BCSP Notes . . .

"I think it's quite an honor to be recognized by the governing body of the sport that you play, enjoy and work in," said Payton. "It's one of the greatest honors I've ever received."

Payton has garnered countless honors and recognitions over the years. His men's teams have won 19 straight SWAC titles while the JSU women have won 11 of 12 titles under his tutelage. He has led both the JSU men and women's golf teams to berths in the NCAA Div. I championships. A founder of the National Minority Championship, Payton says the organization has played a major role in promoting student athletes attending historically black colleges and universities.

"It was created to provide a platform to create recognition, generate scholarship dollars and to give our kids the opportunity to say that they've played for a national championship during their college career," he said.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the National Minority Championship. The awards ceremony aired July 6 on The Golf Channel.

NCAA Prez to speak at Hampton University
Miles Brand, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), will visit Hampton University on Aug. 28 to speak with the Department of Athletics staff and the entire university faculty about the NCAA's new academic reform package. Designed to improve the academic success and graduation rate of all student-athletes, the centerpiece of the reform package is the APR or Academic Progress Rate.

Brand was invited to Hampton by the Pirates' head football coach and interim Director of Athletics Joe Taylor during a meeting between the two at the Black Coaches Association's National Convention in Miami back in June.

"I heard Miles Brand speak about the nature of the APR and where the NCAA sees it going," said Taylor. "After that I wanted to invite him to our campus so that he could speak to the faculty about their role because assisting our student-athletes is not only an athletic task, but a campus-wide mission. We already take great pride in graduating our student-athletes and anything else we can do to add to that will be even more beneficial."

Spencer new tennis coach at Coppin State
Charles Spencer has been named men's and women's tennis head coach at Coppin State. Spencer has spent the last two seasons as the Eagles assistant men's coach after graduating from Coppin State in 2002.

Spencer was a three-year letterwinner at Coppin State from 1999-2002 and compiled 25 singles victories and 22 victories in doubles play. His best season came during the 2000-01 campaign when he posted a 15-11 singles mark, which ranked as the second-best win total in school history, and a 9-12 doubles record.

The Philadelphia native was also part of the best team in school history as the Eagles compiled 12 wins during the 2000-01 season.

Spencer, 26, replaces Reshard Kellici who resigned after two seasons to accept a full-time position in the Coppin State Admissions Office. Kellici compiled a 14-23 overall record with the men's team, and a 9-30 record with the women's program in his two years.

The Coppin State men were 6-10 overall last season, while the women finished with a 3-15 record.

A&T's Hauff inks contract with KC Royals
North Carolina A&T ace pitcher for the last three seasons, Michael Hauff, has signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Royals. Hauff has reported to the Arizona League Royals, the Royals' rookie team in Surprise, Ariz.

Hauff (6-foot-1, 230-pound, Asheboro, NC) was a part the most successful era in Aggies baseball history. Earlier this month, teammate Jeremy Jones was taken in the 25th round by the Colorado Rockies. The Aggies won the MEAC regular-season and tournament in 2005 with Hauff starting the Aggies first-ever NCAA tournament game. The Aggies also broke the school record for wins twice in Hauff's tenure.

Individually, Hauff was a big part of the Aggies success. He won 22 games during his four-year career and posted a career 4.20 ERA. His best season came in 2005 when he posted an 8-5 record with a 2.92 ERA in 108 innings pitched. He also struck out 132 batters, recorded four complete games and earned the save in the championship game of the MEAC Tournament.

© 2006 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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