When the news of the personnel changes at South Carolina State University reached Jerome Singleton on Tuesday, he admits he didn’t quite know what to say.

But, the South Carolina High School League commissioner felt he needed to say something. In March, after some deliberation, the SCHSL turned down proposals from several other sites and decided to bring the Class A football title games back to Oliver C. Dawson Stadium for the fourth consecutive year. Part of the decision was based on the relationship that Singleton and the SCHSL had developed with South Carolina State assistant coach Gerald Harrison and Senior Associate Athletics Director Brantley Evans, both of whom were reportedly fired by SCSU Monday. Harrison has confirmed that he has been informed that he would no longer be employed by the school after July 31.

“I’m a little ... I guess it just caught me off guard,” Singleton said Thursday morning. “I don’t get involved in any type of personnel matters, but I gladly want to state that Brantley and Gerald have done a great job providing and making us comfortable in playing the Class A title games at SCSU. And, I thought Charlene (Johnson) made a great decision of letting those two spearhead that and put it together.”

The idea of holding the title games at SCSU, lauded as a showcase for the city of Orangeburg as well as a way to expose young students and athletes to the school, was first brought to Singleton by Harrison.

“Coach Harrison and I had been in discussion about having the championship there long before it was there,” Singleton said. “The conversations I had with him were informal, but the first proposal that was brought forward ... coach Harrison was one of the men that came as a presenter ... he and Bill Hamilton.”

Singleton said that while Harrison did not make the decisions, he became one of the faces recognized with the proposal.

“Brantley (Evans) and Gerald (Harrison) did a yeoman’s job as far as making that comfort zone where we would feel very comfortable,” he said. “My staff and myself were the ones working with them, and we were very comfortable with those two. They made it a lot easier for us. Last-minute changes, they were able to accommodate us. When you try to put on an event like that, there are last-minute changes, and for the last three years we held it there we came out without a problem.”

Singleton said the move also surprised him because, dealing with high school athletics, he was familiar with the reputation of Harrison as a top recruiter for South Carolina State University.

“I can tell you from that coaches that I speak with all the time, they are impressed with the work coach Harrison does,” he said. “Being in this field, you can’t help but have those types of conversations, and when you mention coach Harrison almost every coach will tell you to a person that they think what he does is outstanding.”

As far as the title games go, the SCSHL deals in one-year contracts when it comes to the sites where it holds the events. Singleton said the firings would not affect future dealings with SCSU, but added that a big reason (Harrison and Evans) why the games will be at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium this season is no longer at the school.

“Like I said, those other proposals that were presented were very impressive and it entailed a long discussion,” he said. “The one that came from SCSU was impressive also, but I think if there was something that probably moved it over it was the comfort zone that was already established.

“The decisions (on state championship sites) are determined by the Executive Committee (of the SCHSL) and the agreements are with the venue,” Singleton added. “We don’t base it on personnel ... or because of the comfort zone that was established. Any decision would be on proposals by the venue.”

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553.

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