After a big win XULA Cheer is on their way to NAIA cheer nationals, again.

By Aamari Benford XULA cheer team has done it again. The team will return to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) cheer competition to defend their title as national champs. The NAIA Cheer and Dance Competition held “The Battle in the Big Easy” that took place Thursday Feb. 9. 2023 to Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 at Xavier’s Convocation Center. “I feel triumphant, I feel devoted to this. It’s like although I am tired, I know that I’m doing this for a deeper purpose and I’m committed, no matter how…

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More Black Women take leadership roles in sports

By Cam Finn On Feb. 1 was the 37th Annual Girls and Women in Sports Day. More women, and particularly Black women are assuming leadership and non-traditional roles in sports typically held by men. Autumn Lockwood will make history this month as the first Black woman to coach in a Super Bowl as an assistant coach to the Philadelphia Eagles, who will face the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Ariz. While Jennifer King completed her second season in the NFL as the assistant running backs coach for…

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Mental Health in College Athletes

By Skylar Stephens On March 10, 2022, Ohio State lineman, Harry Miller, decided to retire from his career as a college football player. After playing since 2019, he was done with the sport for his senior year. In his retirement announcement, Miller said that his retirement would be for the sake of his own mental health. “Prior to the season last year, I told Coach Day of my intention to kill myself. He immediately had me in touch with Dr. Candice and Dr. Norman, and I received the support I…

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From Bison to Gold Rush: Hannah Stoutmire Restarts Her College Athletic Career

By Kareemah Muhammad She transferred from Howard University. Now at Xavier, Hannah Stoutmire has had to start over her career in track and field after injury and setbacks. But she has been surrounded by sports ever since she was a little girl. Giving up is not in her DNA. “I grew up running track because it was always just around me,” said Stoutmire, who is from Dallas, Texas, majoring in Mass Communication. “My parents both ran track in high school. My mom ran track at LSU, and my dad played…

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Baton Rouge College Football Historic game has epic tailgate

By Faith LeMelle Louisiana State University hosted the Southern University of Louisiana for the first time in over one hundred years. But this event was not just about football. It was about the unity of the residents of Baton Rouge at Tiger Stadium on Sept. 9. “This game is an amazing opportunity to gather as a community and celebrate!” the mayor of Baton Rouge, Sharon Weston Broome tweeted on Sept. 6. Both campuses are nearly ten miles apart and each has competitive athletic programs. Both schools have Division 1 programs…

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Athletics programs relocated pending Convocation Center repairs

By Jordan Booker Xavier University of Louisiana Athletics hosted the Big Easy Blast-Off volleyball tournament, but it was not at the university’s Convocation Center on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. It took place at the University of New Orleans’ Human Performance Center, and this is because of damages to the Convocation Center that took place right before the start of the semester. Due to a domestic water pump springing a leak on to the first floor of the building, the Convocation Center does not have the ability to be the host…

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Battle in the 225: LSU and Southern have a historic matchup

By Hannah Stoutmire It might have seemed like a regular weekend across the state, but for those in Baton Rouge, it was a Saturday that went down in the history books. The Jaguars of Southern University and the Tigers of Louisiana State University went head to head for the first time. With Southern being a Historically Black University in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and LSU being a power-five Southeastern Conference school, the match was a highly anticipated by fans. It was not only a football game that made this such…

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Xavier Tennis Team Gears up for start of 2022-2023 season

By Kareemah Muhammad Xavier University of Louisiana’s women’s tennis team will start their 2022-2023 season on Thursday, Sept. 15, at the HBCU National Championships in Atlanta, Ga. with the addition of three newcomers on the team. New to the Gold Nuggets are: Mbali Langa of Johannesburg, South Africa. Langa is a transfer student from Hillsborough Community College located in Plant City, Fla. and is a sophomore now majoring in accounting. McKenna Danielle Wheatley of Madison, Miss. will also join Xavier women’s tennis and is a freshman majoring in biology/pre-medicine. Yi…

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