PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Prairie View A&M football defensive coordinator Heishma Northern has been selected to attend the 2010 NCAA Champions Forum in Anaheim, Calif. beginning on June 22.
The forum, which is in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Convention, is considered the “top tier” of the NCAA Coaches Academy Programs as only 15 football coaches from across the nation and 15 athletics directors have been invited after being selected by a committee of former NCAA athletics directors and coaches. The goal of the Champions Forum is to link the coaches with athletics directors who can provide insight on their hiring philosophies and be a bridge to their colleagues who one day may have vacant coaching positions at their universities. In addition, the forum also provides workshops for them that will consist of one-on-one meetings, mock interview sessions and keynote speakers.
Northern will be the only representative from the Football Championship Subdivision ranks and one of three coaches among the 15 participants who doesn’t coach on the FBS level currently. The remaining 12 coaches are currently on staffs at major schools that participate in conferences such as the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12, PAC 10 and Conference USA.
Prairie View’s defensive unit has become one of the perennial units in the SWAC and FCS ranks since Northern’s arrival in 2005. A native of Baton Rouge, La., Northern has taken advantage of every opportunity provided to him outside of Prairie View as this will mark his second appearance in the NCAA Coaching Academy Program. In 2007, he was selected to participate in the NCAA Expert Coaches Academy which took place in Miami, Fla. Additionally, Northern has also completed a training camp internship with the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League in the summer of 2009.
Of the coaches who have been invited to the NCAA Coaching Academy programs over time, 18 have secured head coaching positions in college football.
Northern will also appear live on the Jaguar Journal Radio Talk Show this Saturday at 9 a.m. in Baton Rouge on 1210 AM The Score. The show can be heard live via the World Wide Web at www.thescore1210.com.
