By: Habtom Keleta-Asst. AD for Media Relations
GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University athletics department has launched a series on Instagram titled "Rollin' With the G," which features some of the most prominent former student-athletes from Grambling State University.
Today's guest is
Grambling State University Vice President of Student Affairs and Director of Athletics
Dr. David Ponton. With nearly 30 years of experience under his belt, he was selected by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards to serve on the state's first Resilient Louisiana Commission Task Force. He was a an assistant coach under head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs during the legendary 90's GSU Lady Tigers teams that dominated the SWAC and set numerous NCAA, SWAC and Grambling records, and won multiple championships.
"Coach P" has been a trailblazer in the sports and academic world as he was
inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2017 for men's basketball (Southern University).
Episode 16 featured the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Senior Associate Commissioner for Administration,
Dr. Jason Cable. Dr. Cable is one of the highest ranking officials in the SWAC, which
announced in August that they would postpone fall sports. He recently completed his doctoral degree from Jackson State University, earning his PhD in Higher Education Administration in the summer of 2019 and has served the role of Senior Associate Commissioner for Administration with the Southwestern Athletic Conference since December of 2018.
Episode 15 featured Grambling State University Director of Sports Performance,
Kerry Thompson, Sr. The Birmingham, Ala. native was recently brought on board to Grambling after spending time as the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Allen University. Thompson also spent time working at the University of Alabama as well as the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Episode 14 was a defining moment for Rollin' With the G, which featured Grambling State University President Rick Gallot. Prior to taking the lead role at Grambling, President Gallot was a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate for District 29.
Earlier this month, he spoke on behalf of
Grambling State University for the Southwestern Athletic Conference's 100th anniversary.
Episode 13 featured current Grambling head volleyball coach
Demetria Keys-Johnson, of Detroit, Mich.
Coach Keys-Johnson is in her 10th season as head coach for Grambling and was the setter on a the Lady Tigers volleyball team that won three straight Southwestern Athletic Conference championships between 1995-97, defeating Prairie View, Mississippi Valley and Southern as they dominated the SWAC during the mid 90's.
Episode 12 featured Chad Williams of the Indianapolis Colts. Williams was a member of the 2016 Black College National Championship team and the 2016-17 SWAC championship teams at Grambling.
Episode 11 featured super-fan Ray Higgins, of Grambling, La. Higgins is one of the Gramfam members responsible for "Go Grambling" and gogrambling.com.
Higgins has over 16 years of experience in weekly press conferences, post game interviews, media days, black and gold games, along with spring and fall camps. Higgins also served as the researcher, main resource and director for the Eddie G. Robinson Museum.
Episode 10 featured Shiakiea Carter of the Lady Tigers basketball team who never lost a home game during her tenure at Grambling. Her team was the first team to go undefeated in conference play in the history of NCAA women's basketball
Episode 9 featured former 2x-SWAC women's basketball champion Joy Bowie Pitts, who is from Lake Charles, La. and currently serves as a registered nurse in Mississippi.
During her freshman year she was named 1993-94 Louisiana Collegiate Freshman of the Year and also earned first-team All-SWAC honors. In the same season, her team won the SWAC and made a trip to the NCAA tournament as the Lady Tigers faced Vanderbilt. Grambling made history that year by being the first of any women's HBCU program to make it to the big dance.
Episode eight featured a former 3x-SWAC Women's Volleyball MVP, Kim Young-Buford. During her senior year, she led the Southwestern Athletic Conference with a total of 519 kills and had the highest hitting percentage (.383). She won two championships with the Lady Tigers volleyball team (1996/1997) and also won a championship with the Lady Tigers basketball team (2001). She was the only player out of Louisiana named to the United States Volleyball League "Dream Team."
Episode seven highlighted Grambling State University's first female Director of Bands in the history of the program, Dr. Nikole Roebuck, of the World Famed Grambling State Tigers Marching Band. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Episode six featured recent graduate and former Grambling Tigers point guard
Ivy Smith, Jr., who led his team
to a 2018 SWAC Men's Basketball Regular Season championship, ending a 30-year drought for the Tigers. The Tacoma, Wash. native just completed an impressive senior season as he was
named Boxtorow Second Team All-American. He
was named First Team All-SWAC in recent weeks, leading the Southwestern Athletic Conference in both steals and assists per game. The senior leader also finished second in the conference in minutes per game.
He was also most recently named 2020
Louisiana Sports Writers Association honorable mention.
Episode five featured former Grambling State Lady Tigers captain, defender and two-time first team All-SWAC selection
Brittany Terry, also known as Miss Flip Throw, who was a key component in revitalizing the women's soccer program at Grambling. Episode four featured former MLB draft pick and Grambling baseball standout
James Cooper. He is currently Grambling's head baseball coach and was named 2010 and 2017 SWAC Baseball Coach of the Year.
Episode three featured former quarterback De'Vante "The Hulk" Kincade who won both SWAC and a national championship at Grambling State University in 2016, then another SWAC championship in 2017. He was named the SWAC Championship Offensive MVP. Episode two featured former GSU running back Mr. Excitement, Martez Carter, who also won SWAC and a national championship, and had a stint in the NFL. He was most recently a running back with the XFL's Los Angeles Wildcats.
The inaugural show featured Miss Quadruple-Double,
Shakyla Hill, who won a championship with the Grambling State Lady Tigers in 2018. She became the fifth D1 player in the history of the NCAA to produce a quadruple-double, and was the first woman to do so in nearly 25 years.
The new sports series will continue once a week throughout the spring and summer seasons.
The show will air for free on Instagram live (Grambling Athletics) on Tuesday, August 11 at 3:05 p.m.
Click
here to view Grambling State University athletics' Instagram page.
Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /gramblingstateathletics (Facebook), @gramblingathletics (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.
