BCSP Notes . . .
Hampton's Collins resigns
Embattled Hampton University men's
basketball head coach Bobby Collins resigned from
his position on Wednesday, March 22, one day after
his Pirates lost in the NCAA Play-In game to
Monmouth, 71-49. The school said the resignation is effective immediately.
Assistant head coach Richard Morgan will oversee the men's basketball
program until a successor is named. Collins's two other assistants were released.
Collins, who was in his fourth season at the helm of the Pirates' program, led his team to this year's MEAC Tournament title on March 18 in Raleigh as they upset regular season champion Delaware State, 60-56 in the championship game. Hampton had entered the tournament as a sixth seed with a 10-8 conference mark.
Speculation had swirled during the tournament that the team was playing to save Collins's job and many felt his job was safe after they claimed the title. Collins was in three MEAC tourney finals in his four years at the helm.
Collins spent the past 11 years at Hampton, four as head coach, where he compiled an overall record of 65-57. He took over in 2002 after the Pirates won back-to-back tournament titles and NCAA appearances under Steve Merfeld in 2001 and 2002.
"We appreciate all of his contributions to the men's basketball program," said Joe Taylor, Hampton's head football coach and interim athletics director. "We wish him well in his future endeavors."
Hill new women's coach at Virginia State
Virginia State has named James Hill,
Jr. as the University's new women's head basketball coach. Hill comes to VSU from
Shaw where he served as an assistant men's coach during the 2005-06 season and
an assistant women's coach for the four seasons prior.
"I am excited to be at Virginia State," says Hill. "There is a lot of pride at this institution and I will work hard to continue that legacy."
In 2004 and 2005, the CIAA named Hill Assistant Coach of the Year. In both of those seasons, Shaw won the CIAA championship. The school was the CIAA Eastern Division women's champions all four years Hill was assistant and conference tournament champions three of those seasons.
Hill is a native of Macon, GA and received his undergraduate degree from Shaw.
VUU's Crockett and Hargrove named
Div. II all-Americans
Virginia Union seniors Duan
Crockett and Darius Hargrove have been named All-Americans by the National Association of
Basketball Coaches (NABC). The two seniors are the first All-Americans for
VUU since William "Tell" Davis earned All-American honors in 1998.
Hargrove led the CIAA and South Atlantic Region repeat champion Panthers (28-3) in scoring at 17.3 points per game while Crockett is averaging 16.9 points per game. Both were named all-CIAA, all-CIAA Tournament and all-South Atlantic Region performers.
Savannah State head football coach resigns
Richard Basil announced his resignation as the
Savannah State University head football coach last week.
While at SSU, Basil compiled an overall record of 2-26 over a span of two and a half seasons. He began his career as a head coach by stepping in as interim head coach midway through 2003, finishing that season with an 0-7 record. In 2004, SSU finished 2-8 with wins over Division I-AA foe Norfolk State and NAIA opponent Allen University. In 2005 the Tigers finished with a 0-11 record.
SSU will launch a nationwide search immediately to identify a new head coach for Tiger football.
Hampton's Lewis wins national title; Track coach Pierce named coach of the year
Hampton track star Yvette
Lewis became the national champion in the triple jump on Saturday March 11, leaping a personal best 45 feet,
11/2 inches during the NCAA indoor track and field championships
in Fayetteville, Ark.
Lewis, a Newport News native and graduate of Menchville High School, joined teammate Kellie Wells of the Richmond area as indoor all-Americans. Wells became an all-American by virtue of making the final of the 60-meter hurdles, in which she finished sixth. She finished No. 5 in the same event a year ago.
Lewis came into the triple jump ranked No. 1 in the country by virtue of a 45-1 leap in March at Virginia Tech. But she said she wasn't sure whether other competitors might come to the meet bringing a peak performance. "Coming into nationals I was ranked No. 1 by far," Lewis said. "So I knew if I put everything together, I could win it. It feels really good, I guess, to be national champion."
HU women's track coach Maurice Pierce said Lewis' achievement is particularly significant because "I think she's one of the few from a historically black college to win a national championship in a long time." Lewis, a junior at HU and a sophomore as a competitor, has two more years to compete for the Lady Pirates.
Also, this week, Pierce, also a Newport News native, was named Division I women's indoor track and field coach of the year for the Southeast Region by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
A graduate of Warwick High School and Norfolk State, Pierce guided Hampton to its fourth consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference indoor championship this year, setting a meet record with 168 points. "Now that's big, and it's big for all historically black schools," said Pierce, in his fourth year as head women's coach after serving three years as the women's assistant coach. "I'm just glad that my peers in the coaching world are finally acknowledging what I'm doing and what we're doing here at HU.
Fang Mitchell gives up AD post
Ron "Fang" Mitchell has announced his resignation as director
of Athletics at Coppin State the university announced last week.
Mitchell will remain at the university as the men's basketball head coach.
"I just felt this was the right time," said Mitchell of his decision. "I still love coaching basketball and will continue to serve Coppin State in that capacity." Mitchell was named the Director of Athletics in 1996 replacing Dr. Clayton McNeill. Assistant AD Alecia Shields-Gadson will handle the athletic department until a replacement is named.
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