Special to The Sun
LANGSTON —
To the victors go the spoils. Langston University is the highest ranking HBCU athletic program in the NAIA for the first time in university history as several of LU’s athletic programs won conference championships during the 2009-2010 season.
In the final standings of the 2009-10 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, Langston was the top- ranked HBCU in the NAIA, outdistancing Xavier (LA) University by 88.5 points. Langston finished with 243.5 points from performances by ten athletic programs.
Stellar performances by Langston’s football, women’s basketball, and both track and field teams highlighted a banner year for the university and led to the first-ever achievement by the school’s athletic program.
Athletic Director Patric Simon, in his third year at Langston, praised his staff and the student-athletes for their role in the university’s achievement. He said he believed this would also lead the institution to make even greater strides in the future.
“I would hope that it would be a strong tool,” Simon said. “For us, it’s a tremendous accomplishment.”
The Langston University football team finished the season 8-4 after claiming a second straight conference championship and qualifying for the NAIA playoffs for the second consecutive season.
Both men’s and women’s track and field teams were able to sweep the Red River Athletic Conference Championships. The Lady Lions’ basketball team had separate winning streaks of 12 and 11 games before losing in the first round of the playoffs by two points.
Although Langston finished 52nd overall among the 290 NAIA schools, the program only fields a team in ten sports compared to 21 used in determining the point system. Azusa (CA) Pacific ranked first among all NAIA teams with 820 points, winning for the sixth consecutive year.
