BCSP Notes . . .

Jacket's track teams won eight NAIA outdoor championships and two indoor championships, eight SWAC cross country titles, nine SWAC indoor titles and five SWAC outdoor titles during her 26-year career from 1965-1991. Her teams also won titles in the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) and the U.S. Track and Field Federation. Jacket was SWAC Coach of the Year 23 times and NAIA Coach of the Year five times. She is a member of the NAIA, Texas Women's and Tuskegee Institute Athletic Halls of Fame.

Jacket, a 1958 graduate of Tuskegee, in 1992 became the second black woman to coach the U.S. Women's Olympic team. She guided Team USA, which included Gail Devers, Gwen Torrance and Evelyn Ashford, to four gold medals, three silver medals and three bronze medals at the Barcelona Olympics. It was the most medals for any team since the 1956 Olympics, and the team's performance included a record-setting effort in the 400 meters. Jacket also served as athletic director at Prairie View and is currently a member of the school's faculty.

Edney was SWAC president from 1975-84 and has been credited with saving the conference from financial ruin. SWAC was facing three lawsuits and was $130,000 in the red when he took office. He settled all three suits amicably, and the conference was $1 million in the black when he left office. During Edney's tenure SWAC changed its affiliation, moving from NAIA and NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I-AA in football and Division I in all other sports.

Under his leadership, SWAC schools regularly played teams from the fledgling Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in basketball, a move that enabled member institutions from both conferences to meet Division I scheduling requirements. Edney also served as athletic faculty representative at Alcorn State from 1971-2000. He received the NAIA Distinguished Service Award in 1980 and the Award of Merit for serving as chairman of the eligibility committee from 1974-78.

Nance has reported on black college athletics throughout his 30-year career which began at The Enquirer in Columbus, Ga. He covered the SWAC for seven years for The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., from 1978-85, a period when its member institutions were largely ignored by the mainstream media. At times Nance was highly critical of the conference as he exposed its shortcomings and miscues. But at the same time he served as a voice for SWAC schools and their athletes who for the most part had been voiceless.

Nance is credited with coming up with the nicknames "The Godfather" for former Alcorn State and Southern football coach Marino H. Casem and "The Gunslinger" for former Mississippi Valley State football coach Archie Cooley. Nance currently covers the NBA for USA TODAY.

NC A&T to name court for Cal Irvin and Don Corbett
When any one thinks of N.C. A&T basketball, two names come to mind, former head men's basketball coaches Calvin "Cal" Irvin and Don Corbett.

For their success and tremendous accomplishments, Irvin and Corbett will be honored before the Aggies nationally televised game (ESPN2) on January 16 against Bethune-Cookman at Corbett Sports Center by having the court named in their honor.

The name of the court inside the Ellis F. Corbett Sports Center will be Cal Irvin-Don Corbett Court. The North Carolina A&T Board of Trustees approved the proposal.

Irvin came to N.C. A&T in 1954 and in 18 seasons his teams never finished below .500. Irvin's success would carry the Aggies over into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, where he won the school's first league championship in 1972. His name is listed on the A&T, MEAC, CIAA, and the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fames. Eighteen players under his tutelage played professionally, including Al Attles, the only HBCU graduate to coach an NBA championship team. Hugh Evans, another star in the Irvin system, served in the NBA as an official for 35 years. Irvin finished with a career record of 401-132, including a 308-105 record at N.C. A&T. His first CIAA championship came in 1958. Irvin's teams won CIAA titles in 1959, 1962, 1964, and 1967.

The 26 wins the Aggies totaled in 1958 under Irvin would still be a record today had it not been for Corbett. Corbett quickly rebuilt the program after an 8-19 first season in 1979-80. His recruiting class began a run that has been unparalleled in MEAC history. In that class was the first of three All-MEAC players to come out of Rochester, N.Y. in Joe Binion.

Binion would go on to finish his career as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in school history in leading the Aggies to four MEAC championships. Corbett's eight consecutive MEAC tournament titles and seven consecutive NCAA tournament appearances are just the tip of the iceberg on Corbett's résumé. Corbett finished with a 249-133 record to rank second on the all-time victories list behind Irvin. He won 20 or more games in six different seasons, including a school best winning percentage of .897 thanks to a 26-3 record in 1986-87. Also under Corbett's direction, the Aggies ran off a 37-game winning streak in Corbett Sports Center which lasted nearly four years. Corbett has been named MEAC Coach of the Year six times and has had a player win MEAC Player of the Year six times.

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