AYCOCK GETS JCSU POST:

Johnson C. Smith has named Steven Aycock as the 20th Head Football Coach in Golden Bull history, according to JCSU Director of Athletics, Steve Joyner, Sr.

"I am confident that Coach Aycock will deliver a winning program that captures the best of our athletic tradition, forms strategic alliances in Charlotte's diverse communities, and meets the University's standards for a highly motivated, highly talented student-athlete."

Aycock enters his fifth season as part of the JCSU football staff. This will be his first as head coach. Aycock had served as interim coach since November 2008. He spent the previous four seasons supervising football operations, recruiting, and coaching the offensive line.

"Steven definitely deserves this opportunity," said Joyner. "He has held our football student-athletes together and served as an excellent leader during some tumultuous times." Earlier this month, JCSU junior offensive lineman Stephen Seard passed away from complications caused by a seizure and former Golden Bulls' head coach Daryl McNeill was suddenly dismissed on November 5, 2008. Aycock has continued to provide structure for the returning football players during the off-season and maintained recruiting efforts with the 2009 signing day quickly approaching.

"I learned a lot from my mentor Coach Bill Davis and Coach McNeill," said Aycock. "I am ready to make Johnson C. Smith football a powerhouse in the CIAA and in Division II football."

A native of Atlanta, Ga., Aycock was an All-SIAC offensive lineman at Savannah State in 1991 and '92, under the late Bill Davis. Aycock continued to learn from Davis at Tennessee State as a student assistant from 1993-95, then joined McNeill's J.C. Smith staff in 1995. When McNeill returned to Savannah State in 1997, he sought out Aycock to join his staff.

When McNeill came back to JCSU in 2005, he hired Aycock as line coach and the Golden Bulls advanced to the Pioneer Bowl the next season with a 7-4 overall record. The team has yet to have a winning season since, prompting the university to seek new leadership for the football program.

JONES QUESTIONS ALCORN FIRING:

In a short statement released last Friday (Jan. 27), Alcorn State announced that head football coach Ernest Jones's termination has been officially confirmed on the grounds of "malfeasance and contumacious conduct," but the coach says it's not over. The school's decision was reached after ASU said it fulfilled due process procedures as indicated under the terms of Jones' employment contract.

"Our focus has been and continues to be the success of our student-athletes," said ASU President Dr. George E. Ross. "Alcorn's football program is firmly rooted in honesty and integrity, and I have great confidence in our ability to grow and strengthen our academic and athletic offerings."

After the university's decision was made known, Jones, in published reports, said that he will ask the state College Board and a Mississippi court for the impartial hearing he said he failed to receive from the university's grievance committee. The school has not released details of Jones's alleged unlawful misconduct but his lawyers say it relates to a personal bank account Jones set up for his television show. Lawyers for Jones also say Ross, who appoints members to the grievance committee, had a conflict of interest in the outcome of the appeal. Jones has filed a $3 million breach of contract lawsuit against Ross, the university, athletic director Darren Hamilton and the state College Board.

Jones, a former Alcorn State receiver in his playing days, was hired in December 2007 and went 2-10 in this past season, his first year on the job. He was fired on Dec. 11, 2008. The school named former defensive coordinator Earnest Collins Jr. as the interim head coach. Collins was one of seven assistant coaches fired by the university in November before being reinstated days before firing Jones.

SEVEN TO BE INDUCTED INTO CIAA HALL:

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association will welcome seven honorees for induction into the John B. McLendon, Jr. Hall of Fame in a ceremony and brunch on Friday, Feb. 27 at 11 am at the Charlotte Westin Hotel as part of the CIAA Tournament week of events.

The honorees include: John D. "J. D." Marshall (posthumous) a graduate of South Carolina State and pioneer in coaching and athletic administration; James Sweat a Virginia State grad whose Hampton women's basketball coach won the 1987-88 NCAA Division II national championship, with a record of 33-1. Also coached women's basketball at Norfolk State; Virginia State grad Ronald W. Davis distinguished himself, both as a successful former professional athlete in the National Football League and as a sought-after senior executive in several important marketing, administrative and financial positions; Carlos Terry (posthumous) one of the CIAA's "60 Greatest Players," a former NBA Player and one of Big House Gaines's most dominant players for Winston-Salem State University in the late seventies; Norfolk State alum April Holmes was a former Spartan track and field star, who won the Gold medal in the women's 100 meter T44 class 2008 Paralympics Games in Beijing; Chandra Sturrup, a Norfolk State University graduate, competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the 100m sprint for her native Bahamas. She was a 10-time NCAA Division II National Champion at Norfolk State from 1992-95, dominating the sprints (60, 100, 200) as well as the long jump. Sturrup has seven individual titles from NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships; Leo Miles, Sr. (posthumous), a native Washingtonian, and Virginia State grad played pro football with the New York Giants, won four divisional and three city football championships as a high school coach in D.C., continued his career as Howard Director of Athletics for 17 years. In 1974, he was the first African-American to officiate a Super Bowl Game. Upon retiring from Howard University, Leo continued as an official for 22 years as head linesman, then culminated his career as a Supervisor of Officials in the New York City Main NFL Office.

© 2009 Azeez Communications, Inc.

Return to Front Page