Plenty of activity Thursday for three of the HBCU football programs in South Carolina. The biggest news came out of Orangeburg where South Carolina State President Alexander Conyers announced to the Board of Trustees that Benedict coach Chennis Berry had been selected as the new football coach replacing the retiring Buddy Pough.
The board approved the hiring of Berry who compiled a 27-7 record in three seasons with the Tigers. His teams were 22-2 the last two seasons winning back-to-back SIAC Championships and advancing to the Division 2 Playoffs.
State has also hired one of their former football players, Nathan Cochran, to be their new athletics director. He has been at Walsh University in Ohio.
Across Taylor Street from Benedict, Allen University has lost head football coach Teddy Keaton to Clark Atlanta University. Keaton restarted the Yellow Jackets program in 2018 and led them through the transition from NAIA to Division 2. He had his best season this season with the team going 7-3.