XULA graduate Landon Bussie hired as Alcorn State men’s basketball head coach

NEW ORLEANS — Landon Bussie, a two-time Xavier University of Louisiana graduate and a former XULA men’s basketball player and coach, was named Thursday the head coach at Alcorn State University in that same sport.

This is the first college head-coaching job for Bussie, 32, who worked at Prairie View A&M the past six seasons, the last five on the men’s staff. The Panthers won Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season championships each of the past two seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20) and the SWAC Tournament title a year ago.

Alcorn State, like Prairie View, is a member of the SWAC and NCAA Division I. Alcorn is in Lorman, Miss., about 142 miles north of New Orleans as the crow flies.

Bussie served four seasons (2010-14) on XULA’s men’s basketball coaching staff, the last three as a graduate assistant. He was part of Gold Rush teams which won 97 games, won three consecutive Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championships and qualified four times for the NAIA Division I National Championship tournament.

Bussie received his XULA bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2011 and his master’s in educational leadership in 2014.

“My time at Xavier meant a lot to me,” Bussie said. “My degrees in psychology and educational leadership will help me teach my student-athletes at Alcorn to analyze the game mentally. The degrees will help me lead and help teach my student-athletes to become leaders.

“(XULA) Coach (Dannton) Jackson taught me the importance of hard work and how important it is to work at mastering your craft every day. He showed me that relationships and family are important. A family atmosphere will be the most important thing that I bring to Alcorn.”

Jason Horn, XULA’s assistant vice president for student affairs/director of athletics and recreation, said he “always enjoyed my conversations with Landon Bussie — he is a thoughtful, intelligent young man. The Xavier family congratulates Landon and looks forward to watching him develop his new program.”

Bussie was a two-year letterman for the Gold Rush (2008-09 and 2009-10) after transferring from Livingstone College. He is from Baltimore, Md., and a graduate of Woodlawn High School. Bussie received his bachelor’s degree from XULA in 2011.

Bussie joins a group of XULA alums in multiple sports who became college head coaches. That list includes Leonidas Epps, Marino Casem, Minnie Finley, Alan Green, Bernard Griffith, Dannton Jackson, Claude Paxton, Doug Porter, Lisa Robinson, Dale Valdery, Monroe Walker, Otis Washington and Alfred Williams. Did we miss someone? Then let us know, please, in an email to athletics@xula.edu.