Little becomes the third current female AD in the CIAA and only the third in the 105-year history of WSSU. Alfreda Groff is the AD at Virginia State and Monique Morgan is the interim AD at St. Paul's.
June 6, 1997
From the Winston-Salem JournalBy John Dell
JOURNAL REPORTER
Anne E. Little, a familiar face within the CIAA, was introduced Thursday as athletics director at Winston-Salem State.
Little, 38, is a native of Salisbury, and will take over for Al Roseboro on July 1. Roseboro, the AD at WSSU since 1990, announced his resignation in January.
Little becomes the third current female AD in the CIAA and only the third in the 105-year history of WSSU. Alfreda Groff is the AD at Virginia State and Monique Morgan is the interim AD at St. Paul's.
The search for the AD pared a list of 46 applicants. Schexnider, along with a search committee of four that included Sam Hanger, the men's basketball coach, narrowed the list to two last week.
Dr. Alvin Schexnider, the chancellor of WSSU, said that Little was unanimously approved by the Board of Trustees at a meeting yesterday.
''Her greatest strengths are in fund-raising and marketing and sports promotion,'' Schexnider said. ''She comes to us extremely well prepared for a very important job that will enable this university to be more competitive in its athletic programs.''
Little served as sports information director at Livingstone, her alma mater, before being the public relations director of the conference from 1988-90. Since 1992, she has been in a highly visible job as an assistant executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
''I'm very excited about being here, and I'm pleased with the confidence that the board and the chancellor have showed in me,'' Little said to the media yesterday. ''Primarily, my role will be as team leader, and my goal is to pull some of the elements from the past to embrace not only the university family but also the Winston-Salem community.''
Little's last job at the NABC in Overland Park, Kans., involved fund-raising as well as producing financial reports on major NABC events.
She also coordinated the annual coaches convention at the NCAA Men's Final Four, an event that attracts more than 3,000 coaches.
''Most of my professional career, I've been in the field of college athletics, and at this point, I've been in the field so long, I no longer count my sex as an asset or a detriment -- I am Anne Little,'' she said.
Little said she will look at all the facets of the WSSU program.
''I don't have the cure for the common cold in answers to all the problems, but again, I'm looking at this opportunity to create a new tradition and new era at Winston-Salem State,'' Little said.
Bighouse Gaines, the former WSSU basketball coach and the school's first AD, said: ''I have observed Ms. Little's work as an administrator on several levels. . . Her experience should provide her with the expertise to lead the athletic program into the 21st century.''
Hanger said the search committee was impressed with what Little brings to WSSU.
''She's going to bring some excitement and enthusiasm,'' Hanger said. ''We wanted someone that can get the job done, and I believe she can.''
Little said that her position with the NABC has helped her in preparation for dealing with many issues. One that she will have to deal with at WSSU is the feeling of some alumni factions that they were shut out of the search.
''I spent the last five years working with 4,500 coaches, and I coordinated a lot of things and I didn't make everybody happy,'' she said. ''So there might be some (alumni) who aren't elated, but I'm not concerned about that. In time, as they interact with me, we'll be OK.''
''We've got a long road ahead,'' Little said. ''This is the kind of thing that I can get my fingerprints on and start a new era here at Winston-Salem State.''
Kermit Blount, WSSU's football coach, supported the decision.
''We have some sense now what direction we are going in, and I'm looking forward to working with her,'' Blount said.
Kevin Manns, WSSU's sports information director the past five years, has resigned to become the SID at Alabama State University in Montgomery.
Manns, the CIAA sports information director of the year in 1995, is a native of Beckley, W.Va., and is a graduate of Guilford College.
''It's always been an aspiration of mine to move up to Division I, and I'm looking forward to it,'' said Manns, 29, and whose sister Kelli is a student at WSSU. ''This was a difficult decision, but I know it's going to work out for me.''
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