Alcorn State Braves | |
---|---|
2024 Alcorn State Braves baseball team | |
Founded | 1959 |
University | Alcorn State University |
Athletic director | Derek Horne |
Head coach | Carlton Hardy (1st season) |
Conference | Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division |
Location | Lorman, Mississippi |
Home stadium | Foster Baseball Field at McGowan Stadium (Capacity: 500) |
Nickname | Braves |
Colors | Purple and gold [1] |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
2011 | |
Conference tournament champions | |
2002, 2011 | |
Regular season conference champions | |
2002 |
The Alcorn State Braves baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, United States. The program's first season was in 1959, and it has been a member of the NCAA Division I Southwestern Athletic Conference since the start of the 1963 season. Its home venue is the Foster Baseball Field at McGowan Stadium, located on Alcorn State's campus. Carlton Hardy has been the team's head coach since the 2025 season. The program has appeared in 1 NCAA Tournament. It has won one conference tournament championship and 0 regular season conference titles. As of the start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season, 1 former Brave has appeared in Major League Baseball.
The program's first season of play was 1959.
Year | Record | Pct | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | 0–2 | .000 | Houston Regional |
TOTALS | 0–2 | .000 |
The stadium is named for Willie McGowan, head baseball coach from 1972 to 2009. [2] [3] In 38 years as Alcorn State's coach, McGowan won over 700 games. [4] The field and stadium were officially dedicated on September 4, 2010. Plaques commemorating the dedications were added on May 6, 2011. [2]
Alcorn State's longest tenured head coach was Willie E. "Rat" McGowan, who has coached the team from 1972 to 2009.
Year(s) | Coach | Seasons | W-L-T | Pct |
---|---|---|---|---|
1959 | Louis Crews | 1 | 7–7 | .500 |
1960–1969 | William H. Foster | 8 | 82–84–1 | .494 |
1971 | Davey Whitney | 1 | 14–8–1 | .630 |
1972–2009 | Willie E. "Rat" McGowan | 38 | 720–663–7 | .521 |
2010–2015 | Barret Rey | 6 | 115–218 | .345 |
2016–2021 | Bretton Richardson | 6 | 66–166 | .284 |
2022–present | Reggie Williams | 1 | 2–39 | .049 |
Totals | 6 coaches | 61 | 1,006–1,185–9 | .459 |
Below is a list of notable former Braves and the seasons in which they played for Alcorn State.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for most sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly referred to as Division I-AA.
William Hendrick Foster was an American left-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro leagues in the 1920s and 1930s. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. Foster was the much-younger half-brother of Rube Foster, a Negro league player, pioneer, and fellow Hall of Famer.
Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium has been the home stadium of the Jackson State Tigers football team since 1970. Originally known as War Veterans Memorial Stadium, it was later known as Hinds County War Memorial Stadium. It was redesigned and enlarged in 1960 and Ole Miss vs. Arkansas dedicated Mississippi Memorial Stadium in 1961 before a capacity crowd of 46,000. With political support from Ole Miss and Mississippi State and leadership from Ole Miss Athletics Director Warner Alford, Mississippi Memorial Stadium was enlarged to 62,500 in 1981 and on September 26, 1981 Ole Miss and Arkansas again dedicated the facility before 63,522.
Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I.
Marino H. "The Godfather" Casem was an American college football coach and athletic administrator. He served as the head coach at Alabama State University (1963), Alcorn State University (1964–1985), and Southern University, compiling a career record of 159–93–8. Casem's Alcorn State Braves teams won four black college national championships and seven Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) titles. Casem also served as the athletic director at Alcorn State from 1966 to 1986 and at Southern from 1986 to 1999. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
The Alcorn State Braves are the college football team of Alcorn State University. The Braves play in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The Jackson State Tigers football team represents Jackson State University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
Davey Lee Whitney Sr., also known as "The Wiz", was an American college basketball coach and the head basketball coach at Texas Southern University from 1964 to 1969 and Alcorn State University from 1969 to 1989 and 1996 to 2003. He amassed a total record of 566 wins and 356 losses in 33 seasons of coaching at both institutions.
The 2011 Alcorn State Braves football team represented Alcorn State University as a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference during then 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Melvin Spears, the Braves compiled an overall record of 2–8 with a mark of 1–8 in conference play, tying for fourth place in the SWAC's East Division. The team played their home games at Casem-Spinks Stadium in Lorman, Mississippi.
William "Bill" Foster Baseball Field at Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium is a baseball venue in Lorman, Mississippi, United States. It is home to the Alcorn State Braves baseball team of the NCAA Division I Southwestern Athletic Conference. The field is named for Bill Foster, former Negro leagues baseball player, member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and Alcorn State head baseball coach from 1960 to 1971. The stadium is named for Willie McGowan, head baseball coach from 1972 to 2009. In 38 years as Alcorn State's coach, McGowan won over 700 games. The field and stadium were officially dedicated on September 4, 2010. Plaques commemorating the dedications were added on May 6, 2011.
The 2012 Alcorn State Braves football team represented Alcorn State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Braves were led by first-year head coach Jay Hopson, and played their home games at Casem-Spinks Stadium. Hopson is the first non-black head coach to coach at a historically black university in either the MEAC or SWAC. They were a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and finished the season with an overall record of four wins and seven losses.
James Walter Hopson is an American football coach and former player. In 2016, Hopson made history as the only head coach in the history of the state of Mississippi to guide two different in-state universities to bowl games when he led the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles to a victory in the New Orleans Bowl. During his head-coaching tenure with the University of Southern Mississippi (2016–2020), Hopson ushered the Golden Eagles to four straight bowl-eligible seasons, with his defenses and offenses ranking in the top-5 and top-25 in the NCAA, respectively. Additionally, in his four full seasons from 2016 to 2019, Hopson guided the University of Southern Mississippi to 20 conference wins, which made him the second-winningest coach in Conference-USA during that span.
The Alcorn State Braves and Lady Braves represent Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi in intercollegiate athletics. They field 15 teams including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, and track and field; women's-only soccer, softball, and volleyball; and men's-only baseball and football. The Braves compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The 2015–16 Alcorn State Braves basketball team represented Alcorn State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by first year head coach Montez Robinson, played their home games at the Davey Whitney Complex in Lorman, Mississippi and were members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Braves finished the season 15–15, 13–5 in SWAC play to finish in second place. They lost to Mississippi Valley State in the quarterfinals of the SWAC tournament.
The 2017 Alcorn State Braves football team represented Alcorn State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Braves were led by second-year head coach Fred McNair and played their home games at Casem-Spinks Stadium in Lorman, Mississippi as members of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They finished the season 7–5, 5–2 in SWAC play to win the East Division. They lost the SWAC Championship Game to Grambling State.
The 2019 Alcorn State Braves football team represented Alcorn State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Braves were led by fourth-year head coach Fred McNair and played their home games at Casem-Spinks Stadium. They were members of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The 2020–21 Alcorn State Braves basketball team represented Alcorn State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by first-year head coach Landon Bussie, played their home games at the Davey Whitney Complex in Lorman, Mississippi as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The 2021 Alcorn State Braves football team represented Alcorn State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Braves played their home games at Casem-Spinks Stadium in Lorman, Mississippi, and competed in the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They were led by fifth-year head coach Fred McNair.
The 2022 Alcorn State Braves football team represented Alcorn State University as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by head coach Fred McNair, who was coaching his sixth season with the program. The Braves played their home games at Casem-Spinks Stadium in Lorman, Mississippi.
The 2023 Alcorn State Braves football team represented Alcorn State University as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by head coach Fred McNair, who is coaching in his seventh season with the program. The Braves played home games at Casem-Spinks Stadium in Lorman, Mississippi.