Sports – Xavier University of Louisiana Student Media

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

October 31, 2022October 31, 2022 Kareemah Muhammad

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…

Baton Rouge College Football Historic game has epic tailgate

September 20, 2022September 20, 2022 Faith LeMelle

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…

Athletics programs relocated pending Convocation Center repairs

September 16, 2022 Jordan Booker

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…

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

September 14, 2022 Hannah Stoutmire

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…

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

September 13, 2022September 13, 2022 Kareemah Muhammad

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…

XULA Softball Team powers through first season despite Covid regulations

April 14, 2022April 27, 2022 Endya Gillard

By Endya Gillard In March 2020, Xavier University of Louisiana announced they were launching a SoftballProgram starting in the Fall of 2020. The team’s first opening day was against Texas University-Texarkana and they did not look like a first-year program. Despite taking the Covid test twice a week, transfer Junior Mecolett Bradley is the team’s firstbaseman and she did not let Covid affect her. “When I am on the field, it doesn’t even feel like covid is a thing until we go back to the dugout and put our mask…

New Year, New Season, Still COVID

March 15, 2022March 17, 2022 Mekayla Marshall

By Mekayla Marshall Amid uncertainty for a complete athletic season last year at the Xavier University of Louisiana, the university launched a new softball program. Last year, Leslie Ballard and LSU standout, Shemaiah Sanchez, coached the first-ever softball team at the Xavier University of Louisiana. “Last year, we had a lot more challenges not knowing if we were going to play because of COVID,” Ballard said. “We’ve had a few scares, one that resulted in canceling a series of games.” Considering this is the first colligate softball program in New…

XULA student-athletes face challenging work-life balance

March 15, 2022March 15, 2022 Karrington Stewart

By Karrington Stewart In the 2021-2022 school year, multiple athletes have complained about being overworked, burned out, and not receiving enough breaks to recover their bodies. The majority of sports teams in Xavier University attend practice early mornings about five to six times a week. “Being a student-athlete at Xavier is all about what you make it out to be. You have to give it your all or nothing at all,” said Kynnedy Turner, a Xavier track and field athlete. “I am homesick because of track. I haven’t been able…

The Women’s Athlete Perspective on the Disparities Between Men’s and Women’s Sports at the Collegiate Level

March 14, 2022May 2, 2022 Kiersten McCollum

By Kiersten McCollum The U.S. Women’s soccer team has just settled their equal pay lawsuit after a six-year legal battle and yet discrepancies between Women’s and Men’s sports continue at a rampant rate. While inequity at the professional sports level is beginning to receive more national attention, these same issues at the collegiate level are still yet to be widely covered. despite collegiate athletics being the root of many of the problems seen in professional leagues. “Honestly, after looking at the numbers and stuff and being realistic, you can’t be…

Atlanta Falcon’s receiver Calvin Ridley suspended for betting on games

March 7, 2022March 10, 2022 Jerin Minor

By Jerin Minor On Monday, March 7, 2022, the NFL released a statement regarding the gambling scandal of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver, Clavin Ridley. The league confirmed that Ridley, 27, gambled on several games that occurred during the 2021 season while the athlete was taking time off for mental health reasons. The activities transpired over a five-day stretch in late Nov. 2021. This is the NFL’s first penalty for a gambling-related issue involving a player since 2019. “Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage…