Tag Archives: TSU Athletics

TSU track and field legends Ralph Boston and Wilma Rudolph named to USTFCCCA Hall of Fame

By TSU Athletics

EUGENE, ORE.  (TSU News Service) — Tennessee State University track and field legends Ralph Boston ’61 and Wilma Rudolph ’63 were both named to the inaugural class of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame at a ceremony on June 6 at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts.

Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice, TSU’s Director of Track and Field, presents Ralph Boston his award at the induction ceremony. (Lauren Ellsworth, USTFCCCA)

Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice, TSU’s director of Track and Field and Olympic gold medalist, who was present at the ceremony, presented Boston his award. Cheeseborough-Guice also received Rudolph’s award on behalf of her family.

“It was an honor to be selected to present Ralph Boston his award at the inaugural NCAA Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and to be asked to receive Wilma Rudolph’s award on behalf of the Rudolph family,” Cheeseborough-Guice said. “I am so honored to be in the company of greatness and represent Tennessee State University.”

“The Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame is intended to acknowledge the great athletes who have made collegiate track & field and cross country such incredible sports,” said Sam Seemes, CEO of the USTFCCCA. “Not only do we have a large queue of past athletes that are worthy of enshrinement into this hall of fame, but we also recognize a vital responsibility in producing first-class presentations to properly commemorate their accomplishments”

Wilma Rudolph set four world records in her days as a collegian. (Submitted Photo)

Ralph Boston’s greatness was just beginning when he won the NCAA Championships long jump title in 1960. That summer he went on to break the world record set by Jesse Owens in 1935 while qualifying for the Rome Olympics, where he won the gold medal.

His senior season of 1961 saw him break the indoor world record three times, but that was just a prelude for his outdoor season. Boston recorded the first 27-foot long jump a week before nearly winning the NAIA team title for Tennessee State all by himself with four wins and a tie for second. In July he improved his long jump world record to 8.28m (27-2) in winning the U.S.-USSR dual meet in Moscow.

Rudolph didn’t have to travel far to find her home for collegiate track & field. She grew up in Clarksville, Tennessee, about 15 miles outside of Nashville, where Tennessee State had become a mecca for women’s sprinting long before organized national collegiate track and field was a reality for women.

Ralph Boston broke the world record set by Jesse Owen at the Rome Olympic in 1935. (Submitted Photo)

By the time she was enrolled at Tennessee A&I (as TSU was known then) in the fall of 1958, she was surrounded by national champions and Olympic medalists. She had earned a bronze medal with three of the group as part of the U.S. 4×100 relay team at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia while a 16-year-old prep.

Rudolph blossomed while in college, never more so than at the 1960 Rome Olympics, where she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in the same Olympics by winning the 100 and 200 before anchoring the winning 4×100 team. She equaled the world record in the prelims of the 100, one of four world records she set in her days as a collegian.

Without collegiate national championships available to her, Rudolph was dominant at the AAU championships, winning 10 of the 12 AAU championships she lined up for combining indoors and outdoors. She was the first woman to win four AAU titles in the 100 yards/meters, all during her first four years at Tennessee State.

Boston and Rudolph are just two of the initial 30 athletes who will be enshrined. Nearly 150 years has elapsed since the first known intercollegiate competitions of running, jumping, and throwing took place. Those events in the mid-to-late 19th century set the stage for the modern-day sports of collegiate track & field and cross country.

In addition to an annual induction ceremony, plans for a permanent “hall” location are being pursued. “I’m proud that we’re stepping forward to preserve our history,” added USTFCCCA President Leroy Burrell, in his 23rd year as head coach of track & field at the University of Houston. “Many of the coaches in our association agree that a collegiate athlete hall of fame is long overdue to recognize the athletes who have provided us with countless unforgettable moments.”

The induction preceded the 100th edition of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at Hayward Field, June 8-11.

Lady Tigers Crowned OVC Champions

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  (Tennessee State Sports Information) – It took overtime, but the Tennessee State women’s basketball team was crowned Ohio Valley Conference Champions following a 64-60, win over No. 1 seeded UT Martin on Saturday.

With the win, TSU is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995.

Head Coach Larry Joe Inman
Head Coach Larry Joe Inman

“I have had some great games as a coach, but none of them are any better than this one,” Head Coach Larry Joe Inman said. “Our team struggled through a lot of hard times, but we overcame and didn’t back off.”

Brianna Lawrence led TSU with 22 points, 18 of which came after halftime. Her performance earned her OVC Tournament MVP honors following the game. Rachel Allen (13 points) and Chelsea Hudson (eight points) joined Lawrence on the All-OVC Tournament Team.

UTM’s Ashia Jones, who came into the game averaging 34.5 points per game in the OVC Tournament, was held to 23 on 6-of-18 shooting (33.3 percent).

“We did an awesome job on defense inside. We had Jones isolated one-on-one for most of the game, but our help defense was always there to lend a hand,” Inman said.

Jones was UTM’s only offensive weapon early in the game and she was ineffective at best. The Lady Tigers limited her to three points through the first 10 minutes and they did it with only one defender guarding her.

Meanwhile, TSU spread to ball around on offense to get both its shooters and post players open looks. The sharing tactic led to a pair of early threes from I’mani Davis and Allen and a commanding 19-7, lead through the first quarter of action.

“I thought we seized momentum early in the game, and that shows you the mentality that we had, we weren’t backing down,” Inman said. “We took the initiative and then we took control.”

The Skyhawks slowly crept back into the game and it started with Jones canning a pair of jump shots. Defensively, UTM forced TSU to keep the ball on one side of the court by bracketing the other. The strategy forced six Lady Tiger turnovers and a Tennessee State scoring drought of 4:37.

With the score, 23-21, UTM’s Danielle Woolfolk canned a wide-open three pointer to give the Skyhawks’ their first lead of the game. Allen made sure that it was short-lived as on the next possession, she converted on a driving layup with 1:32 to play in the half.

Hudson continued the charge with an old-fashioned three-point play to end the first half and the Lady Tigers took a 28-26 lead into the locker room.

Lawrence poured in a pair of threes to highlight the start of the second period, but TSU fouls eventually proved costly. The Skyhawks entered the double-bonus with 8:47 to play and went up 45-41.

The Lady Tigers figured out UTM’s 1-3-1 zone later in the half and a slashing Davis layup made it five straight makes to tie the game at 49 with 5:29 to go.

Lawrence made back-to-back shots for TSU, but UTM countered with four free throws to leave the score tied with 53 seconds to play. Allen stole the ball from Jones to give the Lady Tigers one shot for the win, but Davis travelled on TSU’s possession.

UTM had a final shot at the buzzer but UTM’s shot didn’t beat the horn, forcing overtime.

Lawrence got TSU off to a good start in extra time with a jumper in the lane and an Allen three-pointer with two minutes left gave the Lady Tigers a 58-57 advantage.

Again, Lawrence proved why she was named MVP by hitting her third triple of the game to pad the lead to an insurmountable four points.

The Lady Tigers find out where and who they will play in the NCAA Tournament on Monday, March 16.

“We don’t care who we play in the NCAA Tournament, whoever it is, let’s line them up and play it… who’s next?”

 

 

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 42 undergraduate, 24 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

Athletics Joins KaBOOM! to Build Playground

TSU student-athletes, coaches and administrators joined forces with KaBOOM!, Music City Giving and many other community members to build a playground at Grace M. Eaton Child Care Center June 20. More than 300 volunteers were on site to help build the new structure including (L-R standing)  LaTessa Hickerson, Marc Anthony Peek, Daniel Fitzpatrick, Chocez Howard Cane, Jalon McCutcheon, Tua Reilly; and (L-R Kneeling) Mark Lollis, Andrea Fenderson, Gary Mays
TSU student-athletes, coaches and administrators joined forces with KaBOOM!, Music City Giving and many other community members to build a playground at Grace M. Eaton Child Care Center June 20. More than 300 volunteers were on site to help build the new structure including (L-R standing) LaTessa Hickerson, Marc Anthony Peek, Daniel Fitzpatrick, Chocez Howard Cane, Jalon McCutcheon, Tua Reilly; and (L-R Kneeling) Mark Lollis, Andrea Fenderson, Gary Mays (courtesy photo)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU Sports Information) – For TSU student-athletes the phrase “Think. Work. Serve” is more than just the university’s motto. As community service continues to be a point of emphasis for the athletics department, the adage has been adapted as a lifestyle.

On Friday that commitment was put into action as TSU student-athletes, coaches and administrators joined forces with KaBOOM!, Music City Giving and many other community members to build a playground.

TSU representatives arrived just before 8 a.m. and worked tirelessly throughout the day until the project was complete around 4 p.m. More than 300 volunteers were on site to help build the new structure at Grace M. Eaton Child Care Center on Pearl St. in North Nashville.

“It was great being here today,” said TSU Defensive Back Daniel Fitzpatrick. “Seeing it go from just mulch and loose pieces to something so great and beautiful that the kids can enjoy was a great experience.”

Fitzpatrick, like many of the other TSU volunteers, served as a Team Build Captain for the day. The captains were responsible for instructing the volunteers on their specific assignment and making sure that everything got done correctly.

Photo Gallery 

There were also former TSU student-athletes that came out to help build the playground. Gary Mays, former Flying Tiger and 2009 graduate of Tennessee State also worked as a Build Captain today.

“It is my passion to do community service,” Mays commented. “One of the things that I was taught at TSU was the importance of giving back. All the athletes, we got together and did a lot of community service projects during our careers. To see this area go from dirt to something special like this is a good look for the community.”

The day began with breakfast and registration. Before the hard work officially kicked-off project manager Naudy Martinez addressed the volunteers.  Staff members of Grace M. Eaton entertained the crowd with a short dance performance and then the volunteers joined their groups to begin building.

According to Martinez, the playground was the 2,464 facility KaBOOM! has built.

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving kids the childhood they deserve by bringing play to those who need it most. Children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation, a fact that is having disastrous consequences on their health, achievement levels, and overall well-being. To fight this Play Deficit, social entrepreneur Darell Hammond founded non-profit KaBOOM! in 1996 in Washington, D.C. with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America.

Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped over 95,000 places to play, built more than 2,300 playgrounds, and successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities across the country. KaBOOM! also provides communities with online tools to self-organize and take action to support play on both a local and national level.

The KaBOOM! community-build model enables diverse groups of volunteers to collaborate towards a collective cause—the well-being of children—by completing a tangible product—a new playground—in a fixed time period—one day—that will make an immediate and lasting difference for decades to come.

Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

 

About Tennessee State University

With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

TSU Mourns the Loss of John Barnhill

John Barnhill
John Barnhill

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU Sports Information) – Today, the Tennessee State family mourns the loss of John Barnhill, one of the greatest basketball players to compete at the University.

John Barnhill was the point guard on TSU’s NAIA 1957-59 National Championship Teams and he assisted legendary TSU alum Dick Barnett on many of his buckets. Barnhill was good around the basket too, tallying 1,253 points during his career as a Tiger.

Barnhill’s career point number ranks him 19th all-time, which is quite impressive considering the hundreds of Tigers that have played at TSU since the 62 years since he retired.

Barnhill’s ability around the bucket and the publicity of the titles made professional teams take note of him.

In 1959, the NBA’s St. Louis Hawks took a chance on Barnhill with their 11th round draft pick.

Barnhill played an average of 21 quality minutes per game for the Hawks, and tallied 8.5 points per game.

A few years later, in 1966, the Chicago Bulls were set to join the NBA. The Bulls liked what they saw from Barnhill and gained the rights to draft the guard from Barnhill’s old team.

Barnhill never played for the Bulls, as the Baltimore Bullets bought his rights from Chicago. Barnhill averaged eight points per contest with the Bullets, causing him to get drafted by the NBA’s newest team- the San Diego Rockets.

Barnhill averaged 13 points and four assists per game during his NBA career.

Following his playing career, Barnhill was an NBA assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, assisting Bill Sharman; he acted as the Lakers’ interim coach during the 1974-75 season, while Sharman’s wife was ill with cancer.

Barnhill eventually ended his career with the Indiana Pacers of the ABA in 1972, and was inducted into the Tennessee State Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.

He will be remembered as a student, player, leader, champion and a Tiger. Barnhill was 75.

 

 

 

Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

 

About Tennessee State University

With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

TSU Assistant Athletic Director Selected for NAACP Image Awards Committee

NAACP_Image_AwardNASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU Sports Information) – After being a nominee for an NAACP award in 2012, Tennessee State University’s Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Services, will once again be involved in the awards program, only this time as a member of this year’s nominating committee.

Dr. Johnnie Smith
Dr. Johnnie Smith

Dr. Johnnie Smith, who works closely with TSU’s student-athletes and their academic development, will be a part of the NAACP’s awards to honor great achievements in many areas.

“I am humbly appreciative of this prestigious honor and grateful to the NAACP Image Award Executive Board for inviting me to participate and share my expertise,” said Smith of her selection.

Nominating committee and sub-committees are comprised of individuals within the entertainment industry such as studio and network executives, actors, artists, managers, agents, publicists, journalist, literary agents and others, as well as NAACP board members, executives and staff.

Smith will participate as a member of the nominating committee in the Instructional Literary category. As a member of the committee, Smith’s will read a number of book selections to determine the finalists in the category.

In 2012, Smith was honored by NAACP as a nominee for the Instructional Literary category for her book “Succeed Indeed featuring Academic Boot Camp.” With her achievements in academics, Smith believes her success will allow current student-athletes to achieve even more at Tennessee State and beyond.

“By being a part of this committee, it will allow me to inspire student-athletes to excel in the classroom and on the field so that they may reach an outstanding level in their respective careers,” said Dr. Smith.

The NAACP Image Awards is the nation’s premier multi-cultural awards show. The event celebrates the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts, as well as those individuals or groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors.

 

 

 

 

Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

 

 

About Tennessee State University

With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.