FLORENCE, S.C. – The Francis Marion University men’s and women’s basketball teams will close out their regular-season schedules on Saturday (March 1) when they play host to Clayton State University in a very important Peach Belt Conference doubleheader as part of Homecoming 2008 festivities.
The women’s basketball game will tip-off at 2 p.m. in the Smith University Center, followed by the men’s contest at 4 p.m. Admission to the doubleheader will be free.
Both contests can be heard on the radio at 100.1 FM The FAN with Allen Smothers handling the play-by-play. The video/audio broadcast of the doubleheader will also be available on the internet. The feed, produced through Penn Atlantic Inc., can be purchased at http://www.peachbeltsports.tv/. Viewers must set up an account prior to viewing, and each game is purchased separately.
Homecoming activities will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. with an Old Timers’ women’s basketball game in the gym, followed at 11:30 a.m. by an Old Timers’ Game for men’s basketball. Admission to the Old Timers’ events and the regularly scheduled basketball doubleheader is free.
The 23rd-ranked Patriot women (20-6, 13-6) will be attempting to capture outright their second-ever PBC regular-season championship. The 1998-99 FMU squad went through conference play 16-0 to win the crown.
Francis Marion is already guaranteed at least a share of the conference title, as five teams are tied for second place one-game behind the Patriots heading into the final weekend. Clayton State (17-9, 12-7) is one of those five teams tied for second. FMU defeated the Laker women 84-76 on Jan. 26 in Morrow, Ga.
A win on Saturday would also give FMU the top seed in next week’s PBC Tournament in Aiken.
The Francis Marion men (11-15, 5-14) have won three of their last five games heading into the season finale. Clayton State (13-13, 9-10) downed the Patriots 62-44 in their earlier meeting this year.
Between 12:30 and 2 p.m., PatriotFest will be held in the Smith University Center. This will include live entertainment, a picnic lunch, and an opportunity for alumni to interact.
At 1 p.m., the seventh-ranked Patriot baseball team (14-3, 3-0) will play a PBC doubleheader against eighth-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State University (8-1, 2-1). Admission is also free to the baseball game.
From 1:30 p.m. until approximately 5 p.m., the 10th-annual Swamp Fox Club Benefit Silent Auction, featuring sports memorabilia and merchandise, will be held in the Smith University Center gym. Admission to the silent auction is also free.
Between games of the regularly scheduled basketball doubleheader, at approximately 3:45 p.m., former Patriot women’s volleyball and basketball player Jennifer Grande Parker and former men’s basketball player Daryl Blume will be inducted into the FMU Athletic Hall of Fame.
A native of Des Plaines, Ill., Grande Parker played four years of volleyball (1993-96) and one year of basketball (1993-1994). She was a member of FMU’s chapter of Psi Chi Honor Society and was named to the 2005 Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll. She earned the B. S. Psychology degree in 1997 and the M.A.T. in 2000, and later received the M.Ed. from the State University of West Georgia.
She now resides in Charleston with her husband and two children.
She ended her volleyball career as FMU’s all-time leader in kills (1,523), aces (279), and digs (1,568), while owning eight Peach Belt Conference records. At the time, she became only the third three-time All-Conference selection in Peach Belt volleyball history, and in her senior year helped the Patriots go “worst-to-first,” winning the 1996 Peach Belt title.
She twice set the Peach Belt single-season record for service aces (93 in 1994 and then 105 in 1995), and was twice named the Peach Belt Player of the Week. She was twice named FMU’s most valuable player, and later returned to the court as a Patriot assistant coach for the 1998 and 1999 seasons.
Blume, a native of Louisville, Ky., played on the Francis Marion basketball team from 1976 to 1980. A three-time NAIA District Six All-Academic Team selection and a member of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) honor society, he earned the B. S. in chemistry in 1980, and went on to later receive an M.B.A. degree from University of South Florida in 1984.
On the basketball court, the 6-1 guard compiled career totals of 1,011 points, 282 rebounds, and 234 assists (against only 222 turnovers) in 114 career games. His career field goal percentage from the guard spot was a sparkling 51.8 percent. He ended his career third on the Patriot career scoring list and first in career assists. As a freshman, he was named the team’s most valuable player. In 1977-78, he played on the first-ever winning men’s basketball team at Francis Marion, and eventually helped the program to its first three NAIA District Six Tournament berths. Later, he was named to the Francis Marion 1970’s All-Decade Team for men’s basketball.
A current resident of Pinellas Park, Fla., he is currently president of BCH Mechanical Inc. He is also serving as the middle school boys’ basketball head coach at Shorecrest Preparatory School.
He is a member of the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) / Board of Directors and served as the 1997 president of the Associated Builders & Contractors Gulf Coast Chapter (ABC). He is a graduate of the Class of 2004 for Leadership Tampa Bay and was named the 1999 Entrepreneur of the Year by USF. He owns a State of Florida, Class A, Air Conditioning license and is a member of the Associated Builders & Contractors Beam Club Hall of Fame.
They join 31 current members in the FMU Athletic Hall of Fame, which was formed in 1991.
The 2008 Homecoming King and Queen will be crowned at halftime of the FMU/CSU men’s game.
