RALEIGH, N.C. – Saint Augustine’s College officially introduced head men’s basketball coach Ken Spencer and head women’s basketball coach Rachel Sloan Bullard Wednesday at Seby Jones Fine Arts Auditorium Gallery on campus.

College president Dr. Dianne Boardley Suber proudly welcomed both coaches and she praised the search committees instrumental in the selection of the candidates. She said she is confident both coaches will carry on the athletic and academic traditions of both men’s and women’s teams and is proud of the way college administrators and student athletes handled a very sudden transition.

“This is the first time the institution has had to simultaneously make a transition in both the men’s and women’s basketball programs,” Suber said. “Kudos to the student-athletes for weathering this transition. Our goal continues to be stressing physical acumen on the courts as well as academic excellence in the classroom”.

With their families in the audience, both coaches addressed the crowd briefly. Also in attendance were members of both men’s and women’s basketball teams, staff members, alumni and media.

Spencer, who was the associate head coach at Winston-Salem State University, thanked both President Suber and Athletics Director George Williams. He wants to continue the success of the men’s program, which won the CIAA championship and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in 13 years last season. The Falcons also won 27 games which set a modern school record, and posted the highest team grade point average for men’s basketball in 2010.

“I feel blessed for the opportunity,” Spencer said. “I feel good that the program is a winning one. We will be a different team. We lost six seniors who all started at some point in the season. However, there are talented kids in the program who work hard so the winning and losing will take care of itself.”

Bullard, a former assistant at Charleston Southern University and Butler University, is thrilled to take over a Lady Falcons’ squad which captured a division title for the first time in 17 years and won the highest team GPA award for women’s basketball. The bulk of the team returns, and Bullard says the goal is to win a conference championship.

“I am very thankful and grateful for this opportunity, and I thank Dr. Suber and Coach Williams for giving me a chance,” Bullard said. “We have a lot of work to do but our girls and assistant coach (Tim Valentine) are all on board with a forward motion for our program. The fact that we are all on the same page is a blessing. Let’s get it!”

RALEIGH, N.C. – Saint Augustine’s College has announced the hiring of Ken Spencer as the new head men’s basketball coach.  Spencer comes to Raleigh from Winston-Salem State where he spent the past four seasons as associate head coach in charge of recruiting.

“Coach Ken Spencer comes to Saint Augustine’s College with the experience, the capacity, and the zeal to continue the winning tradition established by this men’s basketball team”, said President Dianne Boardley Suber.  “My expectations of the program under his leadership are high, and I eagerly anticipate the positive results he will deliver as head men’s basketball coach”, she said.

Spencer takes over a program that won the CIAA championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament while claiming the highest team grade point average for men’s basketball in the 2009-2010 season.

"We are very pleased that Ken Spencer has agreed to become the head men's basketball coach at Saint Augustine’s College," athletics director George Williams said. "Coach Spencer’s wealth of life experiences has led him to develop many of the qualities that we were looking for in a head coach. Above all, Coach Spencer is a terrific teacher and a leader of young men. I think he is the perfect fit to lead our men's basketball program."

Prior to his time at WSSU, Spencer coached at Marlboro County High School in Bennettsville, S.C. In eight seasons, Marlboro County High was 173-51 overall, appeared in three state title games and won the state championship in 2001.

Spencer coached Marlboro County High to six consecutive region crowns. The winningest coach in the history of Marlboro County High, Spencer was named South Carolina coach of the year by the National Federation of High Schools in 2001. He was the South Carolina AAAA coach of the year in 2000 and 2005, the South Carolina Statewide coach of the year in 2001, and a six-time winner of the Region V AAAA Coach of the Year award.

Before arriving at Marlboro County High, Spencer coached two years at Scotland County High School in Laurinburg, N.C. Spencer’s teams at Scotland County and Marlboro County qualified for the state tournament each year. He coached over 20 high school players who earned college scholarships.

“I really feel blessed and give honor to God for his uncommon favor in blessing me with this position,” Spencer said. “I am so excited about my head coaching opportunity at Saint Augustine’s College. I am walking into a college that has rich tradition and is used to winning. I want to thank Dr. Suber and Coach Williams for their support. I am really proud and humbled that they blessed me with this opportunity.”

Spencer has a bachelor's degree in business management from UNC-Pembroke (1991). He returned to UNCP to obtain a physical education degree with teacher certification in 1992-1993.

He and his wife, Ellen, have two children, K.J. (23) and Karmen (17).

RALEIGH, N.C. – Saint Augustine’s College president Dianne Boardley Suber has announced the hiring of Rachel Sloan Bullard as the new head women’s basketball coach. She takes the helm of a program that won the CIAA Western Division title and boasted the league’s highest team grade point average for women’s basketball last season.

“I am confident that we have selected the right candidate for the job,” Dr. Suber said. “Coach Bullard was a standout among a field of well qualified prospects. While she understands that winning is important to any successful athletic program, she is committed to the more paramount goal of preparing our student athletes to excel academically so that they can be champions in this highly competitive, highly technological world.”

Prior to her appointment with the Falcons, Bullard spent two years with the Charleston Southern University women’s basketball program where she served as the assistant coach in charge of recruiting. She was also responsible for overseeing community service, scouting, developing post players, and assisting with marketing and promotions.

Bullard also spent two years as an assistant at Butler University where she helped the Bulldogs post a 20-10 overall record in 2007-08. The Bulldogs finished second in the conference in 2006-07.
“We are extremely excited about the future of our women’s basketball program under the leadership of Coach Bullard,” athletic director George Williams said. “I believe she is the perfect fit to lead Saint Augustine’s College. Coach Bullard knows the landscape of the Carolinas for recruiting NCAA Division II student-athletes. She has all the intangibles it takes to be successful in this profession. I expect her to be one of the true up-and-coming coaches in the immediate future."

Before becoming a collegiate coach, Bullard was the head girls’ basketball coach at Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, for one year. She also was the head coach at Laurens High School in Laurens, S.C., for two years.

Bullard was one of the greatest basketball players in school history at Presbyterian College, where she is the all-time leader in points (1,889) and rebounds (1,034). Bullard won South Atlantic Conference Athlete of the Year honors twice, one of only two student-athletes to accomplish the feat.  She was one of only four women’s basketball players in league history to record 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Her junior year, Bullard led the Blue Hose to a 28-2 record which set a school and conference record during the 1999-2000 season. She was a three-time All-Conference, All-Region and All-American selection, earning the distinction of becoming the program’s first Kodak All-American.

Due to her outstanding accomplishments, Bullard became the first women’s basketball player at Presbyterian College to have her jersey retired on Jan. 26, 2004. She was inducted into the South Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in June 2007.

She earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Presbyterian College and a master of education degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. The Greenville, South Carolina native and her husband, Dr. Roland Bullard Jr., have a four-year old son, Roland III.

Saint Augustine’s College is the top Division II athletics program among historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) according to the final standings of the 2009-10 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, which was released this month. The Directors’ Cup is presented annually to the best college athletics program in Divisions I, II and III and the NAIA.

The Falcons finished 38th overall with 379.50 points. They scored most of their points in men’s track and field, which accounted for 190 points. The Falcons won the NCAA outdoor title and were NCAA indoor runner-ups this season. Points were also scored in women’s track and field (139.5) and men’s basketball (50).

The Falcons finished higher than two other HBCUs which finished among the top 75 schools. Lincoln (Mo.) was 47th overall with 342.50 points, and Johnson C. Smith University was 67th with 270 points. Saint Augustine’s College and Johnson C. Smith are both members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA).

Grand Valley State (Mich.) scored 1,021.50 points to claim the Directors’ Cup. California (Pa.) was second with 703 points and Central Missouri was third with 672 points. The link to the standings and scoring system is http://www.nacda.com/directorscup/nacda-directorscup-current-scoring.html