Prairie View A&M President Dr. George Wright officially announced Ashley Robinson as the incoming Athletics Director for the University on Tuesday in the A.I. Thomas Administration Building. Robinson is the currently Director of Athletics at Mississippi Valley State and is no stranger to Prairie View A&M. He served as the Assistant Vice President of Athletic Compliance & Academic Advising for three years before his nine-month stint as the MVSU Athletics Director.Robinson

The selection of Robinson concludes a nationwide search which spanned nearly three months after former PVAMU Athletic Director Fred Washington announced he would be stepping down to focus on his role as the Vice President of Auxiliary Services.

Mississippi Valley State won Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships in Men's Cross Country, Women's Soccer and Softball since Robinson assumed command on Sept. 17, 2012. He will take over a Prairie View A&M Athletics Department that has claimed its second-consecutive SWAC Commissioners Cup, awarded to the university with the most successful athletic achievement each season.

In the 2012-13 athletic season, Prairie View A&M won championships in men's indoor track, women's basketball, bowling and men's tennis. The Panthers were also runners-up in several sports including: baseball, men's basketball, women's indoor track & field, women's outdoor track & field, men's outdoor track & field and men's cross country.

Robinson said that providing Prairie View A&M with the coaches and resources necessary to continue winning is one of his goals as an athletics director. He will have a solid foundation of recent success to build on.

A native of Jackson, Miss., Robinson was a four-year letterman in basketball and is the single season and career record-holder in assists after playing point guard for the MVSU basketball team. Robinson also was named MVSU Athlete of the Year in 2002, receiving the President's Scholar Award in that same year.

In August of 2006, Robinson left Mississippi Valley to begin a career in athletic administration as an academic coordinator at Delaware State University in Dover, Del.  Robinson helped implement a comprehensive academic support system for the department's 300 student-athletes and was the department's liaison to DSU's faculty, campus academic offices and support services. He also assisted with the CHAMPS / Life Skills and Student-Athlete Advisory (SAAC) Board.

After eight months in Delaware, Robinson received the opportunity to return home as he accepted the position of assistant compliance director at Jackson State University. His duties included assisting the compliance director in eligibility, student-athlete certification and reinstatement and enforcing the compliance bylaws of the NCAA, SWAC and Jackson State. Robinson continued to advance up the compliance ranks by returning to his alma mater of Mississippi Valley State as the athletic department's compliance director in August of 2007.

In July of 2008, Robinson was named the SWAC'S Assistant Commissioner for Compliance where he supervised a NCAA Division I Collegiate Conference Compliance and Academic Service department, the National Letter of Intent (NLI) program and was a liaison between the conference and the NCAA for rules, interpretations and appeals. He served as liaison to faculty athletic representatives, athletic directors and compliance directors. He also served as the conference office sport administrator for men's and women's basketball, track & field and volleyball in addition to event management assistance in terms of staffing, budgeting and coordinating.

Robinson is an active member of the NCAA Division I Legislative Council, NCAA DI External Advisory Group and the National Association for Athletic Compliance (NAAC). He also is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., the Black Coaches Association (BCA) the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA) and the Mo Williams Foundation.

CLEVELAND - The 2013 Hall of Fame class includes: Dorothy ‘Dot’ Casey, Wake Forest University; Bob Goin, University of Cincinnati; Jim Harris, The University of Alabama in Huntsville (posthumously); Jack Martin, County College of Morris; Arthur McAfee, Morehouse College; Larry Schiner, New Jersey City University; and Gerald Stockton, Midwestern State University.McAfee

The inductees received their awards on Friday, June 14 at NACDA's 48th Annual Convention at the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Awards Luncheon, located at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Fla.

McAfee, a 1951 graduate of Wichita State University, retired in May 2000 as the head men’s basketball coach and director of athletics at Morehouse College. He served 35 years as the basketball coach and 29 years as the AD.

During his 39 years of coaching, McAfee amassed 517 career wins, directing teams at Lane College, Mississippi Valley State University, Lincoln University (MO), Bishop and Morehouse.

During his time at Morehouse, McAfee led the basketball squad to 464 victories, six teams reached the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), three claimed conference titles and advanced to NCAA play. In 1990, McAfee’s second SIAC Championship team reached the NCAA Division II Final Four.

During the 1990s, he was one of the SIAC’s most successful coaches. In that decade alone, his teams captured two SIAC championships. From 1988-98, McAfee’s teams won 197 games, a 64 percent winning percentage. He had four 20-win seasons and had 11 players receive all-SIAC recognition.

In 1999, he was third vice president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and in line to become president in 2001-02 but retired before reaching that office. Ninety-five percent of his players received their degrees.

An avid jazz buff, McAfee is enjoying retirement with his wife, three kids and three grandchildren.

Inside Hotlanta and the SIAC

By Hal Lamar
Photos by Patsy Collier-Lamar

Former Morehouse Athletic Director Enshrined in AD Hall of Fame

Former Morehouse College Athletic Director and head basketball coach Arthur J. McAfee has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

MaAfee, a native of Wichita, Kansas and 1951 graduate of Wichita State University, is the third Morehouse AD to be so enshrined behind Frank Forbes ( 1972) and BT Harvey (1971).

He joins 32 other Athletic Directors from historically black colleges and universities in the Hall. Ten of those 32 are from colleges in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).McAfee

McAfee coached at Lane, Mississippi Valley, Lincoln (MO) University and Bishop College (Dallas Tex), his last stop before arriving at Morehouse as head basketball coach in 1965. Seven years later, he replaced Forbes as Athletic Director.

As basketball coach, MaAfee hit the ground running. By the time of his official retirement in 2000, He had amassed some 517 career victories, 499 of them at Morehouse. The Maroon Tiger fives reached the SIAC championship game six times, won three conference titles and advanced to the NCAA playoffs. He had four 20-win seasons and 11 of his players made first team all conference. One of those, Harold Ellis , who helped lead the team to the Division II final four in 1990, went on to play in the NBA for three years with the LA Clippers and the Denver Nuggets .

In 2008, McAfee was also inducted into the Wichita State University Hall of Fame.

His induction in the NACDA Hall takes place Thursday, June 14 in Orlando Florida.

NACDA was founded in 1965. Based in Cleveland Ohio, it boasts a membership of 6100 representing colleges from the NCAA, NAIA plus junior and community colleges.

Here is a listing of the other HBCU ADs who have been enshrined in the Hall according to the NACDA website:

XTRA POINTS: I didn’t know this before but Morehouse’s Harold Ellis, now a big wheel with the Orlando Magic, is only the fifth player from an HBCU to have his jersey retired. If you happen to visit Morehouse, stop by the Frank Forbes Gym. You’ll see Ellis’s number 30 hanging on the gym’s west wall…..

I checked the rosters of the 14 teams of the Arena Football League to see how many players were from HBCUs.  I counted 35. Six of them are from the SIAC and one player is from CAU of the Atlanta University Center. The six from the conference I’m sworn to cover are LaRoche Jackson, a two year player from CAU, Jacob Hardwick ,Juan Bongarra and Alvin Ray Jackson from Albany State,,Justin Hannah from Tuskegee and Raymond McNeil from Fort Valley. In my next column, I’ll identify them all……

Several readers have called to correct the writer on my indicating that North Carolina A&T’s entry into the Atlanta Football Classic would be their second time ever in Atlanta. I’m told now by some readers that A&T was here in the early part of the new century participating in the Peach State Classic against South Caroiina State…

L. Jackson	Hardwick	Bongarra
A. R. Jackson	Hannah	McNeil

Got an item? Contact Hal -> hallamar at comcast.net

WASHINGTON, DC – University of the District of Columbia Interim President, Dr. James E. Lyons, Sr. and Director of Athletics, Patricia Thomas, announced today that Michael Riley has been hired to lead the University of the District of Columbia Men’s Basketball program. There is a press conference scheduled for today at 4:00 PM in the UDC Gym in the Sports Complex.Riley

“Mike Riley is an outstanding choice to lead our Men’s Basketball program,” said Patricia Thomas. “He has exceptional credentials and experience as a coach and administrator. Most importantly, though, he is a person of extremely high character and values. He is a tremendous leader of men. I have no doubt that he will take the University of the District of Columbia Men’s Basketball program to new heights, and our student-athletes will benefit tremendously on the court, in the classroom, and in life by having him at the helm.”

Riley has a distinguished coaching resume which includes more than 20 years as an assistant coach at Georgetown University. He was also an assistant coach on the 1988 Olympic basketball team that earned the bronze medal. Riley came to the University of the District of Columbia in 2009 and has served as the Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Operations during that time.

“I am ecstatic to be able to take over as the new Head Men’s Basketball Coach at the University of the District of Columbia,” said Riley. “The Firebirds have a long and rich tradition. As the University continues to move in a positive direction, I look forward to leading this program as one piece of the successful future of the University. We will recruit young men that will work hard and intelligently in the classroom and on the basketball court. We will be positive citizens on campus and in the community. We will represent the Firebird family well in all that we do. It is an honor and a privilege to be selected as the Men’s Basketball Coach at the University of the District of Columbia.”

Riley is a Washington, DC native, having graduated from Cardozo High School, where he was a standout guard on the men’s basketball team. Riley earned team Defensive Player of the Year honors while at Cardozo and was also selected Most Valuable Player during his senior year. Riley was inducted into the Cardozo High School Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.

After attending Cardozo High School, Riley served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Holland stationed in the Mediterranean.

Riley went on to graduate from Georgetown University with a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Sociology. While at Georgetown, Riley was a member of the Hoyas Men’s Basketball Team where he was named the Defensive Player of the Year.

Riley went on to serve as an assistant basketball coach at Georgetown University from 1983 to 2004. While at Georgetown, Riley coached the Hoyas to six Big East Conference Championships, four Big East Tournament Championships, two Final Fours, and the 1984 National Championship. He also served as the academic coordinator during his tenure at Georgetown.

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) today announced those who have earned USTFCCCA All-America distinctions for the 2013 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field season. Honors are awarded for performances at the final site of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships occurring the previous weekend in Eugene, Ore.

Twenty-five student-athletes from HBCUs earned All-America honors at the event.

First-team USTFCCCA All-America honors are awarded to those who earn any portion of a team point at the national championships, or reach an eight-entrant final. Second-team All-America honors are handed out to those whose final placing in the national meet range from ninth to 16th place.

Those who participated at the final site but did not place in the meet’s top 16 are listed as honorable mention for the All-America award.

Student-Athletes listed are participants in programs that are members of the USTFCCCA.

2013 USTFCCCA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD – NCAA DIVISION I

NORFOLK, Va., – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s T’Nia Falbo was named the 2013 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Woman of the Year, the conference announced today.  Falbo will be awarded the honor during a special on-campus event to be announced at a later time. Falbo
 
The award, selected annually by the MEAC Senior Woman Administrators, celebrates the achievements of senior female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
 
Falbo averaged 198.5 pins during her senior campaign.  She participated in 63 games and 76 Baker games and led the Lady Hawks’ to its second straight United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Intercollegiate Team Championship and sixth MEAC Conference title. She was instrumental in the team’s national championship and as the team’s anchor she tossed a clutch double in the final frame to take the come from behind victory in game two.
 
Falbo was selected to the USBC All-Tournament team and named to the MEAC All-Tournament team for her postseason play.  She was also recognized in March as an MEAC Bowler of the Week and was selected to the 2013 Jim Brown Classic All-Tournament team bowling after bowling a 196.8 average in five individual games.
 
Falbo’s composure off the lanes were recognized by the Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC) where she was awarded the Chris Stoehr Sportsmanship Award, which recognizes the male or female collegiate bowler who best exemplifies true sporting behavior and the highest degree of character on and off the lanes.  The award is presented annually at the ITC and is voted upon by the collegiate coaches.
 
The 2012 MEAC Bowler of the Year, Falbo has accumulated a host of honors throughout her collegiate career including conference weekly honors (four), MEAC all-tournament team selections (2012, 2013), and the All-MEAC First-Team (2012).  She was named the 2012 UMES Female Athlete of the Year, the 2012 Outstanding Performer at the NCAA Championship and was a finalist for the Bowling Writers Association of America (BWAA) Collegiate Bowler of the Year award.
 
Falbo has performed successfully in the classroom as well.  In May 2013, she graduated with a 3.78 GPA in Accounting.  Her scholastic accolades includes the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) All-American (2010-2013) and the MEAC Commissioner’s All-Academic Team (2009-2013).  She also received the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association All-Academic award, which requires a 3.5 GPA through the Fall 2012 semester.
 
Off the lanes Falbo volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life, the Life Crisis Center, the Night of the Living Zoo and coached youth sports.
 
Other leadership roles included serving as the UMES bowling team captain from 2011-2013, tutoring from 2012-2013 and the team’s travel coordinator from 2010-2013.
 
Flabo will represent the MEAC as its nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.  The NCAA established the Woman of the Year Award in 1991 to celebrate the achievements of women in intercollegiate athletics.  Now in its 23rd year, the award is unique because it recognizes not only the athletic achievements of outstanding young women, but also their academic achievements, community service and leadership. 

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Football Championship Committee has unanimously selected Winston-Salem State University as the host institution for the 2013 CIAA Football Championship Game.  WSSU's bid to host the game at Bowman Gray Stadium was accepted following an evaluation process that began last April.  Previously the Football Championship Game had been hosted at Durham (N.C.) County Memorial Stadium.

"CIAA football has experienced tremendous success over the last few years," said Commissioner Jacqie Carpenter. "In order to accommodate our growing fan base, the conference believed that hosting the football championship at a member institution was the best decision moving forward into Century II."

The 2013 CIAA Football Championship is scheduled for Saturday, November 16, 2013 at a time to be determined.

Winston-Salem State, having successfully hosted NCAA Division II Regional Football Playoff games for the past two years,  will also serve as the host for the annual CIAA Football Media Day.

The CIAA will kick-off the 2013 season on Thursday, July 25 at the newly constructed Donald J. Reaves Student Activities Center on the WSSU campus.  Key returning student-athletes will be available for interviews at 10:00 a.m. followed by a formal program beginning at 11:15 a.m.

Led by Savannah State's Kyle McGowin, five HBCU baseball players were selected in the 2013 Major League Baseball three-day Draft.

McGowin, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Pitcher of the Year, was selected in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Angels on Friday.  He finished  the regular season with an ERA of 1.49 in 96.1 innings pitched and a 12-1 record. He led the MEAC in strikeouts (111) and wins, and was ranked sixth nationally after the end of the regular season while leading the Tigers to their first MEAC Championship and the programs first Division I NCAA Playoff bid.

Alcorn State's Angel Rosa was also picked by the Angels. The 2013 Pre-Season SWAC Player of the Year, was selected in the 13th round with the 397th overall pick.  He finished the last year with a .294 batting average and led the Braves in stolen bases (17), on base percentage (.372) recording 50 hits and 26 runs scored.

North Carolina A&T first baseman Kelvin Freeman was picked by the Chicago Cubs in the 17th round and was the 498th overall selection.

Southern University pitcher Jose De Leon was picked in the 24th round with the 724th pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He finished with a 4-3 overall record and in the top ten in the league in ERA (3.28) and innings pitched (81.2). He led the Jaguars with 73 strikeouts including 25 strikeouts looking. Both marks were ranked second in the conference.

The final HBCU pick of the draft was Grambling State pitcher Cory Jordan was taken by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 35th round with the 1,058th overall selection. Last year as a relief pitcher, Jordan finished with a 2-3 overall record, two saves and a 4.22 ERA. He recorded 27 strikeouts while appearing in 14 games in relief.

Jackson State's Anaso Jobodwana finished fourth in the 200m dash and Maryland-Eastern Shore's Lenora Guion-Firmin finished seventh in the 400m dash finals to give HBCUs two first team All-Americans at the 2013 NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships at Historic Hayward Field.

Jobodwana qualified for the finals on Saturday with the second fastest time in the preliminaries.

Guinon-Firmin ran a time of 52.03 seconds in the 400-meter dash semifinals to advance to the finals race Friday.where she earned two points with a seventh place finish.

Second team and honorable mention All-Americans will be named later.