BCSP Notes . . .

"Winning the Commissioner's Cup is a testament to our university as a whole," said JSU Director of Athletics Robert Braddy. "It all starts with our president, Dr. Ronald Mason. His support of the athletics department has given our sports the opportunity to be successful."

Jackson State earned 164 total points as they won the award for the second consecutive year. The Lady Tigers claimed championships in track and field (indoor and outdoor) and golf while finishing second during the basketball regular season and third in cross country and bowling. The Tigers won the football and golf championships while finishing second in indoor track and field and third in tennis and outdoor track.

Jackson State also swept the C.D. Henry (men's sports) and Magee/Jacket (women's sports) awards. JSU garnered 73.5 men's sports points and 90.5 women's sports points.

Southern finished second in the all-sports tally with 142.5 points while Grambling State and Prairie View A&M each accumulated 142 points for third place.

Bethune-Cookman, Texas Southern bow out in NCAA baseball regionals
MEAC champion Bethune-Cookman (36-22) lost the second game in the NCAA Baseball Coral Gables Regional Saturday 14-1 to Mississippi eliminating the Wildcats from the double-elimination competition. The 'Cats lost Friday's opening game to Miami, 7-4.

SWAC champion Texas Southern also dropped its second game to New Orleans 18-5 Saturday and was eliminated from the Baton Rouge Regional Saturday. TSU (16-34) lost to LSU 12-1 in Friday's opening game.

For B-CU, it was the second time in three years that it hooked up with Ole Miss in an NCAA Regional. The Rebels defeated the 'Cats 3-2 in 2006 in the first round of the Oxford (Miss.) Regional when Mississippi was the host team. The Wildcats scored their only run in the second inning of Saturday's loss on Jose Ortiz's RBI single. Ortiz finished with three hits to lead B-CU. Senior Osvaldo Torres, playing in his last game as a Wildcat, had two hits. B-CU finishes the year with the second-best record in school history.

"I guess we came here thinking we had a very good chance based on our pitching," said B-CU head coach Mervyl Melendez. "Our pitching had done a good job all year. But today and yesterday there was a little let down. We've been here for a long time in this conference and this is the best pitching we've had and they've pitched well against good teams. We had opportunities to get back in the ball game today but we wasted those opportunities. We had a good season and I told my guys that I was very proud of them. We just need to regroup, come back next year and understand what we need to do better."

Texas Southern starter Rashad Ford (3-6) was touched for seven runs ­ six earned ­ on five hits in four innings. He fell into trouble with six walks but struck out four the elimination game loss to New Orleans. The Tigers closed only trailed 3-2 in the third but were outscored 15-3 over the final six innings.

"I enjoyed the [NCAA] tournament," said TSU head coach Candy Robinson. "It was a nice day here and I feel like the tournament was well organized. We didn't play as well as I expected to play, but we hung in there and played hard each game. Hopefully, we will be back here next year."

Board changes name on ASU's Acadome
The Alabama State University Board of Trustees has voted to remove Joe L. Reed's name from the Acadome, the arena on the school's campus, and to enshrine the names of two legendary coaches in the school's arena.

The motion stated "the ASU Acadome is hereby immediately and forever affectionately referred to as the "ASU Sting Dome".

University staffers moved immediately following the approval of the resolution to take away all references to Reed at the facility including removing the letters of his name and the commemorative markers both inside and outside the Dome.

The facility, which seats 7,400 and opened in 1992, has been one of the top indoor venues in the area, serving as home to Alabama State basketball, high school regional basketball tournaments, the SWAC basketball tournament, concerts and various ceremonies including graduation at ASU.

The Acadome court will be named in honor of former head coach James V. Oliver, a 1996 alum who is the Hornet's second winningest basketball coach. From 1978-1995, Oliver was 291-191, a run that featured back-to-back SWAC championships. His overall career record was 360-209. Off the court, Oliver served as mentor to his players, including current ASU head coach Lewis Jackson.

The arena's concourse will bear the name of C.J. Dunn, ASU's first and all-time winningest basketball coach. Dunn coached at ASU from 1934-1963, and retired just short of 300 wins with a 298-209 record. Previously, Dunn's name was on the building that preceded the Acadome as the home of the Hornets basketball teams. In its heyday, C.J. Dunn arena was home to raucous, standing room only crowds and many of the most memorable wins in ASU history.

Below is part of the statement from the ASU Board which prompted the decision.
Statement from the Alabama State University Board of Trustees

Whereas, Joe L. Reed has completely and utterly destroyed any and all confidence in his commitment to positively represent the University and its legacy; and

Whereas, Joe L. Reed continues to generate negative publicity for Alabama State University through media interviews and authoring articles in news publication that are factually incorrect and unsubstantiated; and

Whereas, Joe L. Reed has on several occasions in recent years abused the tax payers dollars with frivolous litigations costing the University thousands of dollars, and

Whereas, Joe L. Reed , through multiple court litigations in opposition to the ASU Board of Trustee's majority vote, and any matter he deems adverse to his will, continues to present a conflict of interest and opposition to basic democratic concepts such as majority rules and one- man-one vote;

Now, Therefore, be it resolved, that the name Joe L. Reed is hereby immediately and forever disassociated with and permanently removed from the structure now known the Joe L. Reed Acadome multipurpose academic and physical education complex located on the campus of Alabama State University, Montgomery, Alabama. . .

© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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