BCSP Notes . . .

Four black college coaches are among the 16 coaches announced last week by The Sports Network as finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award, named for the legendary former Grambling coach that is given annually to the FCS (formerly NCAA Div. I-AA) national coach of the year since 1987.

Pete Adrian of Norfolk State, Rod Broadway of SWAC West Division champ Grambling State, Henry Frazier of Prairie View and Al Lavan of MEAC champ Delaware State are among the finalists. This year's winner will be announced on Thursday night, Dec. 13 at the Sports Network's annual awards banquet to be held at the Marriott Hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The winners of the Walter Payton Award (offensive player of the year) and the Buck Buchanan Award (defensive player of the year), along with the Sports Network Cup, will also be announced. The Sports Network Cup is handed out to the top Mid-Major team.

Here are biographies of the four HBCU Eddie Robinson Award candidates:

Pete Adrian, Norfolk State - This veteran coach has built this once-doormat MEAC team, into a potential playoff participant in just three years, while also making major strides with the program academically. The Spartans had never had a winning season since moving from Division II to FCS until this year, when they have gone 8-3 and advanced to the MEAC championship game, losing 28-21 in overtime to Delaware State. Adrian is a 38-year coaching veteran, whose experience includes a stint as the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Enforcers of the XFL in 2001.

Rod Broadway, Grambling - In his first year at Grambling, Broadway has restored Tiger fortunes and taken the team to a 8-2 record and a berth in the SWAC championship game on December 15 in Birmingham, Ala. Before coming to Grambling, Broadway was instrumental in building North Carolina Central's program into a Division II powerhouse and helped facilitate NCCU's jump to Division I this season during his four years as coach. A veteran of 28 years as a coach, Broadway led NCCU to back-to-back CIAA titles for the first time since 1953-54 and last year's No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region. North Carolina Central was also ranked first nationally in defense in 2006. After a 4-6 record in Broadway's first year, the Eagles won eight or more games in each of the next three seasons.

Henry Frazier, Prairie View - Frazier has accomplished what many thought was next to impossible by guiding Prairie View to a winning record, its first since 1976. The Panthers finised at 7-3 this season. In his fourth year at Prairie View, Frazier has taken a program that was among the nation's worst before he arrived and gradually built it into a winner, going 3-8, 5-6 and 3-8 in three seasons before breaking through this year. The Panthers had won just nine games in the 13 seasons before Frazier arrived. A star quarterback at Bowie State (18-3-1 career record as a starter), Frazier returned to his alma mater in 1999 and rebuilt that school's fortunes before moving to Prairie View. He put together three successive winning seasons from 2001-2003 for BSU, including a 2002 CIAA championship, and left as the winningest coach in school history with 26 victories.

Al Lavan, Delaware State - In four years, Lavan has taken a program that had one winning season in the eight years prior to his arrival and turned the Hornets into MEAC champions. The Hornets finished 10-1, with an unblemished 8-0 MEAC record and have earned their first berth in the FCS playoffs by virtue of their regular season MEAC championship. Lavan is 28-14 overall and 24-8 since 2005. He has Delaware State ranked No. 10 in the country for the first time since 1987. Lavan served as the interim head coach at Eastern Michigan before coming to DSU. His 35-year coaching resume includes nine years as a Dallas Cowboys assistant for Tom Landry and a stint with the 1990 San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl champions.

Cameron gets permanent position with Albany State basketball

Christopher J. Cameron, who led Albany State to the 2007 SIAC championship as the interim coach, has been named permanent head coach. Cameron enters his second season at the helm of the men's program after serving five years as an assistant coach.

"We decided that Cameron was the best choice for the job as head coach," Athletics Director Joshua Murfree said. "He has made many accomplishments during his first season and we are proud of what he has done with the men's basketball program. We look forward to another great season of Golden Rams action." Cameron and the Fast Break Club initiated a major fund-raising campaign to money into the program for scholarships, recruitment efforts, community outreach programs and game day operations, Murfree said.

Cameron led the 2007 Golden Rams to a 15-17 overall record and a trip to the NCAA Division II basketball playoffs last season as the SIAC champion. During the 2007 SIAC tournament, Cameron led his team on a four-game winning streak to capture Albany State's seventh SIAC championship title, the team's title first since 1997, and the 2007 SIAC Tournament Coach-of-the-Year honors. He is assisted by Melvin Drake and Stanley McCormick.

© 2007 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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