Casem returns to Alcorn State as interim athetics director

ALCORN STATE, Miss. - Marino H. Casem, the man who made Alcorn State University a household name during his 20-year reign as athletics director between 1966 and 1986, has returned to the university on an interim basis in thesame capacity.

Casem will serve as Alcorn State's chief athletics administrator until the university hires a permanent replacement for the post previously held by Lloyd Hill, who retired in June. The Memphis, Tennessee native said he is happy to assist the university during this transition period.

"It feels a little strange but I'm happy to be back here on an interim basis to assist the university," stated Casem who also gained acclaim as Alcorn State's all-time winningest football coach during his prior stint at the university. "The program's on solid ground here. My role will be to make sure it stays that way until a new athletic director is brought in."

When he previously worked at Alcorn State, Casem brought national acclaim to the university. As athletics director, he assembled a winning team of coaches and staff mernbers who made Alcorn State one of the SouthwesternAthletic Conference's revered powers. The university produced an Olympic Gold Medallist, a world record holder in the 100-yard dash, first round draft picks in basketball and football, and built a world-class athletics complex andarena under Casem's tutelage.

As head football coach from 1964 to 1985, he captured seven conference championships, seven national black college championship and was named both the National Black College and SWAC Coach-of-the-Year a total of seven times.

Casem resigned from his dual roles at Alcorn State in 1986 to become athletics director at rival Southern University.

At Southern, he inherited a relatively dormant program in all sports but quickly converted it into the top overall sports program in the SWAC. Between 1996 and his retirement in 1999, Casem guided Southern to seven SWACCommissioner Cups, six SWAC men's all-sport trophies, and nine SWAC women's all-sport trophies. The variousteams at Southern captured 59 championships during Casem's stint at the Baton Rouge university.

Casem has received numerous awards and citations throughout hisprofessional career. A few of his notables are as follows. Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame (1992), Alcorn State University Hall of Honor(1993), Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (1994), All-America Football Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award (1994), Football Writers Association of America Citation of Honor (1994), The National Football Foundation and CollegeHall of Fame's Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award (1999) and The Louisiana Association of Athletic Directors' The Carl Maddox Award (1999).Casem and his wife Betty currently reside in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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