By MIKE POTTER, The Herald-Sun
Nov. 9 is going to be a big night for the N.C. Central athletics program.
The Eagles are in their first season in NCAA Division I, and so far they have had pretty good results against a primarily Division II football schedule and a handful of high-profile opponents in other fall sports.
But on Nov. 9, the Eagles really join the club of Division I programs as a couple of local rivalries will begin in earnest. The Eagles men's basketball team will play its first official game with Duke at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium, while women's team goes against North Carolina at 8:30 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium.
Those games were among the highlights of Wednesday's official release of the Eagles' first basketball schedules as Division I members. The men's schedule will be among the toughest in the country, while the women's schedule certainly is the strongest the Eagles have ever played.
Both season-opening games had been announced previously. But the totality of the schedules -- particularly on the men's side where they will be raking in big money on road trips, which include 15 of their first 16 games -- shows what life is going to be like for the Eagles as big-time expansion teams.
NCCU men's coach Henry Dickerson's club (13-15 last season), which has only seven home games, visits three members of the ACC with trips to Wake Forest on Nov. 19 and N.C. State on Jan. 9. A game at two-time defending NCAA champion Florida on Nov. 14 is on the schedule as part of the Blue Ribbon Challenge that gave the Eagles trips to Rutgers (Nov. 12) and North Dakota State (Nov. 17) as well as the Eagles' home opener against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 21.
Another huge opponent looms on Dec. 22 when the Eagles visit Nebraska, two days after visiting Creighton in their journey to the Cornhusker State. The Eagles will also travel to the Iowa Realty Tournament at Drake Nov. 30-Dec. 1, taking on the host Bulldogs in the first round with Duquesne and Cal State-Northridge in the field.
"This is going to be a big challenge, especially for a young team," Dickerson said. "We're going to be playing some of the best teams in the country, and our guys will know they have to play hard every night. It's going to be about learning to trust each other, and to keep getting better whether we win or lose."
Nine in-state opponents dot the men's schedule. Along with the ACC members the Eagles will travel to Davidson on Nov. 24, Western Carolina on Dec. 5, UNC Wilmington on Dec. 16, East Carolina on Jan. 5, then host Chowan on Feb. 16 and Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 20.
ECU, which defeated the Eagles 68-47 in Greenville, is the only holdover from last year's regular-season schedule. NCCU lost its exhibition games at Duke (92-63) and Wake Forest (68-60) last season.
NCCU will host the RTP Hilton Classic on Dec. 29-30 at McLendon-McDougald Gym, taking on Houston Baptist and Concord with former CIAA rival Elizabeth City State the other team in the doubleheaders. The Classic opponents along with Chowan and Lenoir-Rhyne are the only non-Division I foes on the schedule.
As an independent, Dickerson's club will have home-and-home series with just two teams, Coppin State (home on Jan. 16 and away on Jan. 30) and Utah Valley State (away on Jan. 22 and at home on Feb. 19). Except for those two games and the trip to Colgate on Feb. 23 (the Red Raiders will return the visit during the 2008-09 season), the Eagles will collect checks from the other road games. The total will be between $400,000 and $450,000, Dickerson said.
Without the pressure --or ability -- to raise tens of thousands of dollars from road games, the NCCU women's schedule does not have the same recurring David and Goliath theme as the men's. The biggest ongoing challenge for women's coach Joli Robinson and her squad (26-6 last season) is the fact it will have just six home games.
The Eagles will play at cross-town rival Duke for the first time under Robinson on Jan. 3. But after the Tar Heels and Blue Devils the next biggest name on the schedule is Duquesne, where NCCU will visit on Jan. 7.
"This is going to be a good experience for us," said Robinson, who is 177-135 as the Eagles' head coach. "When you're at the Division I level, you're going to play some very tough teams. Playing at Duke and Carolina gives our student-athletes some great opportunities, and this is about them.
"We're also going to be traveling and seeing some places they've never seen before. Sometimes we're not going to know what to expect."
The regular-season women's slate features 11 in-state opponents, including the Lady Eagle Classic against Elizabeth City State on Dec. 7 and Fayetteville State on Dec. 8. NCCU will travel to Elon on Nov. 12, Appalachian State on Nov. 16, take on Lenoir-Rhyne on Nov. 23 and host Catawba Nov. 24 in the Comfort Suites Classic in Salisbury, visit High Point on Jan. 5, return the visit to Fayetteville State on Feb. 4 and host Livingstone on Feb. 16.
The Eagles will play 13 regular-season games against Historically Black colleges. Foremost among those games is the Eagles' Nov. 20 visit to Coppin State, as the two teams shared the Black College national title last year. Norfolk State will visit on Jan. 9, the Eagles' only home game against a Division I team.
Robinson's team will also play a pair of exhibition games, hosting former CIAA rival Virginia State on Nov. 3 and traveling to Wake Forest on Nov. 7.
Nov. 9 is going to be a big night for the N.C. Central athletics program.
The Eagles are in their first season in NCAA Division I, and so far they have had pretty good results against a primarily Division II football schedule and a handful of high-profile opponents in other fall sports.
But on Nov. 9, the Eagles really join the club of Division I programs as a couple of local rivalries will begin in earnest. The Eagles men's basketball team will play its first official game with Duke at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium, while women's team goes against North Carolina at 8:30 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium.
Those games were among the highlights of Wednesday's official release of the Eagles' first basketball schedules as Division I members. The men's schedule will be among the toughest in the country, while the women's schedule certainly is the strongest the Eagles have ever played.
Both season-opening games had been announced previously. But the totality of the schedules -- particularly on the men's side where they will be raking in big money on road trips, which include 15 of their first 16 games -- shows what life is going to be like for the Eagles as big-time expansion teams.
NCCU men's coach Henry Dickerson's club (13-15 last season), which has only seven home games, visits three members of the ACC with trips to Wake Forest on Nov. 19 and N.C. State on Jan. 9. A game at two-time defending NCAA champion Florida on Nov. 14 is on the schedule as part of the Blue Ribbon Challenge that gave the Eagles trips to Rutgers (Nov. 12) and North Dakota State (Nov. 17) as well as the Eagles' home opener against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 21.
Another huge opponent looms on Dec. 22 when the Eagles visit Nebraska, two days after visiting Creighton in their journey to the Cornhusker State. The Eagles will also travel to the Iowa Realty Tournament at Drake Nov. 30-Dec. 1, taking on the host Bulldogs in the first round with Duquesne and Cal State-Northridge in the field.
"This is going to be a big challenge, especially for a young team," Dickerson said. "We're going to be playing some of the best teams in the country, and our guys will know they have to play hard every night. It's going to be about learning to trust each other, and to keep getting better whether we win or lose."
Nine in-state opponents dot the men's schedule. Along with the ACC members the Eagles will travel to Davidson on Nov. 24, Western Carolina on Dec. 5, UNC Wilmington on Dec. 16, East Carolina on Jan. 5, then host Chowan on Feb. 16 and Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 20.
ECU, which defeated the Eagles 68-47 in Greenville, is the only holdover from last year's regular-season schedule. NCCU lost its exhibition games at Duke (92-63) and Wake Forest (68-60) last season.
NCCU will host the RTP Hilton Classic on Dec. 29-30 at McLendon-McDougald Gym, taking on Houston Baptist and Concord with former CIAA rival Elizabeth City State the other team in the doubleheaders. The Classic opponents along with Chowan and Lenoir-Rhyne are the only non-Division I foes on the schedule.
As an independent, Dickerson's club will have home-and-home series with just two teams, Coppin State (home on Jan. 16 and away on Jan. 30) and Utah Valley State (away on Jan. 22 and at home on Feb. 19). Except for those two games and the trip to Colgate on Feb. 23 (the Red Raiders will return the visit during the 2008-09 season), the Eagles will collect checks from the other road games. The total will be between $400,000 and $450,000, Dickerson said.
Without the pressure --or ability -- to raise tens of thousands of dollars from road games, the NCCU women's schedule does not have the same recurring David and Goliath theme as the men's. The biggest ongoing challenge for women's coach Joli Robinson and her squad (26-6 last season) is the fact it will have just six home games.
The Eagles will play at cross-town rival Duke for the first time under Robinson on Jan. 3. But after the Tar Heels and Blue Devils the next biggest name on the schedule is Duquesne, where NCCU will visit on Jan. 7.
"This is going to be a good experience for us," said Robinson, who is 177-135 as the Eagles' head coach. "When you're at the Division I level, you're going to play some very tough teams. Playing at Duke and Carolina gives our student-athletes some great opportunities, and this is about them.
"We're also going to be traveling and seeing some places they've never seen before. Sometimes we're not going to know what to expect."
The regular-season women's slate features 11 in-state opponents, including the Lady Eagle Classic against Elizabeth City State on Dec. 7 and Fayetteville State on Dec. 8. NCCU will travel to Elon on Nov. 12, Appalachian State on Nov. 16, take on Lenoir-Rhyne on Nov. 23 and host Catawba Nov. 24 in the Comfort Suites Classic in Salisbury, visit High Point on Jan. 5, return the visit to Fayetteville State on Feb. 4 and host Livingstone on Feb. 16.
The Eagles will play 13 regular-season games against Historically Black colleges. Foremost among those games is the Eagles' Nov. 20 visit to Coppin State, as the two teams shared the Black College national title last year. Norfolk State will visit on Jan. 9, the Eagles' only home game against a Division I team.
Robinson's team will also play a pair of exhibition games, hosting former CIAA rival Virginia State on Nov. 3 and traveling to Wake Forest on Nov. 7.
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