Following a nearly two-decade run as the winningest baseball coach in Savannah State University program history, Carlton Hardy informed his SSU players on Thursday, Aug. 8 that he had resigned from the school to accept the head coaching job at Division I Alcorn State University (ASU) in Lorman, Mississippi. Hardy confirmed the news in a direct message exchange with Connect Savannah on Thursday afternoon. The 1993 graduate of Grambling State University will get his chance to return to the ranks of NCAA Division I by departing from SSU, which competes in Division II and within the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).

Savannah State tallied an overall record of 31-17 in Hardy’s final season at the helm. The Tigers went 28-2 in 2022 while winning the SIAC conference regular season championship; Hardy was named the conference coach of the year that season, backing up his being named the 2013 NCAA Division I College Baseball Coach of the Year almost a decade previously at SSU.

“I would like to thank President Dr. Tracy Cook, Athletic Director Robert Raines, and Deputy Associate Athletic Director (Compliance) E. Dwayne Robinson for the opportunity to become the next Head Baseball Coach at Alcorn State University,” Hardy said through an ASU press release announcing the hire. “I am excited for this opportunity to become a member of the athletic department. It is an honor to mentor and lead this program to success and multiple championships. I’m all in. Go Braves!”

Hardy led the Tigers in 2013 to a historic Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title, the school’s first conference title competing at the NCAA Division I level. His club that year made the program’s first ever appearance in an NCAA Regional Tournament.

His impact on the program was felt immediately in his first season in 2006. That year, Hardy led SSU to a 30-19 record that included one of the biggest wins in SSU athletics history to that point—a 10-2 victory over Florida State University in a non-conference contest played at Grayson Stadium. The next year, he led SSU to another 30-plus win season (31-23) while securing the program’s 10th straight winning season.

ASU had an overall record of 6-43 last year playing in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

FALCONS OWNER HELPED FUND SSU’S NEW TURF FOOTBALL FIELD
The project which allowed for the installation of new artificial turf at SSU’s T.A. Wright Stadium was partially funded by a grant from the foundation of Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank, according to a Board of Regents (BOR) approval document obtained by Connect Savannah through the Georgia Open Records Act last week.

“On behalf of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the NFL Foundation, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, we are pleased to notify you that Savannah State University has been selected for a grant in the amount $1,033,600 from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Invitational Field Refurbishment Program to be used for improvements to your campus football field surface,” the grant approval notice from April 1, 2024 says.
“In addition, you will receive a separate grant of $100,000 to cover expenses incurred by the University in the management and oversight of the field renovation services provided by the Land Tek Group.”

The Tigers had a 5-5 record in head coach Aaron Kelton’s first season in 2022, but they lost four one-possession games last year to finish with an overall mark of 2-8. SSU opens the 2024 season at Southern University on Sept. 7 (7 p.m.) before playing their first home game at 6 p.m. on Sept. 14 versus SIAC opponent Central State University.

This article appears in Connect Savannah I July 2024.