FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 23 - 29, 2019 Tight races predicted in CIAA football LUT WILLIAMS Smith under head coach Kermit Blount hold BCSP Editor down the last two spots in the South. Roanoke, VA – Head coaches and sports ™ information directors expect defending division 2019 CIAA FOOTBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH (Overall) champs Bowie State (North) and Fayetteville Bowie State State (South) to again meet in the November Fayetteville State 2019 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Associa- Virginia Union tion football championship game. Chowan Virginia State But indicators point to spirited races in both Winston-Salem State divisions this season following conversations Shaw with head coaches and key players last Thurs- Taylor Hunt Elizabeth City State BCSP Photo day at the 2019 CIAA Football Media Day here Saint Augustine’s FOOTBALL GASTON COOPER: New Livingstone at the Holiday Inn Valley View. Prolific dual-threat quarterback Cordelral Bowie State QB could be Johnson C. Smith FORECASTS Winston-Salem State's interim head coach Cook (663 rushing yards, 10 TDs, 1,723 passing Lincoln (PA) key to Bulldogs repeating Robert Massey CONTINUE in the CIAA. was the only new face on the yards, 15 TDs) leads Virginia State and head coach's roster. coach Reggie Barlow, the fourth pick in the NORTHERN DIVISION Bowie State 2019 FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS IN FOR CIAA, North. Virginia Union LANGSTON, HAMPTON AND TENNESSEE STATE NORTH DIVISION Elizabeth City State looks to be much Chowan Despite losing record-setting quarterback improved in its second year under head coach Virginia State Amir Hall to graduation, the conference de- Anthony Jones. Ditto for Lincoln in its second Elizabeth City State Lincoln (PA) fending champion Bulldogs of Bowie State campaign led by head coach Josh Dean. SOUTHERN DIVISION were picked to repeat in the North Division. Fayetteville State UNDER THE BANNER BSU head coach Damon Wilson brought SOUTHERN DIVISION Winston-Salem State Shaw new starting quarterback, redshirt junior Gaston Two-time defending South Division champ WHAT'S GOING ON IN AND AROUND BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS Saint Augustine’s Cooper, to the event. Cooper was an outstand- Fayetteville State enters its fourth year under Livingstone HORNET LEGEND: ing high school quarterback who comes to BSU head coach Richard Hayes and features the Johnson C. Smith Alabama State head after undergoing several position changes while 2018 Special Teams Player of the Year in kick coach Houston enrolled at Duquesne. returner/wide receiver Brandon Smith. The 2019 ALL-CIAA PRESEASON FOOTBALL TEAM Markham is carried off "You'll going to like him," BSU Sports In- Broncos also have the first team punt returner the field after his team OFFENSE completed an 11-0-1 formation Director Greg Goings said of Cooper in Tyeous Sharpe. Notably absent from the first TE - Kevonta Moses, Shaw *; OL - Keanu Gonzales, 1991 season with a after the event. team is prolific workhorse senior running back Shaw *; Donald Boone, Chowan *; Frank Ball, Virginia 36-13 win over North Virginia Union, in its second year under Stevie Green (948 rushing yards, 10 TDs). State *; Tyrese Bobbitt, Shaw; Justin Smith, Virginia Union; WR - Montez Clay, Bowie State +;Daniel Bend- Carolina A&T in the head coach Dr. Alvin Parker, features the pre- Winston-Salem State will enter 2019 with er, Shaw; QB - Bryce Witt, Chowan +; RB - Tabyus inaugural Alamo Heri- season Offensive Player of the Year in running Massey leading the charge. Interestingly, the Taylor, Virginia Union *;Tyrell Freeman, Chowan *; KR tage Bowl in Miami. back Tabyus Taylor (1,546 rushing yards, 21 Rams placed only one player, defensive back - Brandon Smith, Fayetteville State * #; PK - Jefferson Markham passed last TDs). Taylor (6-foot, 228 pounds) led the na- Daryus Skinner (11 interceptions) on the pre- Souza, Virginia Union * week. DEFENSE tion in 2018 with 196.2 total yards per game season all-CIAA team. WSSU was the second DL - Solomon Bassett, Lincoln (PA) *;Oluwaleke Ajeni- and ranked second nationally with 13.8 points pick in the South. fuja, Bowie State *; Joshua Pryor, Bowie State *; Rafiq HOUSTON MARKHAM PASSES: scored per contest The Panthers, with five oth- Shaw and head coach Adrian Jones, re- Abdul-Wahid, Chowan +; LB - Devon Hunt, Shaw * $; MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Former Alabama State ers on the preseason team, were picked to finish turns the 2018 Defensive Player of the Year in Joseph Harris, Saint Augustine's *; Taj Conway, Vir- head football coach Houston Markham, Jr. passed away ginia Union +; DB - Sterling Hammond, Virginia Union * behind BSU in the North. linebacker Devon Hunt (98 tackles). The Bears Elvin De La Rosa, Fayetteville State *; Daryus Skin- last week with loved ones by his side. Chowan and head coach Tim Place have are picked third. ner, Winston-Salem State *; Quantaye Battle, Virginia Markham, 75, the winningest head coach in Hornets' quarterback Bryce Witt (2,700 passing yards, "We want to prove the CIAA that we're a lot Union +; PR - Tyeous Sharpe, Fayetteville State *; P - John Kight, Chowan * football history, leaves behind a legacy unmatched at Ala- 27 TDs) and running back Tyrell Freeman better than where they predicted us," said Jones. bama State. He coached at the institution from 1987 un- (1,292 rushing yards, 14 TDs) on the preseason Saint Augustine's and head coach Tim * - Returning All-CIAA First Team selection all-CIAA squad. The Indians are picked third in Chavous is picked fourth. Livingstone under + - Returning All-CIAA Second Team selection til 1997, leaving the school with 68 victories which still # - Returning CIAA Special Teams Player of the Year the North. head coach Daryl Williams and Johnson C. $ - Returning CIAA Defensive Player of the Year stands as the highest total among any coach in school his- tory. His best season at the helm of the Hornets came in 1991 when the team finished 11-0-1, winning the South- BCSP Notes western Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship. The only blemish on the record for the Hornets that season Langston picked to repeat as came against Texas Southern when the two teams tied at Sooner Athletic Conference football champs 14-all. The Hornets raced to the HBCU National Champi- OKLAHOMA CITY – Langston University has been favored to re- peat as Sooner Athletic Conference football champion according to a pre- onship with a 36-13 victory over North Carolina A&T in season poll of the league's coaches. Albany State to discontinue the first Alamo Heritage Bowl. Langston posted a 9-2 mark while notching the first SAC champion- Markham, who finished with a career record of 68- men's golf and cross country ship ever with an 8-0 SAC record and a berth in the NAIA Championship As part of a continuing realignment of resources following the merg- 47-4 (.588), also had four players drafted in the National Series last year. er with Darton State, Albany State University (ASU) has announced the Ed- Football League (NFL) during his tenure including Langston snared five first-place votes and 61 points in the preseason discontinuation of two sports. die Robinson (LB, 2nd round, 1992) and current Virginia poll. The Lions entered 2018 as the preseason favorite as well. Langston In a statement on the ASU Athletics website: "The University has im- State head coach Reggie Barlow (WR, 4th round, 1996). has a 21-game winning streak in conference play dating back to 2016. plemented a plan to strategically realign resources to build a sustainable Markham was an offensive lineman for four years at Langston returns 2018 SAC athlete of the year Cameron Booty, a athletics program. Reductions across multiple sports included decreases Alcorn State, earning a bachelor of science degree with senior running back from Dallas who picked up 1,054 all-purpose yards. in scholarships, operational expenses and personnel. One of these unfor- an endorsement in Health and Physical Education in 1965. tunate but necessary reductions will include the discontinuation of ASU's A Brookhaven, Mississippi native, he coached for 10 Tennessee State tied for fifth in men's cross country and men's golf programs. These programs will be years at Vicksburg High School, working first as an as- OVC preseason football rankings discontinued at the conclusion of the 2019-20 academic year." NASHVILLE - For the sixth-straight year and eighth time in the past Going forward, Albany State will sponsor 11 sports programs and sistant in 1966 and 1967. During his eight-year tenure as 10 years, Jacksonville State has been picked the preseason football favor- continue to be a member of NCAA Division II, the Southern Intercolle- the head coach (1968-1975), the Gators posted a 65-16-3 ite in the Ohio Valley Conference for 2019. giate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and the Peach Belt Conference. These record that included a 40-game winning streak. Tennessee State picked up 61 votes to tie Murray State for fifth in the programs include football, baseball, men's track and field, women's track Prior to coming to Alabama State, Markham spent 13 rankings. and field, women's cross country, men's basketball, women's basketball, seasons as an assistant coach at Jackson State. TSU had four preseason selections. On offense; senior wide receiv- volleyball, softball, tennis, soccer. Markham is a member of the halls of fame at three er Chris Rowland (57 catches, 727 yards, 5 touchdowns), senior center SWAC schools (Alcorn State, ASU and JSU). Thomas Burton and senior guard Raekwon Allen were selected. Senior CIAA Tourney brings in $43 million for Charlotte Because of his accomplishments as a head coach, the defensive back Dajour Nesbeth (58 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 4 INT, 7 PBU) was The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA) has released the building that houses the Hornets football program bears picked on the preseason defensive team.