BCSP IX-1: BCSP News

The actors are almost in place as the curtain prepares to rise on the 2002 black college football season.

A cast of new coaches is on stage ready to direct their new teams, who, in some cases are in new digs (see conferences) and have new wardrobes (see uniforms). And by week's end, all the players, the stars and the understudies, those with leading roles and bit parts, will be auditioning and rehearsing in gruelling two-a-day practices in August heat for an end-of-month debut.

They hope it will be a long-running, successful drama and not a failed or cancelled soap opera.

A new commissioner has assumed his role in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference and another will soon get the same part in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

The most ambitious television package to date by a single network enters production this fall bringing 26 black college games to a national television audience. New games and classics are set to premier on location at a theater near you.

It'll be non-stop action, a little mystery and intrigue with the awesome sounds and thumping rhythm of black college bands as the musical score.

Sounds like the storyline for the upcoming Twentieth Century Fox movie, Drumline. More on that later.

New Teams, New Alignments
The good news is that three programs in the CIAA have decided to restart their football programs.

St. Augustine's, Shaw and St. Paul's will all be fielding teams this year.

St. Aug's, under new coach Michael Costa, will compete in the CIAA West Division and is eligible for the conference championship. Ten teams are now playing for the title, six in the West and four in the East. St. Paul's, with new coach Bob Smith and Shaw, under new head man, Greg Ruffin, will play club schedules this year and enter the conference picture over the next two seasons. Both will join the East Division.

One other realignment has Benedict, seven years removed from reviving its grid program, becoming the 11th member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference bringing the football-playing total to nine schools.

New Leaders
Fourteen (14) other new coaches are on board at programs in each of the four black college conferences and among the independents.

In the Southwestern Athletic Conference, former record-setting quarterback Willie Totten is the new coach at his alma mater, Mississippi Valley State, while Anthony Jones, who engineered a remarkable turnaround in three years at Morehouse, takes over at Alabama A&M.

In the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference, Rayford Petty left as the top assistant at Norfolk State to replace Steve Wilson at Howard where he formerly served as defensive coordinator. Buddy Pough resigned as an assistant to Lou Holtz at the University of South Carolina to succeed his former coach, Willie Jeffries, at South Carolina State and Donald Hill-Eley has moved up from offensive coordinator to become the top guy at Morgan State.

In the SIAC, Willard Scissum has replaced Jones at Morehouse while former star I-AA quarterback star Tracy Ham of Georgia Southern, is now heading the program at Clark-Atlanta.

Two quality assistants have taken over at Virginia State and Livingstone in the CIAA. Former defensive coordinator Earl Faison left Winston-Salem State to succeed Lou Anderson at his alma mater, Virginia State, while former defensive coordinator "Big" George Johnson, who won three rings at Tuskegee, tries to get the Blue Bears of 'the Stone' back on track.

Among the independents, Allen has hired Robert Hemby as its head coach, Lincoln of Missouri will be led by Fred Manuel, Savannah State has turned to former Alabama A&M head man Ken Pettiford to replace the late Bill Davis, Harold Johnson takes over at Langston and Lee Brown is at Cheyney.

Changes at the Top
The MEAC has a new commissioner, Dr. Dennis Thomas, who will run the 11-team league beginning Sept. 1 after his resignation as athletic director at Hampton. Thomas oversaw the smooth and successful transition of Hampton from an NCAA Div. II CIAA school to a Div. I MEAC school, keeping the program competitive and fiscally sound throughout the process. The SWAC is in the final stages of selecting a replacement for Rudy Washington who was fired last year. Former commissioner Dr. James Frank has held down the post for over a year on an interim basis and will stay in place until the new person takes office.

Star Power
The 26-game TV package will be unveiled next week by the MBC Network out of Atlanta. Games from all four conferences and independents will be aired featuring a variey of classics and homecomings from some of the nation's best venues. (Story next week).

Count on seeing the likes of record-setting Jackson State junior quarterback Robert Kent, Southern wide receiver extraordinaire Michael Hayes, heralded Texas Christian transfer Casey Printers at quarterback for Florida A&M, Texas Southern hitting-machine, linebacker Lenard Mack and scintillating N. C. A&T kick returner Curtis Deloatch.

You're invited to take a front row seat for all the action right here on the Black College Sports Page. The schedules are listed below. Next week we'll have classics, homecomings and a complete TV schedule.

Stars align for exciting 2002 grid season