Virginia Union University has had lots to brag about during it’s more than a century of football.  

The only problem is it has been a while — some contend way too long — since the Panthers have been able to stick out their chests and boast to other CIAA teams.

VUU’s new football coach, Alvin Parker, an alumnus who has tasted Panthers success as a player and as an assistant coach, hopes to re-light the celebratory candles this season while patrolling the Hovey Field sidelines.

The Parker era of Panthers pigskin commences Saturday, Sept. 1, with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Hovey Field against Seton Hill University of Greensburg, Pa.

The game will mark a long-awaited homecoming for Coach Parker, who starred as a running back/receiver at VUU and later served as an assistant to revered Coach Willard Bailey.

“This is my dream job and I’m happy to build on the legacy of this storied program,” Coach Parker said. “We embrace our position at the front porch of the university.”

Coach Parker returns to Lombardy Street as head coach after other successful stints as an assistant coach at Elizabeth City State and St. Augustine’s universities in North Carolina.

He replaces Coach Mark James, who was let go following a 26-15 record in four seasons. The Panthers were 6-4 a year ago, but third in the CIAA Northern Division behind Virginia State and Bowie State universities.

It’s not like the Panthers program is teetering on the brink. Coach James’ squads were explosive offensively and most entertaining. Along with some off-field issues, Coach James’ problems centered around the team’s inability to beat archrivals Virginia State and Bowie State.

Coach Parker is a link to past glory. The Panthers’ last CIAA title was in 2001 under Coach Bailey, with Coach Parker as a top aide.

Also, VUU’s last NFL draftee was Pete Hunter, who was drafted in the fifth round by the Dallas Cowboys in 2002. Hunter was among the athletes Coach Parker groomed.

A total of 18 Panthers were drafted by NFL teams between 1961 and 1988.

Coach Parker welcomes some ready-made talent to the Panthers squad this season, starting with defensive back Sterling Hammond, the reigning CIAA Defensive Player of the Year.

Hammond plays with quickness, uncanny instinct and a serious attitude. The junior from Essex High School blows up plays. He was a finalist last season for the Cliff Harris Award, which is given to the nation’s top small-college defensive back.

Hammond starts the season on Lindy’s Preseason All-America chart.

Also, Hammond and offensive tackle Shamdu Nalls, a senior from Baltimore, are on the HBCU National Player of the Year watch list.

Nalls is 6-foot-4, 330 pounds and serves as a bodyguard for returning quarterback Darius Taylor. Opposing players have to get through Nalls to reach Taylor, which is akin to attempting to run through a concrete wall.

After sitting out two seasons, Taylor joined the Panthers last season and is arguably the CIAA’s top quarterback after Bowie State’s Amir Hall, the 2017 HBCU Player of the Year.

The Panthers football trophy chest is gathering dust.

VSU, the CIAA champion in 2014 and 2017, and Bowie State, the champion in 2015 and 2016, have been the nuts VUU has been unable to crack.

Panthers fans may still be a bit spoiled from the successes of former Coach Bailey and former Coach Joe Taylor, who now serves as VUU’s athletic director. VUU won six CIAA titles between 1973 and 1986, while making eight NCAA tournament appearances.

Coach Parker was the team’s offensive MVP in 1996 and 1998. His name is still listed in some all-time rushing and receiving categories.

In his four years as Coach Bailey’s assistant during Bailey’s second tenure, the Panthers reached the CIAA title game three times, winning in 2001.

Those are the types of results VUU’s faithful fans are used to. Those are the types results Coach Parker hopes to bring back this season. 

Seton Hill University, a Roman Catholic school affiliated with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Association, is coming off an 0-11 season in which it was outscored 597-263.

The Griffins were 5-6 in 2016 and 3-8 in 2015, all under Coach Isaac Collins.

The Panthers’ home stand will continue Saturday, Sept. 8, when Carson-Newman University of Tennessee comes to Hovey Field for the annual Willard Bailey Classic.