Sports in West Baltimore and the longstanding Coppin State connection with WNST

Still in denial about the NIL, Nestor Aparicio welcomes Ruffin Bell of Coppin State over to Faidley’s Seafood in Lexington Market for a crab cake and a discussion about Eagles history and future goals. Bell, the marketing and promotion specialist on campus, highlights the success of various sports teams, including the volleyball and baseball teams winning the MEAC and the emerging ladies hoops squad with massive wins over Arizona State and George Washington this month. You can always hear Coppin State sports action on WNST-AM 1570.

Nestor Aparicio and Ruffin Bell discuss Coppin State University’s athletic achievements and community engagement. Bell, the marketing and promotion specialist, highlights the success of various sports teams, including the volleyball and baseball teams winning their divisions and the women’s basketball team beating GW and Arizona State. They also touch on the challenges of college sports, such as the transfer portal. Bell shares his personal connection to Coppin, including his daughter’s academic success and his role in fostering a family atmosphere at the university. They emphasize the pride in West Baltimore and the importance of community support.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Coppin State, sports partnership, COVID impact, athletic department, community pride, West Baltimore, baseball history, volleyball success, transfer portal, family atmosphere, student success, rivalry games, health improvement, crab cake, holiday event

SPEAKERS

Ruffin Bell, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:00

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Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T, am 1570 tassel, Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. Nancy Devine is staring at me on the wall. We’re here at fates. We have the fish and crab, the seafood Christmas tree out here in the netting. We are at fadelies of Lexington market, big, beautiful new space here at the new market. This guy came to the Old Market rough and Bell has been our partner for over a dozen years. We’ve been doing the COVID state sports broadcasting games, and back Juan Dixon was coaching the team now. Larry Stewart, I saw Stu over at State Fair a couple weeks ago, over to Catonsville side. Ruffin has been a partner of ours. If you put am 1570 on, you hear, I don’t know, the captain ladies beating up on Arizona State on am 1570 last week. It’s all because of rough and in our partnership, my brother always getting to get a crab cake with you. I think you join me in faintly once I I think you’ve been to pizza, John’s for the proceedings and and I know you were down to faintly couple years ago because you brought Dr Jenkins and you they, I’m bringing dog you. Here’s your boy. I’m bringing dog check. And I thought, just the two of you, the pep squads there the mascot game, I had the real eagle with me. So you’re alone today. I was a little worried. And you’re looking svelte, man, you’re

01:14

Yeah, it’s literally postcard for

Nestor Aparicio  01:16

health. Look at how healthy you look. Yeah. Literally, congratulations,

Ruffin Bell  01:22

getting there, getting there. It’s a process, you know, the

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Nestor Aparicio  01:26

new and improved, and there’s less of him to love, but the bigger heart of what is your title? Because I don’t want to screw it up, I’m terrible titles.

01:33

I am marketing and promotion specialist for the athletic department. Well, I

Nestor Aparicio  01:38

feel special that we’re involved in. I always have fun at your school. You know that we’ve been partners a long time, but I attended your holiday event with Dr Jenkins, and I’ve had Shanta Hayward on, I had Joshua Humbert on, different people, and I’m gonna get to the professors, and I’m gonna get to the coaches and all of that. But what a community you have, what a neat thing to be involved and how many years of COVID for you? And you come in honest, because you’re alone. Whoo, you walked on that campus. What year?

02:08

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Fall of 93 fall of 9331 years ago. It’s been a minute. It has been to

Nestor Aparicio  02:16

see the changes there. I saw people at your event, your holiday event, who were boosters and grew up. There was a beautiful lady that I had a meal with, and I know you’ll know her, because she’s copping, I’m

02:26

gonna say peaches. That’s the first person she told me

Nestor Aparicio  02:31

she grew up on the street where Coppin was, and then she went to Coppin, and she just loves copping. And she was just going on and on about how much you love copping. And I’m like, I’m from Dundalk. I feel I grew up in Dundalk. And when you feel that that is, that’s what every institution wants,

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02:50

it is true believer. It is, it is Coppin is home for me, you know, like I said, I’ve grew up there as a student, you know, came back, started coaching there, started teaching there. Now I’m back.

Nestor Aparicio  03:04

Did you play? You played baseball, cop and, yeah, yep. What position did you play? Started

03:08

off in center field, did a little bit of pitching in first base, but I ended up in right field, had a me act freshman of the year that beat me out at center field. Then Danny Singletary, who’s going into COVID Hall of Fame this winter, knocked me. He permanently put me in right field. He ended up playing double A for the Arizona I remember his name, yeah, absolutely. Danny was the one during the 97 run with the basketball team. He played basketball. He

Nestor Aparicio  03:41

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was on the team. He’s, he’s been on my show, he’s been in my studio. He’s, if you the I found the picture of me and Fang with all the players that came with the pizza that we broke the NCAA violations pizza, 27 years ago. And I was telling that story last night because there were people there who didn’t know about Fang, right? And I said, Fang, and they looked at me like I three hits. And I thought, well, everybody at COVID knows about Fang, don’t they, but I guess it’s been a minute. And I said, Well, the next time you’re in the gym, look down on the court. His name’s on the court, right? So, but fangs a real guy to you. Oh

04:17

yeah. Oh yeah. Fang kicked me out of the gym plenty of times for what? Taking ground balls on his court. You’re

Nestor Aparicio  04:24

playing baseball in the gym. Hey, I had to get my you know, outside. Knew that young man. Oh, he wasn’t that nice. Just get off the court. Get off the court. Get off my court. Is that press pretty good? Get off my court. It was great, though. You’re trying to keep moving out of my shot here, trying to stay in it. You’re moving around. Cop and updates. First thing, thanks for the partnership. We appreciate. I love having all your people on. Dr Jenkins, gonna come down here and be a part of the cup of Super Bowl. But the sports program and baseball, I’ve had Sherman. We had him talking a little baseball when the Orioles got eliminated, but at fall ball and all that. But you. Guys are winning some me, I championships over there. I think the athletic department and Derek’s out doing me act things right now, but it’s been elevated a little bit here, and by having angel in last year, the kind of games you’re getting now, this really a signature win for the ladies program. Let’s talk about that. I

05:15

mean, overall, the department definitely is moving forward. I mean, there’s no question about that. Volleyball team was got things going by winning the division, the baseball won the conference, then volleyball followed up by winning the conference, and it’s just been a lot of W’s all the way around.

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Nestor Aparicio  05:36

Volleyball coach on a month and a half ago, and that was fun, because volleyball is a game we all play. Yeah, I mean, and a lot of people don’t even know COVID plays volleyball, right? They know, like they would not know

05:45

that. And the ladies are great. They play in a great game. It is very exciting. It’s, have you been to a collegiate bowling match?

Nestor Aparicio  05:54

I have not.

05:57

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When you go, it is completely not whatever you’re thinking guarantees not pin busters. It is. It is very exciting. And that is our volleyball program, that is our bowling program, our women’s basketball just beat GW last night in overtime, beat Arizona State at home last week. I mean, mean, and the fellas men’s basketball lost by 10 to email this morning. Yeah. I mean,

Nestor Aparicio  06:29

that was the money games. And taking the big games, you know a lot about that, because you count the beans in the athletic department. You know where you know you’ve been at this a long time. Um, that was always COVID. That was Fang, that was the ax to carry, right? We’re going to take games at Kansas State. We’re going to take games we’re going to go through the Midwest. We’re going to play Texas this, and Missouri that, and we’re going to go on the road for 12 days in December and take the money for the university. Because I don’t understand this. N, i L, maybe you You’re laughing at me, but, and I look, I’m not going to disparage college sports, not with you standing next to me, but I have less interest than I’ve ever had in college sports. I’m talking football on Saturdays. I’m talking about the Terps blowing out whoever they blew out the other night, or whatever I just I’m having a hard time making this old man get off my lawn adjustment, not to the fact that these kids are making money, just to the fact that there’s no continuity. As a supporter of programs, you know, smaller your place would be different than that. That’s an advantage for, I think, for smaller

07:35

honestly, the n, i l wave has hit everyone, including you, everyone, and it is very challenging for our coaches, and especially when you toss in the transfer port, the new transfer portal. He said, the portal, it becomes, it has become free agency. And that

Nestor Aparicio  07:55

portal is not just a football or basketball portal that’s at the top of every funnel of every sport. There are those 20 kids that can change a program for as long as they’re there. And what Discus Throwers? It could be anything, right? Yeah, then you throw discus or something. Dude, did you do you did track? Did you do track? Middle school? Middle school, you were now track. I

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08:19

did run track for coffin. All right. Well, I said, I’ll say I

Nestor Aparicio  08:22

participate your alternate to the alternate. You know it well, you were center fielder. You must have had some wheels.

08:29

Baseball wheels are different than track wheels. Let me tell you, I learned that.

08:36

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And he’s still training at Coppin. He still does training at COP Dude,

Nestor Aparicio  08:41

I gotta get him on the show. He really let me carry the flag first country. Yeah,

08:48

we got, we got to set that up for you. Let’s do that. He, he is still working out at the school. And you know, whenever he has his international competition,

Nestor Aparicio  08:57

world class athlete and a great kid.

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09:01

Great young man, no longer a kid. Great young man. I mean, well, that’s what

Nestor Aparicio  09:06

you’re trying to turn out of COP and is good people, I mean, and that starts with Dr Jenkins straight. I mean, that’s the first thing about when I met you at the beginning, you’re like, You got to come over to cop. You got to see our place. You got to meet our coaches. You take me down the hallway, introduce me to everybody. Like, this is a family over here. It feels like I don’t want to be despair. It feels like a big old high school. Feels like a place where everybody knows everybody, and it feels like a comforting place to be. Whenever I’m there, I say that all the time.

09:29

It’s always had a family atmosphere. That’s what keeps cop in there. In fact, talk. I’m going to talk about my family. I now have my daughter and my son at Coppin, and the best thing for me this one’s ear hustling, because, you know, your kid doesn’t want to go to school where you’re working. Okay, right? Two months in her freshman year, I hear talking to her mom and the kid. Action. COVID was the best decision I ever made. And I’m sitting there watching TV, and I lowered the volume a little bit, so now, like, really, ear hustling here. Why was this? This was she’s about to graduate. So this three years,

Nestor Aparicio  10:17

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three years ago, during the plague. I mean, wow, okay, and

10:21

she was everything she loved about cop. I mean, I’m just, I’m sitting up there pumping fists in the room she doesn’t know. I’m just, I’m overhearing everything. I’m eavesdropping now, right? And she graduates this coming spring, danger English. She’s looking to be a screenwriter, and yesterday, she was accepted into a graduate school in England, and today, she was accepted into University of sterling in Scotland. So that’s two out of her five that she’s gotten into. So LSU, I think is she’s waiting to hear from them soon, and she’s also looking to find out if she’s going to be a Marshall Scholar. Well, I think that’s

Nestor Aparicio  11:15

a thing for you. And listen, part of a positive was born out of my friendship with with Don Mueller, and I remember going back to high school, going and every teacher, every school, wants you to come back and tell them how well you’re doing in life, how you’re having the reason you go to school is to prosper out here in real world, right, right? And, you know, I guess there’s a point where you’ve been there long enough that you’ve had you just mentioned Joseph amoe, all of these people from the time you were a student there, and you’ve been working there for two decades. That all of these people that came in as 1819, 20 year old, people even when you were 3035, now you get older, that you see the successes they have when they come back. Because homecoming is a real thing here. Yeah, and the disdain for Morgan is real. I found that out last night. You know, there’s a lot of things that common people say about you, Morgan. People, when the doors are closed, you don’t want to know about if you

12:11

wear an orange, it better have the Orioles. You better have the Orioles logo.

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Nestor Aparicio  12:15

Surprise. Ever got you over to Coco’s over? Too close to Morgan for you over there? Well, you know, before you lost you lost all that weight, you know?

12:23

But, yeah, we won’t talk about that coming

Nestor Aparicio  12:28

back, and the pride in that, and seeing all of seeing successful people come the Coppin with a dream graduate, and then years later, when you’ve been there, as long as you’ve been there, oh, I’m working in the government. I’m working here. I’m thinking, I get a job there. I’ve made a baby.

12:42

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It’s awesome I’ve had because, like I said, I was on the faculty side back in what was that early 2000 when Paul Blair was the head coach? Sure, okay, and the latest, yeah, and to see some of my students come back. Our assistant track coach is one of my former students. I’m still tripping out over that, and

Nestor Aparicio  13:05

now make it a life, a cop and coming back,

13:07

he’s a proud, proud parent, doing well in the coaching business. He has been at Tennessee, Georgetown, all these big time schools, and he had an opportunity to come back to copper to coach under his coach, and he took the opportunity. You know, I’m just, I mean, what can you say, Papa, it’s fun. Uncle Ruffin, it’s fun to see. No, we’re not gonna Ruffin

Nestor Aparicio  13:39

Bell is here. He is with Coppin in the marketing department, and gets us involved with all that we do with our all the games we put on. And right now we’re in basketball season, so I’ll talk about Stu and talk about the ladies and all that, a Morgan Coppin game at Coppin we’ve swabbed at that event for there goes my hero with you. I said last night I was at a cop and event. I said, cop and Morgan games, like every, everybody in Baltimore should go to one cop in Morgan. Oh, yeah, even if you do it over hill, yeah, do somewhere, but, but if you see the passion in this city for east and west, it’s really a neat, neat, neat, right? Be talking Raven Steelers next week, whatever. Morgan cop. It’s cool, man, yeah,

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14:19

it’s, it’s, it’s any rivalry. It’s when you think

Nestor Aparicio  14:23

city, though, a lot of rivalry, what Duke in North Carolina or whatever they’re nearby, but when the rivalry is a bus line, that’s, that’s a real

14:31

rival. It’s, it’s, it’s a rivalry, but at the same time as sister institutions will root for one another, but

Nestor Aparicio  14:41

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there is a right Steelers ever. So you got different we got different bloodlines here. Um, last thing for you before I let you disappear on the cop thing, Dr Jenkins said something I don’t want to paraphrase it, and it wasn’t about Morgan, although he did say something about Morgan, but um, to paraphrase is something like, where. Not running from West Baltimore. We are West Baltimore. He said something that to the effect of like, we’re not shying away from Baltimore and West Baltimore. We’re embracing that. And I feel that way about my East Baltimore card, my Dundalk card, my Towson card, my, you know, this tragedy with the Mangione. Thing that happened this week, I’ve talked about my pride in having 10,000 empty Orioles seats that that bothers me. I told Mr. Rubenstein that bothered me, the sense of sort of the pride that overtakes it all when you’re from a place and your place is being denigrated, whether it’s West Baltimore, East Dundalk, America, whatever your thing is, you’re going to defend that. And I just thought that was a beautiful thing to hear him talk about that, because I think there are a lot of people that beat on our city and beat on what we’re about, and I think especially the west side. I’m an East Side guy beating on the west side sometimes, but I just I found that there to be real conviction in that statement.

15:57

Yeah. I mean, like I said, cop in his home, West Baltimore is home for a lot of us. We grew up there, even for folks that come over from the east side that come to cop and Coppin gives opportunities and people. We’re a university. You grow, you learn, you’re going to go through personal challenges, academic challenges, right? But you have a support system that helps you get there, and that’s what keeps bringing people back and but that’s also Baltimore, you know, you grew up. You grew up here, you know, you help your neighbor. What if it snowed? You know, you go and help you help them shovel, you know. So it’s always been a family atmosphere. Well, I

Nestor Aparicio  16:40

appreciate that, man. I felt family listening. I wore my this is my I’ve got my Eagles belt buckle on. I’ll take it off. I had this one at the party last night, so I left it on today. This is my Go Eagles, baby. That’s what I’m saying, right there, right all right. Ruffin Bell is here. He is with Coppin State University. They are our partner. If you put the radio station on your north side of the beltway and you hear dribbling and hooping, Kyle’s calling the game left to right on your radio dial, and lots of lots of basketball ahead, right when we’re not even at Christmas yet. And the ladies, have we put down that eagle flag right there? It said we’re real. I mean, the ladies, they might be the best team in the me act, huh?

17:19

We’re going to prove it. We’re going to we’re not gonna say it, we’re gonna prove it. All right, and that’s what they’re on the mission on. And we have Ken state next Thursday, we’ll be airing it, all right, on the station here, and then Navy on the 21st on the men’s side. So that’ll be the next two. David Robinson’s

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Nestor Aparicio  17:35

not there anymore, right? Just checking all right. 611 center. Ruffin Bell remembers all the young, old timers. He’s been with copper a long, long time. You’ve lost, like, almost triple digits. Are you allowed to eat a crap like, where you want? A point system. What do you want? Here? Are you on? Eating vegetables, eating sensible What

17:55

do you I am eating whatever is on my plate.

Nestor Aparicio  17:58

Why are you losing away? You look great. I’m cheating.

18:00

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I’m doing the Manjaro, okay, and, you know, doing a little bit of working out as well. But it’s, it’s dropped the weight. It’s helped me with good diabetes. You

Nestor Aparicio  18:13

know, your numbers are getting better. Everything’s good. There

18:15

numbers are great, good. My numbers are great. And Well, you look great, you

Nestor Aparicio  18:19

look healthy, you look happy. You look like you’re telling me great stories about your kids. This is a beautiful thing, you

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18:24

know, I’m in I’m at fatales. I’m at a crab house. Come on down, you know,

Nestor Aparicio  18:31

get your crab cake. Talk to my friends by the Maryland lottery here, I’ve got Raven scratch off to give away next week, we’re going to be on Tuesday at amici. They don’t have a crab cake there. Don’t tell anybody, but I’m doing the show there anyway, and we got a full house for that show. And then on Wednesday, we’re gonna be Acosta’s wrapping things up for the holidays. Dami has given me this incredible this is a kitchen towel, but this is crabs and Christmas all in one place, which, you know, I’m from Dundalk. I like that sort of thing. I appreciate you. We’ll get the games back on here at am 1570 we are the flagship, proudly COVID State University, also supporting a lot of things are doing on the educational side, as well as raising some funds there to make the campus bigger and better off. Dr Jenkins on next month, we’ll be back here at Faith Lee’s for the cup of soup or bowl. I am Nestor. We are W, N, S, D, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stopped talking Baltimore positive. I.