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ORANGEBURG, S.C. – South Carolina State University President Alexander Conyers announced the employment of a new athletics director and head football coach.
SC State alumnus Dr. Nathan Cochran will lead the Department of Athletics as athletics director, and Chennis Berry will join the Bulldogs as head football coach.
“I am very excited to welcome these two high-caliber leaders to the SC State team,” Conyers said. “They both bring the right blend of experience, skill, passion, character and conviction to lead our students to great things on the field and in life.”
Both men will succeed iconic Coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough in their positions. Pough retired as head football coach at the end of this year’s season after 22 seasons at the helm. With 151 wins, he is the winningest head football coach in SC State history. He has served as interim athletics director since early November.
“Go Bulldogs,” Berry said. “My family and I are super excited to be joining the SC State Bulldog family. The proud history, tradition and commitment to excellence both on and off the field are the driving forces to our excitement! It’s a great day to be a Bulldog.”
“I am extremely pleased to be selected to serve my alma mater,” Cochran said. “I look forward to the long-awaited return home.”
About Chennis Berry
Berry is no stranger to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). He arrives at SC State from the head coaching position at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, where in three seasons he amassed a 27–7 record, going undefeated in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference the last two seasons. He previously held assistant coaching positions at Morris Brown, Kentucky State, Fort Valley State, North Carolina A&T, Morgan State, Howard and Southern.
Berry earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Savannah State University. As a player at Savannah State, he earned First Team All-SIAC at offensive tackle and was named Black College All-American Honorable Mention in 1994. He also served as Savannah State's team captain. He later earned his master’s degree in public administration from Kentucky State.
As part of the NFL's Minority Internship Program, Berry has interned with six different NFL teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears.
“We are excited about Coach Berry not just because of his ability to change the outcome of football games but also for his ability to change young men’s lives,” Conyers said. “We are excited about his ability to motivate and inspire not just the football team but across the entire campus.”
About Dr. Nathan Cochran
Cochran’s career spans 20 years as a collegiate administrator and a football and track and field coach with nearly half of his experience with HBCUs. He arrives from Walsh University in Canton, Ohio, where he has served as athletics director and vice president for athletics since February of this year.
He arrived at Walsh from Xavier University of Louisiana, where he served as Executive Director of Athletics and Recreation. In that role, he oversaw 14 sports, the university recreation department and club sports.
A Colorado native, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from SC State in 2000, having played football for legendary head football Coach Willie Jeffries as a transfer student from Air Force Academy.
Cochran completed his master’s degree in management from Webster University in 2003 and his doctorate in adult and higher education from Morehead State University in 2023.
“As a former Bulldog student-athlete, Dr. Cochran can hit the ground running here at South Carolina State University,” Conyers said. “It is a great honor to welcome this loyal son back to the institution that shaped his future.”
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MLB sends message by suspending Victor Robles for bat-throwing incident
Major League Baseball announced that Mariners outfielder Víctor Robles has received a 10-game suspension and an undisclosed fine from the league. The suspension will begin as soon as Robles is reinstated from the injured list, though Robles has filed an appeal and the suspension is being held in abeyance until the appeals process is complete. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported these details prior to the official announcement. Divish notes that the M’s would have to play a man short during the suspension. Robles has been on the injured list for most of the year. Back in early April, he made a sensational catch in San Francisco but crashed into the sideline netting and dislocated his left shoulder, causing a small fracture in the humeral head of said shoulder. A week ago, he was finally able to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma. During that week, he was hit by pitches multiple times, as shown in this video breakdown from Jomboy Media. Although he was hit five times, only three of them were technically counted as hit-by-pitches, with the other two counting as swings. Regardless, the final incident saw Robles hit by Joey Estes of the Las Vegas Aviators. Of the five times Robles was hit, three of them were out of the hand of Estes, though the final two were counted as swinging strikes. Regardless of how it was scored, Robles was clearly upset and threw his bat toward the pitcher’s mound. It doesn’t appear as though it hit Estes or anyone else, but MLB is understandably taking a firm stance against a player using his bat in this dangerous manner and sending Robles a message. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto spoke to members of the media, including Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, noting that the club tentatively planned to reinstate Robles from the IL next week but those plans may change with the suspension. Divish suggests that perhaps the best plan is to reinstate Robles on Sept. 1, so that the M’s can at least play with a 27-man roster, though that would push his reinstatement into the middle of September. Reinstating him earlier would mean playing with a 25-man roster for a while, though that would also mean Robles would be able to be reinstated for more games. It’s also unclear how long the appeals process will take. Sometimes, players appealing a suspension will hang in limbo until their team goes to New York, where the MLB head offices are located. The M’s don’t play in New York again this year, so it’s not clear when the appeal would be scheduled for. Robles being in the minors could also complicate factors. The M’s would surely love for the appeal to drag out into the winter and for Robles to serve his suspension next year, since they are currently in a playoff race, though MLB presumably wouldn’t let it play out like that.
Changing of the guard: Power ranking 2025's NFL Week 1 QB changes
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Green Bay Packers: Keisean Nixon Gets 100% Real on Rookie Wide Receiver Matthew Golden, 'Acts Like He’s a Vet'
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