MSU ALUMNI HOUSE
Contents
Baltimore, Maryland
Homecoming 2010 . . . . . . . . . 1 President’s Message . . . . . . . . 2 In the News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Alumni on the Move . . . . . . . . 6 Chapter & Class News . . . . . . 7 Life Members 2010 . . . . . . . . . 8 Necrology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Alumni Calendar . . . . . . . 10 Football Schedule . . . . . . . . . . 11
Homecoming 2010
ALUMNI•NEWS Fall 2010
“FU E LE D FOR THE CHALLE NGE”
s Homecoming just about “The Game”? Of course not, says Morgan Athletic Director, Floyd Kerr. “Homecoming is a great time to showcase the University and its achievements for the alumni and to encourage their continued support,” Kerr says. “And this year, with the inauguration of our new President taking place during Homecoming, there will be even more activities that alumni and others will want to attend.” Of course, that’s not to say Kerr, always a planner, wasn’t focused on this year’s football season when we talked with him in June. “Forty members of the team have signed up for summer school and/or to work out over the summer,” Kerr reports. “That’s the most players ever. It’s a good sign. Most of the team has been here for four years. It’s good that we’ve had time to work with them that long. And our senior leadership is strong.” “We also have a number of standout players,” Kerr reports. “Darren McKhan, #7 (a defensive back), is one of the MEAC’s top defensive players, and Lamont Bryant, #8, a tight end, is one of the best players in the conference.” “I think we have a very, very good schedule,” Kerr continues. “The biggest highlight is that we’re playing the University of Maryland, College Park,
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which has a very strong program. And then the next week we’re going to Fargo, N.D., to play a good Football Championship Subdivision (Division I-AA) school, North Dakota State University. With those two games on our schedule, it demonstrates that we’re upgrading our schedule with more quality and national-level competition. In addition, two of our MEAC opponents, South Carolina State and FAMU, were ranked in the top 20 of the FCS last season.” The South Carolina State game will be broadcast live on ESPNU, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. As for this year’s Homecoming game, adding to the stakes for Kerr is the fact that he has a personal
tie to this year’s opponent, Delaware State. He and the Hornets’ coach, Al Lavan, were roommates at Colorado State University, where Lavan played football and Kerr played basketball. The two remain friends. Kerr recently completed his fifth year as Morgan’s A.D. He says he’s pleased with the progress the Athletic Department has made. “When I came on board, we implemented a strategic plan to basically take the program to the next level,” he says. “The objectives of that plan were to recapture our competitive edge, particularly in football and men’s and women’s basketball; to control spending and reduce our budget deficit; to make sure Morgan was in compliance with NCAA rules and regulations and have a clean NCAA certification; to make sure that athletics played its part in helping grow the enrollment of the institution; to regionalize our athletic plan, so we could concentrate our efforts within the footprint of the MEAC conference; and to improve the welfare of our studentathletes by upgrading our sports medicine, strength and conditioning programs.” “We have met each of our goals,” Kerr says. “Further, we are currently reevaluating the program in order to reset future plans for continued growth.” See Homecoming Highlights on page 5
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