SIAC fires commissioner, cites financial mismanagement

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has fired William E. Lide, its commissioner for the past five years, citing mismanagement of the league's finances.

A statement released by the SIAC's Council of Presidents said Lide had been suspended since April 15 and was terminated on May 31.

Tuskegee University President Benjamin F. Payton, chairman of the council of presidents for the NCAA Division II conference, said in the release, "the council of presidents regrets very much the necessity to take this action. ... (Lide) brought new energy and imagination to the conference and we certainly wish that we could continue this statement on that note.

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ASU women like their chances

WALNUT, Calif. — The reigning SIAC champion Albany State women’s track and field team is doing a little of their own California Dreamin’ this week.

Taking seven athletes to the NCAA Division II meet that begins today at California State Polytechnic University, ASU coach Kenneth Taylor could not be more optimistic.
After all, his team finished a program-best sixth last season.

“We’re excited about going,” Taylor said. “We’ve got a lot of top-rated athletes, and all of them are going as top-eight performers. Both of our relay teams are even ranked third.”

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Perry High's Burgess signs with Fort Valley State

PERRY --Kim Burgess already had the royal blue and gold of Fort Valley State running through her veins. On Tuesday, she made it official when the Perry High basketball player signed a letter of intent to play at one of the top Division II programs.

"My mom (Paula King) went there," Burgess said. "My grandmother had nine kids and of those nine, seven went to Fort Valley State. So it was kind of natural to go there."
Burgess also got to know the program very well by participating in group and individual camps conducted by the coaching staff.

The one thing that is up in the air is what position she will play. At 5-foot-10, she was a little smaller than the average high school center. But she still managed to finish her senior season with 164 blocks.

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Paine College golf team is told to sit it out

Two weeks after winning the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament in golf, the Paine College men were supposed to be bidding for the school's first national championship this weekend.

Instead, the team is in disarray after athletic director Ron Spry informed the players of the school's decision not to participate in the PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship, a 54-hole event which began Friday in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The Lions officially withdrew Thursday.

"The athletic director told us the school wasn't going to fund it because it was an 'unnecessary expenditure,' " freshman Sean Lucas said. "It's frustrating. We won the first golf championship at Paine. That's enough reason, I believe, for us to play in the tournament."

Spry said the decision came down to limited resources at the end of the fiscal year.

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Clear case of a college not putting the "Student" first, in "student-athlete." Shameful! Paine College administration should be fired by their BOT for allowing this to happen.

NSU assistant to become head coach at St. Augustine’s College

Photo: Falcons new head basketball coach Lonnie Blow.

Lonnie Blow, Jr., an assistant basketball coach at Norfolk State, is leaving to become the head coach at St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, a Division II school.
Blow, 48, spent the past two seasons working under former Spartans coach Dwight Freeman and current coach Anthony Evans.

“It’s going to be tough leaving Norfolk State,” Blow said. “We worked really hard and we have the left the program headed in the right direction. But I’m pretty excited. This is a great opportunity for me.”

Blow, who has been an assistant at Hampton University and a head coach at Granby High School, will be introduced today at a press conference in Raleigh.

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Howard blanks Bowie State in regular season finale

Photo: Freshman Danielle McClay broke up Howard University McCoy's no-hitter in the fifth inning. The 5-7 catcher/first baseman is from Silver Springs, MD, Montgomery Blair HS.

WASHINGTON, DC - Playing their final home game of the season, the Lady Bison of Howard University sent their five seniors out on a high note by blanking Bowie State 8-0 in non-conference action.

Howard (17-15) scored three runs on the third inning with Brianne Gutierrez providing the biggest hit at the time, a double to right field scoring Jessica Norwood and Sondra Jones. A single by Emily Johnson scored Gutierrez, giving the Lady Bison a 3-0 advantage.

Bowie State closes out their regular season with a 25-12 record and await word on its opponent in next weeks NCAA Division II Regional hosted by Kutztown (PA) University.

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Saint Augustine's College Alex Hall picked in 7th Rd., #24 (231) by Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns finish with DE/OLB Alex Hall, a native of Glenarden, Maryland in Prince George's County.

The Cleveland Browns finished off the 2008 NFL Draft by selecting defensive end Alex Hall from Division II St. Augustine's College, a historically black college, 231st overall in the seventh round.

At 6-5 and 215 pounds, Hall is tall and thin with room to bulk up in an NFL training program. He'll likely transition to 3-4 outside linebacker for the Browns. Hall was named a D2Football.com First-team All-American for the 2007 season and was a second-team selection in '06.

Hall finished his career at St. Augustine as the program's all-time leader in sacks with 25.5 and tackles for loss with 54. He has great size and athleticism.

He made the 2007 All-CIAA first team for the second straight year after recording 7 sacks and 15 tackles for loss, both team highs, in 9 games while leading the Falcons to a No. 6 national ranking in total defense.

Hall is the second football All-American at Saint Augustine's College since the school restarted football in 2002.

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