UNDER THE BANNER
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
SC STATE PEGS BETTS: South Carolina
State announced Friday that former assistant
coach Benjamin Betts, Jr., is its new
men's head basketball coach. Betts was introduced at a 3 p.m. news
conference at Washington Dining Hall on the campus as the successor to
Cy Alexander, who resigned recently after 16 years as SCSU head coach
to accept a similar position at Tennessee
State. Betts was presented by Oliver "Buddy"
Pough, interim athletics director and head football coach at
the university. It will be the first head coaching position for
Betts, who was most recently an assistant at Virginia
Commonwealth. The Madison Heights, Virginia native takes over
the reins of a program that has been one of the most successful
in black college basketball, and among the winningest in
the Palmetto State over the past decade and a half. Betts was
a part of that success as a graduate assistant and assistant
coach for the Bulldogs from 1990-97 under Alexander. He
also served as SCSU interim head coach for a short stint in
1995. During his eight-year tenure in Orangeburg, the
Bulldogs compiled an 84-60 record including a 22-8 mark in
1995-96 when they tied for the Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference regular season crown, won the league tournament and a
berth in the NCAA playoffs. In presenting Betts, Pough called
the Madison Heights, Virginia native a dynamic and
knowledge coach who should be able to maintain the strength of
the SCSU basketball program. "South Carolina State is
elated that Coach Ben Betts has chosen to return to the university
as our next men's head basketball coach," Pough said.
"We consider him a dynamic coach and believe that the
knowledge he has attained in Division I programs will enable
him to continue the success we have enjoyed here. He's been a
part of the tradition here and, in that sense, its enables us
to maintain some ties to the program." Pough said that terms
of Betts' agreement were still being negotiation. After
leaving SCSU, Betts spent five seasons as an assistant coach at
the College of Charleston under John Kress. As member of
the Cougars' staff (1997-2002), he helped them to a
combined 119-31 record, with two NCAA playoff appearances.
Betts just completed his first season as an assistant at
Virginia Commonwealth under Jeff Capel. Betts, who is single, was
a four-year letterman at Roanoke College, helping the
Maroons to the NCAA Division III playoffs in 1986-87.
He earned a bachelor's in physical education from Roanoke
in 1990, and a master's in rehabilitation from SCSU in 1997.
CENTRAL STATE LOOKING: The Central State University Board of Trustees and president John W. Garland have announced that the University will begin a nationwide search for a head coach to direct the Marauder football program. In January, 2002, the Board approved a $1.5 million fund-raising campaign to bring back intercollegiate football. The first step in the process was to raise $500,000 at which time the search for a head football coach would begin. The milestone was achieved March 1, 2003. As of April 3, 2003, an additional $40,000 was raised. The new head football coach will assist in raising the remainder of the needed funds to re-establish the program. CSU has not played intercollegiate football since the 1996 season. During the 90's the Marauder football program won three NAIA National Football Championships (19990, 1992 and 1995). The Master plan for the re-establishment of football calls for the team to play in the Fall of 2004.
ALL-STAR MATCHUP: The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association will send a team of men's and women's all star seniors to Long Island to compete against players from the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC) in the "Senior Basketball Challenge". This will mark the first meeting between these two conferences and will take place April 26, 20003 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on the campus of C.W. Post College. Bowie State head coach Luke D'Alessio, whose team won this year's CIAA men's title, will direct the men's team while Vanessa Taylor, head coach of the Johnson C. Smith Lady Golden Bulls, will coach the women's team. Rosters are in the process of being finalized.
© 2003 Azeez Communications, Inc.