Twenty Football Coaches Chosen for Inaugural NCAA Program for Ethnic Minorities
TSU's Reese Picked for NCAA Coaching Program

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has chosen 20 ethnic minority football coaches to participate in the first NCAA Advanced Coaching Program, which is a component of the recently created NCAA Coaches Academy.

The Coaches Academy is one of the NCAA's initiatives to attempt to address the critical shortage of ethnic minorities in head coaching positions in the sport of football. The mission of the Academy is to assist ethnic minority coaches in excelling in head coaching positions, to enhance and strengthen the skills that many ethnic minority coaches currently possess and to provided exposure and networking opportunities for these coaches.

Of the 117 Division I-A head football coaches, only four are African-American.

"Intercollegiate athletics must make significant improvement in hiring minority head coaches, and the Advanced Coaching Program is an important tool in that effort," said NCAA President Myles Brand. "The NCAA is taking a leadership role with this initiative, and I'm eager to see positive results from the program."

The following individuals have been selected to participate in the 2004 NCAA Advanced Coaching Program:

* Anthony Alford, Iowa State University, assistant head coach
* Roddrick Boykin, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, defensive coordinator
* Earl Buckingham, San Jose State University, assistant head coach/defensive line
* John Campbell, University of Michigan, assistant head coach
* Mark Gale, Marshall University, associate head coach
* Rodney Garner, University of Georgia, assistant coach/recruiting coordinator
* Darryl Jackson, Arizona State University, receivers coach
* David Kelly, Stanford University, offensive coordinator
* Michael London, University of Virginia, assistant coach/recruiting coordinator
* Reginald Mitchell, Michigan State University, runningbacks coach/recruiting coordinator
* Albert Preston, University of Notre Dame, assistant coach
* Theilsen Smith, Clemson University, defensive line coach
* Donald Thompson, University of Illinois, Champaign, assistant coach
* Ronald Aiken, University of Iowa, defensive line coach
* Duane Brooks, Yale University, assistant coach/defensive line
* Derek Mason, St. Mary's College (California), assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator
* Darryl Mason, Northwestern State University, offensive coordinator
* James Reese III, Tennessee State University, head football coach
* Daniel Gonzalez, Lenoir-Rhyne College, co-offensive coordinator
* Rubin Stevenson, Frostburg State University, head football coach

The 20 coaches chosen for the Advanced Coaching Program will receive intense three-day training in areas such as communication, fiscal responsibilities, building a successful program, moral/ethical considerations and academic issues.

"It is our hope that these 20 coaches, after they receive the exceptional training and mentorship through this program, will eventually become viable candidates for head coaching positions at Division I-A institutions and that they are seriously considered by college athletic directors, college presidents and boards of trustees," said Eugene Marshall, chair, Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee and athletic director at Ramapo College.

The Advanced Coaching Program will be held January 2-4, 2004, in Orlando, Florida, and precedes the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) convention. The NCAA will administer all programs within the NCAA Coaches Academy and will receive support from the AFCA and the Black Coaches Association (BCA).

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