I’ve been doing this for a long time, and seen a lot of things, but this is a new one to me. It definitely gets my vote for strangest press release of the year…

Fort Valley State University has announced Mark Sherrill as the sole finalist candidate for the vacant men’s basketball position.

I’ve seen schools announce the finalists for a position in press releases where they invite the college community to public forums with each candidate. This is the first time where I’ve seen a school announce a “sole finalist”, and I’m a bit confused. Has he been hired? Is he about to be hired? What if he bombs the community meeting? Did they interview anyone else? Anyway, here’s the release from FVSU:

FVSU’s Athletics Department invites the campus community to meet the sole finalist to become head coach of the men’s basketball team, Mark D. Sherrill. Mr. Sherrill will join Vice President of Advancement and Interim Athletics Director Anthony Holloman at 1 p.m. on Thursday, August 30, in Student Amenities Center Room 207 for a forum to discuss the future of FVSU’s basketball program.

From a pool of almost eighty diverse candidates, Sherrill was selected by a search committee made up of staff, board members, and alumni. The goal of the search committee has been to identify a proven coach and a high character individual with the ability to become immersed in the FVSU culture, as well as an individual who has been a successful part of athletic programs as a coach and as an athlete. The priority of the Athletics Division is to create a program “where everyone wins, including teams, students, fans, and contributors.”

For the past 24 years, Sherrill has served as associate head men’s basketball coach for Charlotte, North Carolina’s Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) Golden Bulls. He has been inducted into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Hall of Fame. During his tenure coaching the Golden Bulls, the team won CIAA Western Division championships in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 and Southern Division championships in 2016 and 2018. The team made it to the NCAA Division II tournament “Elite Eight” in 2001. Sherrill has also served as head men’s cross country coach and director of Johnson C. Smith’s basketball camp.

Sherrill recruited 43 All-Conference performers, 11 All-American performers and three players who were named CIAA Players of the Year. His experience as an elite student athlete himself gives him unique insight into student academic and athletic success. Sherrill is the JCSU second all-time leading scorer with 2,552 points. He set a school record for most points in a season with 774 during the 1990-91 season and finished eighth in the nation in the 1991 rankings. He was named to the NCAA Division II All-American basketball team, the first male to do so in JCSU history. He was named CIAA Rookie of the Year and earned a first team All-South Atlantic Region selection from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

I’m not sure if there will be another release announcing that he has been officially hired or not. Stay tuned to HoopDirt.com for more…

(Photo Courtesy FVSU Athletics)

Full press release HERE