Greensboro – Johnson C. Smith’s women’s basketball players may have come to Corbett Sports Center with a figurative Division II label on their backs, but they didn’t let that stop them from giving North Carolina A&T a 40-minute vigorous tussle.
It took a late second-half surge, started by an Amber Calvin 3-pointer as the shot clock ticked down, before the Aggies were finally able to pull away with a 71-61 win. Following the tight win, N.C. A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs was not upset. She was thankful.
“I can appreciate games like this because now they know regardless of the opponent you have, you’ve got to play,” said Bibbs, who earned career win No. 492, and is now eight wins away from her 500th victory.
“Johnson C. Smith is a good team,” she added. “You can’t take anything away from them. They are a well-coached team. They executed on both ends. We told the ladies (at halftime) in the locker room, the things we’ve been practicing; we need to see in the game.”
The N.C. A&T women had good reason to be proud of their early-season accomplishments. They had an impressive win over a team ranked in the Mid-Major poll in Liberty, followed by wins over Clemson of the ACC and Siena.
For more information about the NCAT Lady Aggies victory over JCSU, click here
About a week ago I introduced the HBCU Fashion community to haute Bow Tie Designer, Marc Smith of John Doe Bow Ties (www.johndoebowties.com), and I gave you the scoop on an old time classic accessory, that’s turned hip and trendy over the last few seasons. Well this week I want to give you options!! For those who love the conventional bow tie, but might have a regular neck tie that has a dope pattern that you want to use in “bow tie” form, I have a video for you.
As the fashion forward, trendy youth of tomorrow, we like to mix and match patterns and prints. As a connoisseur of bow ties and neck ties I know that some prints/patterns that we see on neck ties, often times aren’t made in bow tie form. So as an early Christmas Gift to all you D.I.Y. fashion heads, here’s a video of how to turn your Neck Tie, into a Bow Tie!! ENJOY!!
Fort Valley State University seniors Cecil Bent and Jasmine Birdsong have been named SIAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Players of the Week, respectively. Fort Valley State University sophomore Corey Hunter has been named SIAC Men’s Basketball Newcomer of the Week while Kentucky State University junior Jasmine Davis has been named SIAC Women’s Basketball Newcomer of the Week.
Bent, a native of Metter, GA, averaged 12 points and four rebounds in two games this past week. The 6-9, 290-pound center also averaged an assist and a steal while leading the Wildcats to a 2-0 record with wins over conference-foes Stillman College and Claflin University.
Birdsong, a native of Sparta, GA, averaged 15 points and eight rebounds in two games this past week. The 5-11 center also averaged a steal while leading the Lady Wildcats to a 2-0 record with wins over Stillman College and Claflin University.
Hunter, a forward from Cincinnati, OH, averaged 13 points and seven rebounds in two games for the Wildcats. The 6-8 transfer from Wallace-Hanceville Community College helped lead FVSU to victories over Stillman College and Claflin University.
Davis, a guard from Cincinnati, OH, is named the SIAC’s top newcomer for the second consecutive week after averaging 21 points, including a career-high 30 points against West Virginia State University, while also averaging 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Thorobrettes.
FAMU has never wavered from supporting their HBCU despite the death of Robert Champion and administrative mishandlings. (rattlernation.blogspot.com)
Twitter is a fascinating, spontaneous, stream of consciousness social media outlet for users to tweet their thoughts and opinions on the Web for millions to see. Sometimes it can be rambling about relationships and football, or it can be used as a platform to hold intellectual conversations meant to enlighten and inspire. Such a conversation happened yesterday, as Dr. Steve Perry asked this question from his Twitter account: “With low graduation rates, depleted endowments & declining admissions, what makes HBCUs still matter?”
As this organization along with other HBCU and non HBCU students and alumni responded, it hit me that the task to defend the credibility of our HBCUs is taxing and never-ending. It is our responsibility to wave the banner for HBCUs and continue to uphold their legacy and tradition.
Like we said in the tweets, HBCUs are an integral piece of African-American culture, and are therefore an irreplaceable piece of American culture.
As America has underappreciated African Americans and our contributions to American history and society, so has the same been done to our HBCUs.
The Harlem Renaissance was the cultural movement that African Americans needed to prove that we are just as artistic, beautiful, ingenious and creative as our Caucasian counterparts. The Harlem Renaissance was birthed thanks to HBCU graduates like Langston Hughes of Lincoln University, James Weldon Johnson of Howard University, and Booker T. Washington, who has connections to Hampton University and Virginia Union University before descending upon Tuskegee, Alabama with a vision that became Tuskegee University.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the civil rights organization that had a huge impact on the civil rights movement, was led by HBCU alumni: Morehouse alumnus Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Howard alumnus Andrew Young, North Carolina A&T State University’s Jesse Jackson and Alabama State University’s Ralph Abernathy.
The sit-ins at segregated businesses where Blacks were not even allowed to sit at the counter were the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. Those students who were hit with pies, beaten by police and arrested were HBCU students. Countless other HBCU graduates or people who have gone to HBCUs have made great contributions to America: Oprah, Tom Joyner, Samuel Jackson, Spike Lee, Ed Bradley, Nikki Giovanni, and many more.
With the resume and ambition that Dr. Steve Perry has, he may have had no ill wishes to our precious schools with his question, but even he must acknowledge that HBCUs preach the same morals and code of ethics that he has instilled into his students. Hard work, persistence, leadership, integrity. When Dr. Perry founded the Connecticut Collegiate Awareness Program, at Capital Community College (ConnCAP) in 1998 and then Capital Prep in 2004, he preached excellence, exceptionalism and never settling for average. That is how he can boost that 100% of his students graduate and attend four-year colleges and universities. I know that a good percentage of those students must have attended an HBCU.
HBCUs are still relevant, not just because they are legitimate institutions of higher learning focused on bringing out the best in the African-American community, but also because the racist, segregated climate that these institutions were founded in still has its traces in our ‘Land of the Free.’
Click here to read about Fuqua School. Fuqua has a reputation as the “segregation academy” of Virginia since its inception. Schools were desegregated beginning in 1954 with the victory in the Brown vs. Board of Education. Fuqua did not admit its first black student until the 1980’s.
Fuqua reached out to Charles Williams to serve as an ambassador to improve its image as a racist school. It did not help that, for some odd reason, the school president Ruth Murphy thought it would best to describe Williams’s “maturity and intensity” as that of a 25-year-old drug dealer. Yeah…that makes sense. Schools like Fuqua are the exact reason why HBCUs were founded, and why they are still necessary in 2011 and beyond.
To say that HBCUs are outdated and irrelevant, is to say that black owned, black produced and black controlled institutions are not good enough to compete with white colleges and universities. The deeper meaning: Blacks are not as good enough and cannot compete with white people. We have to show everyone how wrong that is.
Chris Brown scored 11 points in the LeMoyne-Owen College Magicians' victory. (athletics.loc.edu)
The Magicians defeated the Fort Valley State Wildcats in basketball action, Saturday afternoon in Bruce Hall 71-46.
In the first half, the Magicians jumped out on the Wildcats 11-5 around the 15:00 mark. The Magicians controlled the entire half with constant pressure on the ball and trapping defense forcing the Wildcats into 12 turnovers and holding them to only 10-30 (33%) shooting from the field. The Magicians would lead by as much as 10 points in the half but around the 6 minute mark the Wildcats went on a run cutting the lead down to just four points.
From there, the Magicians would push the lead back to thirteen points ending the half winning 36-23. Nine LOC players scored two points or more with Teshawn Byrn leading the way with seven and Chris Brown right behind him with six. Every LOC player played in the first half.
For more information, read here about the LeMoyne-Owen College Magicians
Grambling State University defeats Alabama A&M University to win the 2011 SWAC Championship (Mark Almond/ The Birhingham News)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Jacarde Carter returned a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give Grambling State a 16-15 victory over Alabama A&M in the Farmers Insurance SWAC Football Championship Game presented by Toyota on Saturday.
Grambling (8-4) won its sixth SWAC championship in the 13-year history of the event. Four of those wins have come against Alabama A&M, which fell to 1-5 all-time in the title game.
An 11-yard touchdown run by Kaderius Lacey and a 36-yard scoring pass from Deaunte Mason to Terence Pride helped A&M (8-4) build a 15-0 lead late in the first half. The Bulldogs missed both extra-point attempts.
Grambling closed the gap to 15-9 midway through the third quarter on an 80-yard touchdown pass from D.J. Williams to Mario Louis.
The Tigers won despite completing four passes and being outgained in total yardage 337-182.
Lacey gained 95 yards and set an A&M record for rushing yards in a season with 1,152.
The Hampton Lady Pirates set a school record with 14 3-pojnters (MEAC Sports)
HAMPTON, Va. – Hampton used a record shooting effort from behind the arc to beat Maryland Baltimore County 75-47 at the HU Convocation Center Saturday evening.
The Lady Pirates (7-1) hit a school-record 14 3-pointers, beating their previous record of 12 against South Carolina State in the quarterfinals of last season’s MEAC Tournament. Hampton went 14-for-31 from behind the arc, 45.2 percent.
Senior guard Jericka Jenkins led Hampton with 26 points – 20 of which came in the second half – and 10 assists for her first double-double of the season. Jenkins went 5-for-8 from 3-point range.
Senior guard Choicetta McMillian poured in 21 points, tying her career high with seven 3-pointers on the night. Sophomore forward Alyssa Bennett recorded her second double-double of the season, tying her career high with 11 points, while adding a team-high 10 rebounds.
Bennett also had five steals.
UMBC scored the last nine points of the game, but the Lady Pirates still held their fourth straight opponent under 50 points.
The Lady Pirates shot 43.3 percent (26-for-60) from the floor, while also making nine of their 12 free throws. Hampton held a 48-38 advantage in rebounds, and the Lady Pirates scored 23 points off of 15 Retriever turnovers.
UMBC (5-5) shot just 27.9 percent (17-for-61) from the floor, hitting just four of its 15 3-pointers. The Retrievers also struggled at the free throw line, going just 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) from the charity stripe.
Mike Phillips of Howard University (www.howard-bison.com)
Howard fell behind 17-0 to start the game, rallied to get within two before a late push proved to be the difference as 18th ranked Georgetown escaped the upset and shook off the upset-minded Bison, 62-48 before 8,120 at the Verizon Center.
Howard (3-6) could get nothing going as the Hoyas bolted out to a 17-0 lead. Using a combination of some suffocating defense and baskets off turnovers, Georgetown took control.
Dadrian Collins’ three pointer at the 10:39 mark was the first basket by Howard and it appeared to help settle the young Bison squad as they worked their way back to trail 30-17 at the half. Collins was able to get his team back into the game with eight first half points.
Georgetown (8-1) was able to maintain a double-digit deficit before the Bison began to scrap and claw their way back in the game. Howard would go on a 23-12 run over the first 13 minutes to whittle the lead to 42-40 with 7:33 in the second half.
University of Maryland Eastern Shore gained an insurmountable lead against Mercy College (Megan Raymond)
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Four University of Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball players tallied double figures in the Hawks 95-69 win over Mercy College Saturday. Ishaq Pitt had a game-high 18 points shooting an impressive 75 percent (6-of-8) from the field. Percy Woods marked his first double-double of the season with a 16-point 10-assist performance.
Pitt, a freshman, scored 12 of his 18 points from inside the paint. He has consistently been a physical guard this season, making many of his points from within the lane. Due to his strong play near the rim he often is sent to the free-throw line. Pitt had the second best free-throw percentage of the game making 6-of-7 (.750) at the charity stripe.
Two of Pitt’s free throws gave the Hawks a 10-point (27-17) lead with 8:14 remaining in the first half. Following his free throws, Mercy made a slight cut into the lead, but a three pointer by Woods put UMES up by 12 points.
Woods was 4-of-6 (.667) from behind the three-point arc. He was 6-of-11 (.545) from the field and dished out his first double figure assist performance. One of Woods assists came during a run late in the first half to give UMES its second highest lead of that period. Woods dished the ball to Hillary Haley at 2:07 in the lane for a good lay-up. Haley’s score gave the Hawks a 21-point lead (48-27) late in the first half.
Haley had 17 points for the Hawks in his 30 minutes of play. He knocked down five shots from the field and was a team-best 7-of-9 (.778) at the free-throw line. With the crowd roaring behind the Hawks, Haley received a pass from Woods who stole the ball from a Mercy guard, and rushed down the court to dunk on a Maverick defender. Haley completed the dunk and received a foul on the play.
Winston-Salem State University Quarterback Kameron Smith (6) can't get away from Wayne State University Linebacker Zachary Easterly (45) . (Bruce Chapman/Winston-Salem Journal)
WINSTON-SALEM, NC — The perfect season for the Winston-Salem State University Rams came to an end today, as the Wayne State University Warriors defeated the Rams, 21-14 in the NCAA DII Semi Finals at Bowman Gray Stadium.
The Rams finish their season at 13-1, while Wayne State (12-3) advances to next week?s NCAA DII Championship Game. They will face the winner of the Delta St./Pittsburg St. winner.
Wayne State would take little time to get on the scoreboard, as they took the opening kick, and four plays later Mickey Mohner would find Josh Renel and we would make the Rams miss tackles on his way to a 25 yard touchdown reception.
The WSSU Rams would take the ensuing kickoff and on the first play Kameron Smith would go up top to an open Jameze Massey deep in Warrior territory, but he ball glanced off of Massey?s fingertips. WSSU would pick up a first down on a Smith to Juhuann Butler 13 yard pass, but the Rams would stall and have to punt.
Neither team would be able to do much on their next possession and after a series of punts, Wayne State would take over with 2:54 l4ft in the first quarter. But Mohner would drop back and his pass downfield to would be picked off by WSSU?s Darryl Pulliam.
The Rams would move into Warrior territory as the second quarter began, but on fourth and 11, Smith?s pass to Jamal Williams would sail high and WSSU would turn the ball over on downs.
Wayne State would take the ball and march downfield, going 80 yards in 12 plays, capped by a Mickey Mohner one yard run, pushing Wayne State?s lead to 14-0.
Down by their largest deficit of the year, WSSU would take the kickoff and march downfield once again deep into WSU territory, but on fourth down, Kameron Smith?s pass to Tehvyn Brantley would be broken up on a hard hit near the goal line, giving the ball back to Wayne State.
Winston-Salem State would hold and force a punt. On their first play Nicholas Cooper would bust through the defense for a 20 yard gain and Kameron Smith would find Dominique Fitzgerald for a 10 yard pass and catch before Smith would find Juhuaan Butler on a 26 yard corner pattern for a score.
Wayne State would take a 14-7 lead into the locker room at the half, and the Rams would be looking to make some adjustments while also regrouping to take the ball first in the second half.
Four Historically Black Universities; Bowie State, Cheyney, Fisk University and Lincoln University competed for the 2011 Fresh Coast Classic Championship Title this year. Pictured above are members of the championship team from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania following their 74-72 victory against Bowie State in the Fresh Coast Classic finals. Photo by Pat A. Robinson.
On December 6th, Fort Valley State University received an accreditation warning by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and has a year to resolve those issues. Savannah State was also reprimanded along with FVSU. Even though FVSU’s status has changed, the university still has its full accreditation. The warning does come one year after SACS had awarded FVSU with a 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation in December 2010.
In a statement FVSU President Larry E. Rivers said that the university is working diligently to resolve any questions SACS have in regard to fiscal and administrative issues.
“Fort Valley State University has been involved in a multiyear effort to enhance its fiscal procedures, and in that effort has benefited through assistance from the United States Department of Education, National Science Foundation, Georgia Board of Regents and Georgia Department of Audits,” said FVSU President Larry E. Rivers. “Since all issues had not been resolved completely, we knew that a warning was a possibility. We had hoped, however, that our progress would have allowed for another year of monitoring at the most. Still, we respect SACS and will work to resolve its concerns fully,” Rivers added.
Fees and tuition at Winston-Salem State University will increase by 13 percent next year under a plan approved by the university’s board of trustees Friday at its quarterly meeting.
Yearly tuition and fees are $4,513 this year. The increase will mean a jump of $594, to a total of $5,107.
Chancellor Donald Reaves said the jump in fees and tuition is needed to help make up for deep cuts in state funding. WSSU has sustained $31 million in state budget cuts over the past three years.
“There are good reasons as to why we need to raise tuition, and that is to serve the critical needs of our students,” said Reaves, who is coming off a monthlong medical leave. “We need the revenue to support that.”
Officials with the UNC system said in the fall that it would allow its member institutions to exceed the mandated 6.5 percent cap on tuition and fee increases so they could “catch up” to the rates charged by peer institutions and bring in much-needed revenue.
Peer institutions are universities of similar size and curriculum.
WSSU is the least expensive among its peer institutions, which includes such schools as Norfolk State University and Tennessee State University.
Even with the increase, WSSU will remain one of the least expensive schools among its peers.
The UNC system’s board of governors is expected to vote on the rate increases at its January meeting.
Reaves said the university needs to take advantage of the “catch-up” opportunity. “You won’t see this kind of increase every year,” Reaves said.
Still, students will suffer, said junior Moriah Suber, who was studying for her final exams when she learned of the new increases.
“I don’t understand why they do it if the goal is to keep students in school,” said Suber, who predicted the increase would cause a financial hardship for many students. “For me, there’s nothing I can do about it but pay and try to stay in school.”
The increases were determined by a campus committee that included staff members and seven students.
DOVER, Del. – Ilona M. Figat, an enterprise consultant for the Delaware Center for Enterprise Development (DCED) at Delaware State University, has been named the 2011 Outstanding Entrepreneurship Educator at the 29th annual Entrepreneurship Education Forum held recently in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ms. Figat received the award in recognition of her outstanding service in the field of entrepreneurship education.
Since joining the DCED in 2000, Ms. Figat has been engaged in numerous entrepreneurship education endeavors. She created the Child Care Business Training Program at the DCED, and its success made her a key player in April 2011 among other child care stakeholders in the convening of the first-ever Child Care Business Conference at DSU that attracted more than 150 caregivers.
She is currently the director of a new initiative, the Mobile Entrepreneurship Training that is designed to transport a Mobile Training Classroom into rural and underserved areas to provide entrepreneurship training. This new initiative will be unveiled in January 2012.
In addition over the years, Ms. Figat has provided entrepreneurship training at the House of Pride of Dover, the Morris Correctional Facility, Coverdale Crossroads, and has conducted workshops and one-on-one consultant for the benefit of many in the state of Delaware. She has also given presentations to various agencies of throughout the First State, including the Financial Literacy Institute and the Money School.
Maya Barnes, a.k.a. “My”
HBCU: Hampton University
Classification: Senior
Major: Broadcast Journalism
Hometown: Prince George’s County, MD
Lights! Camera! Fashion! That is what people think of when Maya Barnes walks into a room. Barnes’s style is a mixture of Urban Outfitter and American Apparel, or as Barnes calls it “Urban Apparel”.
She is a high-waist lover, and she keeps the jewelry at a minimal. “I usually just throw on a bunch of rings. [I’m] not really into bracelets and bangles. I think they’re quite annoying,” said Barnes.
She admits to being disgusted with shopping; she says she doesn’t like malls because she is too much of a picky person. “I wish there was a store catered directly to me,” said Barnes.
Barnes tries not to be too complicated whenever she does decide to shop. She tends to browse through clothes and snag whatever stands out to her. You can find her browsing and snagging either at your nearby H&M or thrift store.
Barnes says she doesn’t have a “fashion icon”, but Solange is up there in her rankings. “I love her style and she doesn’t go overboard by trying too hard,” Barnes said.
This fashion diva is not into fashion as much as the public thinks. “I just like expressing my personality. I’m not a fashion junkie,” said Barnes. “I don’t prowl on Lookbook, or surf the web for “fashionista” stuff. I might even miss ‘trends!’”.
Barnes feels that people assume since she has been in several fashion shows that she is solely into fashion, but Barnes is also a photographer and videographer, with dreams of one day becoming a film director. She speaks American Sign Language and she is a hip-hop enthusiast.
In her spare time, you can find her cutting and destroying shorts, listening to good music, and cheering for her favorite basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Twitter: @FuzeTheMcOnce called the “dopest rapper of the year” by Big Boi of Outkast, Fuze the Mc (born March 2, 1991) is a Hip Hop artist and entreprenuer from metro-Atlanta , Georgia. Fuze is the founder of Noble Black Society and has been featured on MTVu, XXL, the Hilltop , and others. Sohh described him as “Modernizing the spirit of the golden era.”[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSsxRMk3ZjM&w=610&h=340]
