The resignation comes nearly two weeks after the Alcorn football team garnered national attention for having to cancel practice for several days because they did not have any full-time athletic trainers to care for its players, and the part-time trainers who had been working with the program tested positive for COVID-19, heading into a guaranteed game with the University of South Alabama.
Alcorn named Cyrus Russ - the school's senior associate athletics director and head of NCAA compliance - as the its interim AD.
Braves football coach Fred McNair publically criticized the administration on his radio show. “This is an administration issue,” McNair said. “I could talk about it all the way till I turn blue. This has got to be fixed. We’ve got to be able to pay somebody to be the Alcorn State athletic trainer, and we don’t have one. That’s disheartening.”
“I want to thank the leadership at Alcorn State, especially (ASU president) Dr. Nave, for entrusting me with the honor of guiding our athletics department,” said Horne, in a statement. “I step away with a great sense of pride in what we were able to accomplish for our student-athletes, coaches, and staff during my time here.”
“I walk away with excitement and enthusiasm as I look forward to the next chapter of my professional career.”
“I thank AD Horne for his unwavering commitment and service to Alcorn State University,” said Dr. Felecia M. Nave, president. “Under his guidance, Alcorn athletics has proven to be a powerhouse in multiple areas — from supporting a winning culture to bring multiple championships to Alcorn to tackling compliance and ensuring that academics were foremost for our student-athletes. We appreciate the stability that he provided to ensure the success of Alcorn Athletics.”
During Horne’s tenure at FAMU he negotiated the largest guaranteed football contract ($900,000) for a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).