ATHLETICS
Former ASU coach, AD dies
Don Floyd, who helped lead Arkansas State through two undefeated seasons -- first as an assistant coach then as athletic director -- and raise funds for its current football stadium, died in Little Rock on Monday.
Floyd was 87.
He spent more than 20 years as a high school coach, college assistant coach and administrator, all in Arkansas. His career included the 1964 season as a coach in which ASU finished 7-0-2, and the 1970 season in which it went 11-0, won the Pecan Bowl and the NCAA's college division national championship when he was athletic director.
Born in Charleston, Floyd attended Arkansas Tech before serving in the Army in Korea in 1951-1952. He graduated from Arkansas Tech in 1953. He began coaching football and track and field at Charleston High School in 1953-1957. He became head coach and athletic director at Stuttgart in 1957, leading his team to a 53-21-2 record. He coached two state championship track and field teams.
Floyd was hired by Coach Bennie Ellender to coach ASU's defensive backs in 1964. He spent one season on the staff before becoming an assistant athletic director. He became athletic director in 1969, helped raise funds for what is now Centennial Bank Stadium -- which opened in 1974 -- and helped all of ASU's sports achieve Division I status.
Floyd left ASU in 1975 to join the staff of then-U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers.
Floyd was inducted into the ASU Letterman's Club Hall of Honor in 2003 and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
FOOTBALL
ASU's Mondie leaves team
JONESBORO -- Senior defensive tackle Robert Mondie has left the Arkansas State football team and has ended his career, Coach Blake Anderson said Wednesday.
Anderson said Mondie told him Wednesday of his decision, citing a lost desire to play the game through injuries. Mondie has played in just two games this season while battling an ankle injury.
"Just didn't feel like his heart was in it, his body is beat up, didn't want to be a distraction," Anderson said. "We wish him the best. He'll graduate in December and finish his degree."
Mondie earned honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference honors last season. His appeal to the NCAA for a sixth year was not resolved until late July, and he didn't return to campus after his appeal was granted until the week practice began.
Mondie made four tackles during the season.
"We made it really clear in the last few days that we're either all in or all out," Anderson said. "He just didn't feel like it's what he wanted to do."
-- Troy Schulte
BASKETBALL
UALR adds two walk-ons
Brandon Brady and Kanaan Jackson have joined the UALR men's basketball team as walk-ons, Coach Wes Flanigan announced Wednesday.
Brady is a Pulaski Academy graduate who spent last season as UALR's student manager. He played one season at Eastern Oklahoma State and one season at Lyon College before arriving at UALR last season. He averaged 23 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists as a senior at Pulaski Academy in 2012-2013.
Jackson is a Jacksonville High School graduate who spent last season at Arkansas Baptist in Little Rock, where he averaged 12 points and eight rebounds. Jackson averaged 17 points and eight rebounds for Jacksonville in 2013-2014.
GOLF
Team Arkansas near bottom
Team Arkansas is in 49th place after Wednesday's first round of the USGA Men's State Team tournament at the Country Club of Birmingham in Birmingham, Ala.
Team Arkansas shot a 16-over 158 and is near the bottom of the 52-team field featuring all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. There is a four-way tie for first among Missouri, Connecticut, Ohio and Texas at 2-under 140.
Beau Glover of North Little Rock led Arkansas with a 5-over 76, which featured 2 birdies, 3 bogeys and a quadruple-bogey 8 at the par-4 sixth. Jonesboro's Stephen Cox and Little Rock's Trey Schaap each shot 11-over 82s. Cox had 7 bogeys and also had a quadruple bogey at the sixth, while Schaap had a birdie, 6 bogeys and 3 double bogeys.
Arkansas tees off between 7:30 and 7:50 a.m. today and must finish in the top 21, plus ties, to advance to Friday's final round.
UCA women finish eighth
The University of Central Arkansas women's team finished eighth Wednesday at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, Colo.
UCA shot rounds of 301-295-289 to finish at 885. San Diego State won the tournament at 866, followed by Denver and Pepperdine (874), Old Dominion, Washington State and Tennessee (881), New Mexico State (884) and UCA (885) in the 17-team field.
UCA sophomore Cindy Oh finished tied for eighth overall with rounds of 75-71-70-216. Senior Brenda Gonzalez shot 73-76-71-220 and tied for 19th.
TENNIS
Benefit tournament set in Fort Smith
An adult tennis tournament will be held Friday through Sunday at Ben Geren Tennis Center in Fort Smith with all proceeds going to help pay the medical expenses incurred by the family of former Razorback All-American Tim Siegel, whose 9-year-old son, Luke, suffered a traumatic brain injury in a golf cart accident.
Siegel recently retired as Texas Tech's tennis coach after 23 years.
The tournament will feature adult and junior clinics with Nick Bollettieri on Saturday.
For more information, call (479) 782-5333.
SOCCER
Header powers John Brown
Sophomore Jastin Redman headed in her fifth goal of the season with 20 minutes left to play as the John Brown University (7-1-1, 1-0-0 SAC) women beat Mid-America Christian (Okla.) on Wednesday 1-0 in Oklahoma City.
Sports on 09/29/2016