Jason Beach is a defensive back for the Florida A&M Rattlers football team, trying to get an extra year of eligibility after leaving school to help his family with recovery from Hurricane Dennis in 2004.

But to listen to Joe Taylor, he’d just as soon not have Beach back.

I’m not too optimistic to be honest with you,” Taylor said following Monday’s practice, which Beach didn’t attend.

“He has gotten what he came here for,” Taylor said. “He has gotten his degree.”

“We watched the film the other day and I don’t know that he could really help us,” Taylor said. “It’s so good to have great film. It lets you know how hungry a guy is.”

I’m not going to be the one that questions a man with a such a grand mustache, but it is interesting that you wouldn’t want to go out for a kid that grauduated with honors, left for extraordinary personal reasons, and just wants to bring closure to a football career. Besides, 136 tackles and five interceptions in 27 games is not bad for a former walk-on quarterback.

You would think that Alabama A&M’s offensive outburst in their last preseason scrimmage would be a good sign for the Bulldogs. 56 points, more than 400 yards of total offense, and several touchdowns through the air for new starting quarterback Kevin Atkins.

But what does that mean for the A&M defense? It may be party time for the Bulldog offense, but is the party shutting down for a defensive unit that was middle of the road in SWAC total defense in 2007?

While they were okay against the run, they were paltry against the pass, allowing 216 yards per game and 19 touchdowns on the year. It’s not a good look in your final scrimmage to allow that kind of work from your own offense, whom you see every day and whose plays you work from in meetings and film.

The Bulldog faithful might be happy now, but come the regular season, will opposing offenses take the bark away from the defense?

Bershawn “Batman” Jackson of St. Augustine’s College helped to complete a U.S. sweep of the 400 meter hurdles last night, finishing with a bronze medal in the event.

The 2008 Olympic trials champion in the event, Jackson joined Angelo Taylor and Kerron Clement in United States’ first sweep of a track and field event in the 2008 Olympic Games, and the first American sweep of this event since 1960.

Morehouse College of the SIAC and Elizabeth City State University of the CIAA placed second and third in the nation in attendance for men’s basketball home games in Division II.

Morehouse edged ECSU by just fewer than 100 fans per game in 2007, but the CIAA placed several teams on the top 30 list, with former national leader Virginia State placing ninth, and Virginia Union and Fayetteville State University placing 25th and 26th, respectively.

If you are a big fan of sports blogs, then you know that the medium’s latest rave is approval rating polls. Fans and observers have an opportunity to let their voices be heard, by the simple checking of an “approval” or “disapproval” rating.

With that in mind I bring you the inaugural poll for black college sports programs. Each day, I will activate the poll in the ascending order of the HBCU Sports Blog’s Black College Football Pre-Season Power Rankings. If you are so inclined, please feel free to leave a comment with your vote.

If I had to pick a team that would most likely upset the SWAC football apple cart in 2008, it would be Prairie View A&M. Just a few years ago, they were still the laughing stock of black college football. Last year, they were a serious threat.

This year, chances are good that there won’t be too much laughing when the Panthers come to anyone’s town.

Show your true Panther spirit.

First it was announced that NFL Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow Sr. would become the Athletic Director for Central State University. Now, Ohio’s only HBCU is planning to leap to Division II from NAIA athletic competition.

In less than a week, CSU has gone from relative obscurity in black college athletics to national prominence. By hiring an NFL legend, with a son who happens to be a standout tight end for the nearby Cleveland Browns, is a tremendous move that can attract funds and attention to the university’s athletics program. Athletes will take notice. Fans will take notice. Opponents, too.

But more than that, the ascension to Division II signifies a serious commitment from the university to bolstering it’s national profile. While it may not be the Division I ranks of the MEAC or SWAC, Central State will be greatly helped in recruiting and admissions initiatives in boasting conference membership and rivalries with local and regional schools that compete in D-II.

Every day I check my Google Reader for updates on black college sports, searching for stories that you, the reader, can gather information and insight from. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find coverage for the CIAA and SIAC, the two Division II black college conference competing in the NCAA.

Do these institutions not practice? Have controversies? Hire and fire? Win championships? During basketball season, the coverage is a lot better, and I would attribute that to the popularity of the CIAA basketball tournament. But by and large, it’s hard to find regionally popular newspapers dedicating coverage to black college sports that don’t compete in Division I.

Here in Maryland, Morgan State University, Coppin State University and the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore get coverage in that order of exposure. But poor Bowie State, which doesn’t have a horrible program, gets no love from the Washington Post or Baltimore Sun. What’s up with that?

Perhaps these news outlets feel that readership is not interested in smaller athletic programs at black colleges, particularly when the ink could be dedicated to larger, traditionally white institutions. But there is room for heightening the awareness of these conference and programs beyond game scores, and its an irresponsible disservice to sports fans everywhere to exclude them from coverage.

Thank goodness for sites like Onnidan, MEACFans, MEAC/SWAC Sports MainStreet and others who search high and low for stories on our black colleges. Without them, a significant sports history in college sports would be printed solely on the parchment of our memories.

If this was a warm up for their inaugural season, than the Claflin Panthers look set to go this winter. While its not clear from this entry on the Trinidad and Tobago Hoops Classic blog, the Panthers appear to have held on against the Trinidad and Tobago all-stars, 65-63.

The rest of the SIAC may have its hands full next year with the arrival of Claflin. They posted a 24-2 record in 2007, and were among the elite of black college basketball. Apparently, this blog is the best way to keep up with the team while they are in the Caribbean, so stay tuned for other exploits on Claflin’s summer tour.

The MEAC has a strong tradition of athletes participating in Olympic competition. Here’s a few to look for in their quest for Olympic gold and international acclaim in the coming weeks, courtesy of MEACSports.com:

Leading the group is David Oliver, the former Howard University All-American and four-time MEAC champion who is projected to medal for the USA in the 110 meter hurdles.

Other MEAC athletes competing in Beijing:

Maryland Eastern Shore junior hurdler Allodin Fothergill, representing Jamaica. Fothergill is the 2008 MEAC 200 meter indoor champion and the 400 meter outdoor champion. He ran a 45.92 in the 400 meter at the Jamaica National Championship.

Former Norfolk State sprinters Chris Brown, representing Bahamas in the 400 meters and the 4×400 meter relay, and Chandra Sturrup, representing the Bahamas in the 100 meter dash and the 4×100 meter relay. Brown, a two-time All-American for the Spartans (2000-01), set the MEAC 400 meter outdoor record with a time of 45.60 in 2001, and won a silver medal at the World Championships that year. Sturrup is competing in her fourth Olympics. She is a two-time medalist, having won Silver in Atlanta in 1996 as a member of the Bahamian 4×100 meter relay team and gold in Sydney in 2000.

Bethune-Cookman coach Garfield Ellenwood, coach of the Liberian National team; assistant coach Kia Davis, representing Liberia in the 400 meter, and Wildcats volunteer assistant coach Angela Williams, a sprinter for the USA. Williams is the 2008 World Indoor 60 meter champion and the 2001 and 2003 silver medalist. She is a four-time NCAA 100 meter champion.