UNDER THE BANNER
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
SWAC LIFETIME AWARDS: The SWAC Alumni Association will honor four stalwarts of the
Southwestern Athletic Con-ference during its 7th annual
Legends Reception at 6 p.m. CT on Dec. 15 at the Sheraton Hotel
in Birmingham. Marino H. Casem, LaRita Greer
Daven-port, James Harris and the late
Fred "Pop" Long will receive the Alumni Association's
Lifetime Achievement Awards for their contributions to the
SWAC. Casem is the Hall of Fame former football coach and athletic
director at Alcorn State and
Southern who also coached at Alabama
State. Davenport was the SWAC's first assistant commissioner for
championships who facilitated cordial and professional
relationships with the media, corporate sponsors, member
institutions and conference supporters. She also coordinated
special events such as the SWAC Hall of Fame induction
ceremonies, the conference basketball tournament and
the McDonald's Heritage Bowl. Harris, currently vice
president of player personnel for the NFL's Jacksonville
Jaguars, was an All-American quarterback at Grambling
State in the mid-1960s, MVP of the 1967 Orange
Blossom Classic and the Pittsburgh Courier's Player of the Year
in 1968. Harris was the Buffalo Bill's eighth-round pick in
the 1969 NFL and he became the first black player in
league history to enter a season as his team's starting
quarterback, the first black to start at quarterback in a postseason
game and the first black quarterback to play in the Pro
Bowl. Long, who coached football, baseball, basketball and
tennis and was athletic director at Wiley,
Prairie View, Texas College and Paul
Quinn compiled a career record of 227-151-31 in football from 1920-65. His teams won
three SWAC championships and four national championships.
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