&uot;The Godfather&uot; is back. Fifteen years after leaving Alcorn State as head football coach to become athletic director and football coach at Southern University, Marino Casem is returning to Lorman as interim athletic director.

Lloyd Hill, Alcorn State’s interim athletic director since 1995, resigned as athletic director because of an illness in his family.

&uot;The situation presented itself and they contacted me and asked me to give them a hand,&uot; said Casem, who was known fondly as &uot;The Godfather&uot; at Alcorn. &uot;The simply want some guidance. They didn’t want a lull in the program. It worked out where I could do it. It’s going to be a challenging situation to maintain a good program.&uot;

Casem, 66, recently retired from a 43-year career in college athletics that included a 13-year stay as athletic director and football coach at Southern University.

&uot;It’s not like I’ll be in unfamiliar territory,&uot; he said. &uot;I know a little bit about Alcorn. It’s a good situation.&uot;

Casem said he doesn’t know how long his stint will be.

”We’ll be there for at least 120 days, I know,” he said. ”They are having NCAA certification coming up, searching for a new athletic director, so I agreed to come up and help out.”

Casem joined Alcorn in 1964, leading the Braves to a 5-5 record. By the end of his 22-year coaching career on the Reservation, Casem would compile a 132-65-8 record, including four National Black Championships and seven Southwestern Athletic Conference titles.

&uot;There are some good players coming back in football and I look for better days ahead,&uot; he said. &uot;There certainly has been a lot of success in the other programs.&uot;