JEFFRIES RESIGNS: Former South Carolina State and Howard football coach Willie Jeffries abruptly resigned as athletic director at Grambling State last week after less than a year on the job. Jeffries says he's leaving the Louisiana school because of personal situations involving his family. Jeffries says it would be better for him to be in South Carolina. He would not elaborate. Grambling President Horace Judson says he's sorry Jeffries is leaving. Judson says Jeffries' resignation was effective Friday, September 30. Jeffries replaced Al Dennis, who had served as athletics director for four years. Jeffries was the first black person to coach on the NCAA DivisionI level when he took over at Wichita State in 1979. He coached at South Carolina State 19 years.

BAYOU CLASSIC TO HOUSTON: The Bayou Classic between Louisiana rivals Grambling State and Southern has been moved to Houston after being forced out of the Superdome by Hurricane Katrina. The Southwestern Athletic Conference matchup will be played at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans on Nov. 26. The Bayou Classic has been played at the Superdome in New Orleans on Thanksgiving weekend since 1976. "Canceling the Bayou Classic was never an option," said Cydni Bickerstaff, chief executive officer of Bickerstaff Sports & Entertainment, which manages the event. The game will be televised on NBC. Other cities considered for the game included Birmingham, Ala.; Jackson, Miss. and Shreveport, La.

HOOPS NEWS: Virginia Union, which won the NCAA Division II National Basketball Championship last season, is ranked third in the nation by Street & Smith's Magazine in the annual College Basketball Yearbook. Tarleton State University, an Elite Eight tournament team a season ago, is ranked number-one, while Western Washington University is ranked second. VUU, Saint Anselm and Mount Olive College round out the top five. VUU swingman Darius Hargrove was named to the second-team all-American squad while fellow senior Duan Crockett made honorable mention. VUU finished 30-4 a year ago, and begins the season against Virginia Commonwealth University on November 10 in the Siegel Center. The SIAC preseason basketball media event was on Wednesday, Oct. 5 in Atlanta. The CIAA and MEAC will hold their press conferences on Thursday, Oct. 13. The CIAA event is in Charlotte, N.C. while the MEAC event is in Raleigh, NC. The SWAC holds its teleconference on Wednesday, Oct. 12.

© 2005 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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