UNDER THE BANNER
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
PORTER, GORDEN GET HOF NODS: Former Jackson State coach W.C. Gorden and former Mississippi Valley State, Howard and Fort Valley State mentor Doug Porter are HBCU products included in this year's Divisional College Football Hall of Fame Class. The Class considers players and coaches from NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA), NCAA Divisions II and III and the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) for induction. Four players and two coaches were selected for induction this year.
Gorden was the most successful football coach
in Jackson State history over a 15-year span from 1976 to
1991 before moving on to become athletic director in 1992. He
compiled an impressive 119-47-5 record winning
eight Southwestern Athletic Conference
championships. Gorden's Tigers won three straight SWAC titles
twice (1980-82 and 1985-87). JSU went on to win the
SWAC crown in 1988 and again in 1990.
Porter's most successful tenure as head coach was during two stints at FVSU (1979-85, 1987-96) amassing a record of 112-66-3, winning six Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) football titles and earning two trips to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Porter was named SIAC Coach of the Year seven times and led Fort Valley to its highest ranking ever (#2 in Division II) during the 1985 season. In addition to his coaching duties, Porter also served as FVSU's director of athletics for 16 years, acted as chairman of the Division II Football Committee and was president of the National Athletic Steering Committee.
"I am very grateful to all of the coaches and players that helped me receive this honor, because without them this could not have happened," stated Porter. Porter, a native of Memphis, Tenn., began his head coaching career at MVSU in 1961 where he turned that program around. He then moved on to Grambling where he served as an assistant coach under Eddie Robinson for nine seasons. Porter also coached at Howard from 1974-78 compiling a record of 30-21-2.
The 2008 Class will be inducted into the Hall during the Enshrinement Festival, July 18-19, in South Bend, Ind.
B-CU TAKES TWO PGA TITLES: Bethune-Cookman swept both the Division I men's and women's titles Sunday at the 22nd PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
In the men's division, B-CU carded a team-total of 8-over-par
872 to defeat Jackson State by 17 strokes. B-CU's
Carl Corbin of won the Div. I men's individual title after carding
a final-round 3-under-par 69. Corbin finished two strokes ahead of
Brett Benson of JSU.
In the women's division, B-CU won for the third consecutive year after carding a team-total of 918 to defeat the University of Texas-Pan-American by 16 strokes. BCU's Becky Dowell claimed the women's individual medalist honors with a three-day-total of 225.
Fayetteville State took home the Division II title with a three-day total of 9-over-par 873. Lincoln ( Mo.) finished in second place, nine strokes behind. Ian Milne, a senior from Deland, Fla., led the Broncos with a final-round even-par 72, concluding the Championship with a 12-foot putt for birdie.
Nearly 200 contestants from 47 colleges and universities, representing 14 countries comprised the field for the 2008 PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship.
JSU IN GOLF REGIONAL: SWAC champion Jackson State is among the 27 teams selected to compete for the NCAA Div. I Men's Golf Championships. The Tigers will travel to Chattanooga, Tenn. this weekend for the NCAA East Regional tournament (May 15-17) hosted by the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.
The championships will be conducted May 28-31 on the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue is the host institution for this year's national championship.
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