsorship.
"Having a Class A facility with all the amenities will help us in presenting our product to corporations in the mainstream of America," he said. "This gives us the capability to invite Corporate America to our offices to negotiate and plan."
© 2005 Azeez Communications, Inc.