Alcorn hires Hopson as football coach

Alcorn State has hired Jay Hopson as its football coach.

Hopson, the former defensive coordinator at Memphis, was announced Monday. The school said on its website that it is the first Southwestern Athletic Conference program to hire a "non-black" as its head coach.

Hopson replaces Melvin Spears, who was fired in February after a 2-8 season.

Hopson played defensive back at Mississippi from 1988 to '91.