Florida A&M reportedly finalizing deal with 1993 Heisman winner Charlie Ward to become men's basketball coach

The former 2-sport star at Florida State was a first-round draft pick of Knicks and played 9 seasons with New York
Charlie Ward led Florida State to the 1993 national title after winning the Heisman Trophy. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Former New York Knicks guard and Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward is set to become a college basketball head coach.
According to ESPN, Florida A&M is finishing a deal to hire the ex-Florida State star as its next men's basketball coach. Ward recently served as an assistant coach for USA Basketball during the 2025 Nike Hoops Summit.
The 54-year-old won the 1993 Heisman Trophy while he was a two-sport star with the Seminoles. Ward played guard for the FSU basketball team while also serving as the football team's quarterback. In 1993, he completed nearly 70% of his passes for 3,032 yards and 27 TDs with just four interceptions. He also rushed for 339 yards and four scores.
The Seminoles went 12-1 that season and beat Nebraska 18-16 in the Orange Bowl to win the national title after finishing first in the final AP Top 25 of the season. FSU's only loss came to Notre Dame in November when the Fighting Irish won 31-24 in a matchup of the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the country.
Ward chose basketball over the NFL, however, and was a first-round pick of the Knicks in the 1994 NBA Draft. He played for nine seasons with the franchise before ending his career with the Spurs and Rockets. Ward averaged 6.5 points per game over 580 appearances with the Knicks and shot 41% from the field.
Ward is being lined up to replace Patrick Crarey II after Crarey left the Rattlers to coach Grambling less than a week ago. Crarey was with the school for just one season as the Rattlers went 14-17 overall and 10-8 in the SWAC with a win in the conference tournament.
That record was an eight-game improvement over the 2023-24 season, when Florida A&M went 6-23 and just 4-14 in conference play. The Rattlers haven't had a winning season since making the NCAA tournament as a No. 16 seed in 2007 as a member of the MEAC.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

USA Today

4 hours ago

• USA Today

Who won the Golden Spikes Award? Amateur baseball's top MVP honor announced

The 2025 Golden Spikes Award winner was announced prior to Game 1 of the College World Series national championship on Saturday, June 21. The Heisman Trophy of amateur baseball was awarded to Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, who led the Razorbacks to the CWS semifinals, where they fell to LSU. The winner was announced at Charles Schwab Field Omaha, with all three finalists appearing in person. REQUIRED READING: First-year coaches to reach College World Series finals: Coastal Carolina's Kevin Schnall latest Aloy won the award over Florida State shortstop Alex Lodise and Tennessee pitcher Liam Doyle, both of which led their teams to the super regional round of the NCAA Tournament. He's the third player from Arkansas to win the Golden Spikes Award, joining Kevin Kopps (2021) and Andrew Benintendi (2015). Aloy slashed .350/.434/.673 on the season with 21 home runs and 68 RBIs in his second season at Arkansas after transferring from Sacramento State. The projected first-round pick of the 2025 MLB Draft was also the SEC Player of the Year in 2025 and made five errors in 229 total chances. 🌟 WEHIWA ALOY IS GOLDEN 🌟 'In a season that featured outstanding individual efforts from a wide range of players, Wehiwa Aloy stood above the rest,' said Paul Seiler, the executive director of USA Baseball. 'Wehiwa's 2025 season was nothing short of incredible to watch and he is greatly deserving of this honor. We are excited for Wehiwa to join our incredible family of Golden Spikes Award winners and look forward to celebrating his special season.' Aloy succeeds Georgia's Charlie Condon, who won the award in 2024 and was selected with the third overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies. Past winners of the award include Bryce Harper, Buster Posey, David Price and Stephen Strasburg. Here's what to know of the Golden Spikes Award: What is the Golden Spikes Award? The Golden Spikes Award is considered the Heisman Trophy of college and amateur baseball, as the award is given to the best amateur baseball player in the country. While the award is typically given to Division I college baseball players, there are some examples of the award going to a player from a different level. For example, future No. 1 overall pick Bryce Harper won the award in 2010 despite attending College of Southern Nevada, a junior college program. The award is voted on by USA Baseball, with 5% of votes being determined by fans.

New York Post

6 hours ago

• New York Post

LeBron James says he can't play ‘much further' as retirement speculation deepens

King James is almost ready to pass the crown. LeBron James, 40, was asked during Fanatics Fest at the Javits Center on Saturday about his retirement plans. He just finished his 22nd season in the NBA and was playing against players as young as those born midway through his third season. Advertisement 'I can't play that much further,' James said. LeBron James dunks against the Knicks this past season. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST Advertisement Well, duh. Without a definition of 'that much,' James is essentially avoiding the question. Does he mean one season? Two? Or will he try to push the G.O.A.T. limits and push to 45 like Tom Brady did before retiring? So, what could push James to retirement? Advertisement He joked that freaks like 7-foot-3 Victor Wembanyama – who was sitting near James on the stage – making life difficult could be the impetus for his exodus. 'The more and more time that I play,' James said, 'as long as he keeps smacking my f–king shots into the stands, it's going to make me retire.' LeBron James speaks onstage during Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 at Javits Center on June 21, 2025 in New York City. Getty Images Like Brady, James is still playing at a high level at an age that defies Father Time and does no disservice to the memory of his MVP heyday. Advertisement He made the All-NBA Second Team and led the Lakers to 50 wins and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs this past season. James achieved one career goal that Brady never could. He played alongside his son, Bronny, on the Lakers when Bronny played in 27 games as a rookie. Wembanyama revealed during Fanatics Fest that he looks to James, Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic as role models and goes to the three former NBA champions when he has questions. He had a 45-minute conversation with Jokic during All-Star weekend, according to Sports Illustrated. James already is the leading scorer in NBA history and one of four players to win championships with three different franchises (Cavaliers, Heat and Lakers). He has been answering — or dodging — retirement questions for what feels like a decade.

Yahoo

7 hours ago

• Yahoo

Emerging TE recruit Julius Miles sets finalists, verbal commitment date

Despite collecting nearly 30 scholarship offers through his rise as a football recruit, Julius Miles is down to just three. The Freeport (Fla.) High School star tight end, who also excels on the basketball court, will play his college football in the ACC. Advertisement "Let's make it a top three," Miles told Rivals. "Florida State, Louisville, Syracuse. "All of them are great options. I'm leaning on my family and the man above for the guidance in this decision." The date the college football world will learn of the output of said pledge has also been settled on. The rising-senior recruit will make his commitment public on July 5. Miles took visits to a handful of programs, with Syracuse earning the trip in early June and Louisville closing out the visit slate in hosting the Floridian this weekend. FSU is semi-local for the three-star, who has been to Tallahassee several times. Advertisement CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State Miles commented on each finalist ahead of the final decision. Florida State: "With FSU I love what Gus (Malzahn) is installing in the offense, it's a no-brainer. I'm a Florida kid so staying home wouldn't be bad at all." Louisville: "Louisville always makes it feel like home and the system they present to me is great. They need a Day One impact tight end and see me doing that. Also they have a loaded class." Syracuse: "Their system fits me well and I love how they used Oronde Gadsden II and I could see myself topping everything he did in that system. The Syracuse staff also shows crazy love." Before averaging 27.5 points per game on the hardwood as a junior, Miles put together a head-turning football seas in registering 59 receptions for 895 yards and seven touchdowns for the FHS Bulldogs.