Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Week 10 Women’s Mid-Major Top 5 rankings

Although no new teams entered the mix, Week 10 of Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Women’s Mid-Major Top 5 was rife with movement, with four of the five teams occupying a different spot in the rankings than the previous week.  5. Edward Waters Lady Tigers (23-5, 21-3)  The Lady Tigers of Edward Waters took a tumble down the rankings, falling from No.2 Edward Waters was shockingly, unceremoniously, and emphatically bounced out of the SIAC Tournament via an 80-49 quarterfinal beatdown at the hands of Albany State. Despite not…

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Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Week 9 Women’s Major Division Top 5

Week 9 of Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Women’s Major Division Top 5 saw a new team enter the mix, with no movement in the rest of the rankings.  5. Southern Jaguars (14-13. 11-5)  After being unranked the previous week, the Jaguars enter the rankings at No.5. Southern went 2-0 last week, beginning with an 80-61 win over Florida A&M on February 26 and following that with a resounding 73-47 shellacking of Bethune-Cookman on February 28. SU wraps the regular season with meetings at Alabama State and Alabama…

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Week 7 Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Mid Major Women’s Basketball Top 5

Week 7 of Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Mid Major Division Top 5 saw no new entrants , a new team is now seated on the throne atop the rankings.  5.Fayetteville State Lady Broncos (20-4, 18-3) The Lady Broncos stay at No.5 in the Week 7 rankings. FSU is coming off a perfect week, defeating Shaw 73-57 on February 9 and thrashing Livingstone 81-55 on February 12. The Lady Broncos currently are second in the CIAA, trailing only Winston-Salem State.  4.Miles College Lady Golden Bears (18-3, 12-2) Just…

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Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Week 7 Women’s Major Division Top 5

Week 7 of Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Women’s Major Division Top 5 saw a new participant enter the mix, while the remaining four teams played musical chairs.  5.Alabama State Hornets ( 12-12, 9-4)  The Hornets enter the Week 7 polls after previously falling outside the top 5. Alabama State went 2-1 last week. The Hornets started the week off with a 67-53 defeat at the hands of Grambling before bouncing back with an 86-70 win over Mississippi Valley on February 12. Alabama State is third in the…

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Week 6 Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Major Division Women’s Basketball Top 5

Week 6 of Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Major Division Women’s Basketball Top 5 saw a fair amount of shuffling in polls, with a new entrant into the top 5.  5. Norfolk State Lady Spartans ( 11-12, 6-2) The Lady Spartans enter this week’s polls at No. 5 after being outside of the top 5 the previous week. Norfolk State went 1-0 last week, defeating North Carolina Central 58-45 in their lone outing. The Lady Spartans are currently second in the MEAC, trailing Howard.  4. Alcorn State Lady…

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Week 6 Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Women’s Mid-Major Top 5

Week 6 of Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab saw no new teams enter the polls and was largely a slight reshuffling of the proverbial deck.  5.Fayetteville State Lady Broncos (16-3, 10-2)  The Lady Broncos of Fayetteville State fall a spot to No.5 in this week’s rankings. FSU split a pair of games, starting the week off with a 50-36 loss to Winston-Salem State on February 7, but bouncing back to decisively defeat Shaw 73-37 on February 9. The Lady Broncos currently sit second in the CIAA’s Southern Division,…

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Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Major Division Top 5

The winds of change swept through Week 5 of Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab with a tornadic force, as three new teams entered the mix and a new team occupies the pole position.  5. Tennessee State Tigers (9-4)  After being unranked the previous week, Tennessee State enters the polls at No. 5. The Tigers split their games last week, surprisingly falling 90-85 to Tennessee Tech, but rebounded with a 77-68 win over Eastern Illinois. Tennessee State is currently tied for second place in the Ohio Valley Conference, trailing…

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2026 Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Ben L. Cavil Sr “Big Ben” Award candidates

The Ben L. Cavil Sr “Big Ben” Award was established to recognizeand reconstruct the historical resistance of HBCUsby analyzing the cultural climate of HBCU athleticprogram by highlighting the sports career of BenL. Cavil Sr.  Cavil was an All-American fullback at Wiley College in the mid 1920s. Honorees of this prestigious award must embody the characteristics that defined Ben L. Cavil Sr – determination, diligence, teamwork, integrity, performance, fraternal and communal engagement.  Here are this year’s nominees for the “Big Ben” award.  Andrew Body | Alabama State | Corpus Christi, TX…

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Dr Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Week 16 Major Division Top 7

Week 16 of Dr. Cavil’s comes at the end of another spectacular season of HBCU football culminating in an exciting and unforgettable Celebration Bowl. No new teams joined the party and each of the top 7 held on to their respective seats.  7 Grambling State Tigers (7-5, 4-4)  Grambling stays at No.7 in the final rankings. The Tigers finished the season with a 7-5 mark, their best record since putting together a 6-5 campaign in the 2019 season. Grambling was able to place three players on the All-SWAC First Team…

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Week 15 Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab Major Division Top 7 

Week 15 of Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab saw no invitees to the party but did see some shuffling of the proverbial deck. 7. Grambling State Tigers (7-5, 4-3) The Tigers of Grambling State University remain at No.7 in the Week 15 rankings. In their most recent and final outing of the season, Grambling suffered a heartbreaking 28-27 loss to Southern in the Bayou Classic. The Tigers were unable to convert a potential go-ahead field goal and then fumbled in Southern territory on the would-be game-winning drive, leaving…

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