Fayetteville State University Athletics

Athletics began at Fayetteville State Normal School shortly after the school was moved to its present campus on Murchison Road in 1924 when it was opened as the State Colored Normal School (1877-1924). In the early days, baseball and basketball were most popular among the male students, while basketball tended to be the main sport for women.  It is not clear exactly when each activity began, but there is photographic evidence that there was a baseball club in 1912 and a women's basketball team in 1916. It is not clear where these clubs played and who they participated against.

Students were the moving force behind athletics at that time. Athletic associations were formed in much the same manner as other clubs on campus. There was always a faculty advisor, as with other school functions, but the students organized and managed the operations.

Fayetteville State was a charter member of the North Carolina Athletic Conference (NCAC) in 1924, which served as the governing body for its first athletic conference. Teams were fielded in baseball and football for men and tennis for women.  Basketball was added a short time later. Fayetteville State had a four-acre athletic field that was surrounded by a nine-foot fence. It had, what was called at the time, an impressive grandstand. The football complex was called Smith Stadium in 1962.  It was later renamed Bronco Stadium.  It was renamed again in 1993 to Luther "Nick" Jeralds Stadium.

The program grew throughout the thirties. The football team of 1934 posted a 9-2 record, 1935 posted a 5-2-2 record, and 1936 posted a 6-1-1 record.

The crowning glory for Fayetteville State was the construction of Lilly Gymnasium in 1938. This was deemed one of the finest sports facilities of its time.  It was not only the home for college tournaments, it was the home site of the National Association of High School Basketball Tournament for three consecutive years, a record.  The tournament left only because the tournament rules prohibited playing at a single site for more than three consecutive years.

Track & Field was returned to the program in 1940 and continued until World War II depleted the athletic population in 1943.

The new gym (Lilly) sparked a rise in Bronco fortunes. Fayetteville State joined the Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (EIAC) in 1940. The conference was made up of schools with small make populations. Conference members included: Livingstone College, Morris College, Storer College, Elizabeth City State College, Virginia State College-Norfolk Campus (now Norfolk State), and Friendship College.

In the first year, the Broncos lost only one game in football and one conference game in basketball. They were runner-ups in the first EIAC Tournament. The women's basketball team were league champions with a 10-0 record.  The 1941 men's team won the EIAC Tournament Championship while the women maintained a high ranking despite three losses. The Lady Broncos took a 1,000-mile tour through the South and returned undefeated in eight games. They lost to Xavier University for the national championship held in Lilly Gym.

From 1949 through 1952 the Broncoettes' (the women's basketball team nickname) posted impressive records - 1949 (8-4), 1950 (13-3), 1951 (9-1), 1952 (15-1) and 1953 (16-2).  The women's program was a mainstay until it was discontinued in 1960.  The last team featured Hall of Fame player, Shirley Autry. Women's sports were reinstated in 1972 with the passage of Title IX, requiring all colleges and universities that received federal funding provides equal sports activities for their female population.

Fayetteville State maintained a strong program through the forties. They suffered during the war like most other schools. In 1946 their fortunes began to climb as "Big Gus" Gaines took the helm.  There was a full program including tennis and track for men and basketball and tennis for women.  Beginning in 1946, the Broncos won the EIAC Tournament Championship five years straight.  The 1950 football team took the EIAC Conference Championship with a 7-1 record, for its only recorded football championship. Their record was 7-1.

During these years the Broncos placed a number of players on the All-EIAC Team. In 1948 Randolph Worsley, Charles Mumford, Howard McAlister and William Harrison made First Team All-EIAC in football. Charles Black, Harold Cushingbury, and Henry Lawrence were members of the second team.  The following year, George Colburn and Ed Johnson were named First Team All-EIAC, while Charles Black and Herbert Spruill were named to the second team.

Thirteen Broncos were named to the 1951 All-EIAC team, with seven named to the first team. They were Sam "Snake" Williams, Fred Talliner, Andrew Turner, John Cotton, Allison Stanley, Doug Jackson, and Jim Eargle. Sam Williams later signed a free-agent contract with the Baltimore Colts, becoming the first known professional football player from Fayetteville State. Other football greats from this era were: Wildman Brayboy, Denry Lawrence, James "Red" Paige, Earl Garnett, John Jackson, Harold Ford, and John Jiggettee.

The glory of Bronco basketball dates back to the late forties. In a five-year span, 1948 through 1952, the Broncos won five consecutive EIAC Championships.  Willie Carter and Smith Coston were members of the 1948 All-EIAC Tournament Team in basketball.  Possible the most remarkable team was the last champions in 1952. The team featured a line-up of seven sophomores: Ten Benner, Augustus Young, Frank Davis, David Williams, James Boyd, William Jones, and Sam "Snake" Williams. Sam "Snake" Williams, a selectee to the EIAC All-Conference team, became Fayetteville State University's first professional athlete when he signed with the Baltimore Colts.
 
In 1954, the Broncos became a member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). From the beginning, things were tough in football, and the Broncos became everyone's favorite homecoming guest. Basketball maintained a measure of its glory.

With the departure of Gus Gaines after the 1956 season, the Broncos faced another sign of things to come: revolving coaches. Alumnus William Bryant took over for two years and won only two games. Hubie Doub followed him in 1959. Over the next four years, he moved the program out of the cellar into contention for the conference championship. He stepped down after his fourth to devote more time to teaching. Frank Robinson took over in 1963 and the program floundered again. In three years, he posted only four victories. Doub returned to the sidelines in 1966, but this time he could not work his magic. Although the Broncos played well, they lost games in the last minutes by close margins. This era featured Bronco greats, Willis McLeod, Jesse Williams, and Fred Rodgers.

The seventies welcomed a new coach, Raymond McDougal. After posting a 3-5-1 opening, Coach "Mac" put Fayetteville State on the football map. He posted a losing season in only three of his first ten years, with back-to-back 7-3 records in 1975 and 1976. Some of the greatest Bronco grid-ironers played during the seventies: James Godwin, Larry Walker, Karl Smith, Sylvester (Junk Yard Dog) Writter, Mike Wright, Ronald Crawford, Blenda Gay, Ronald Cox, Clarence Pointer, Maurice Franks, Burnis Travis, Ronald Goins, and Bertie Wadford.

He was unceremoniously removed as coach at the 1979 season.

With the reboot of women's sports in 1972,  Lauraette J. Taylor returned to the helm of the women's basketball program and guided FSU to the CIAA Finals (runner-up) in 1974.  In 1975, the Lady Broncos won the Tournament Consolation Game and in 1976 they were the tournament runners-up for a second time.  The Lady Broncos, under the mentorship of Maceo Smith, won the 1979 CIAA Women's Basketball Championship.  This was her first and last year of coaching basketball.

The 1980s saw the beginning of revolving coaches in the football program. Tom Harris stayed only one year, but long enough to start the program on a downward spiral before leaving for other pastures. He was replaced by William Head, who inherited a team in total chaos and never quite got things rolling. he resigned after three seasons and moved on to Kentucky State. He was replaced by his defensive coordinator, Robert Pulliam. He was able to guide the Broncos to the only winning season of the eighties, a 6-2-2 record in 1987. Pulliam never made the adjustment to working with the meager resources at Fayetteville State. The following year, unable to do the type of recruiting that he felt was necessary, he resigned after a losing season.

Raymond McDougal was named his replacement in April of 1989. it was felt that he could work the same magic that he had as interim basketball coach. He took over the job far too late to recruit and began the year with little replacement talent. While he remains the coach with the most wins in Bronco history, he is fast becoming the coach with the most losses.

Basketball remained a source of strength at Fayetteville State after joining the CIAA in 1954. The team struggled under Frank Robinson and began to rise under Paige Sanders.  Throughout this time, there were great players like Major Boyd and Fred Bibby. Gus Gaines returned to guide the Broncos in 1968 and was handed one of the worst seasons in his career, 7-14.

Basketball reached its greatest heights during the early seventies under the guidance of a little man with a great smile, Tom Reeves. Coach Reeves knew how to win and was able to show his players how to win. Like Coach McDougal, he joined the staff in 1970 when Dr. William Bell was athletics director.  They both brought their programs up together. By 1972, Coach Reeves had built a contender for the CIAA Tournament Championship. The Broncos were runner-ups that year, but Coach Reeves promised the Bronco family a championship. In 1973, he delivered. Before the dust had settled, tragedy struck. Coach Reeves died in the Spring of 1973, and the Broncos have not reached such heights since.

Otis Hawkins replaced Coach Reeves at the helm of Bronco basketball. He continued a measure of success that had been established. Just when things were about to flourish, lightning struck. Hawkins was removed for allegedly slapping a player.

His replacement, Dr. Joe Robinson, also served as athletics director. He had hardly broken the ice at Fayetteville State when lightning struck him. After beginning the 1976 season on a high, it was discovered that one of the players was ineligible because he was a transfer student and had been on the team at Winston Salem the previous year.  The Broncos were forced to forfeit all of their victories, more than a dozen. The team finished the year with only seven players. Among them were John Barrows and Arnold Chambers.  These young men demonstrated a high level of Bronco spirit. They, along with their teammates, carried the fight to every team they faced. Barrows was named All-CIAA.

Robinson got the Bronco Express back on track with a team of freshmen, built around forwards Ed Jefferson and Jeff Ballard. His efforts and good recruiting returned the Broncos to their winning ways. He was succeeded by his assistant and former player, Jake Ford. Ford posted food seasons in 1981 and 1982, but the program soon began to flounder into a revolving door for players. Most stayed only a year or two, then left for various reasons.  One reason was the lack of viable scholarships to offer. Ford resigned after the 1985 season. He was hounded by media and unlearned fans who expected him to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Jeff Jones was his replacement. A former assistant at Wichita State, Jones was expected to be a good recruiter.  He stayed only two years, (more than many of his players), before moving on to Delaware State. While Jones may have been good in time, he made the mistake of under-estimating the strength of the CIAA and its coaches; such as Hartley, Vaughn, Robins, Christian, and "Big House" Gaines. He left in the summer of 1987, leaving the team depleted of talent. 

Raymond McDougal, then head of the intramural program, was asked to take over the basketball fortune of the Broncos with no time to recruit, With a tea that consisted mainly of good players from the intramural program, he took on the impossible task. This team's lack of size and talent was far overshadowed by the tenacity with which they played. They posted ten wins, and numerous heart attacks, and nervous breakdowns. By season's end, they were one of the most feared teams in the conference because they forced such a high level of play.

After one year, Bronco alumnus Jeff Capel took charge of the athletic department and basketball. Again, slow decisions by the administration placed the coach in the precarious position of not being able to adequately recruit. Capel took this bunch of outcasts and molded the foundation for things to come. With a team led by a 6-4 guard, Otis Bellinger, playing center, the Broncos were again the terrors of the Double-A.  They won only seven games but discovered the nucleus of the 1990-91 team, Darrell "Sky" Armstrong, Phil Hart, and James "Slim" Allen. 

The Felton J. Capel Arena was completed in 1995 and is known as one of the best in the NCAA's Division II. It is named after a Fayetteville State University Board of Trustee Member. The state-of-the-art, multimillion-dollar Health, Physical Education, and recreation Building became the center-piece of FSU athletics. The building adjacent to the football stadium, undergoing renovations, is equipped with racquetball courts, weight rooms, dance studio, an indoor Olympic-size pool, and a 4,000-seat arena.

In 2002 Fayetteville State University and other Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) institutions committed to adding women's bowling as a varsity sport, a first for the conference. Under the leadership of Elorine Hill, the Lady Broncos won the inaugural CIAA Women's Tennis Championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II Mid-Atlantic Region by outlasting Johnson C. Smith 67-52.