NCCU Announces 'Quality' Football Schedule in Mack's First year as Head CoachComplete Schedule Printable Football Schedule (PDF)
DURHAM, North Carolina -- North Carolina Central University's 12-game 2014 football schedule features six home games, an NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent, a program transitioning to the FBS level, and three teams that competed in the NCAA playoffs last season.
"This is a quality schedule," said first-year NCCU football head coach Jerry Mack. "We open up with East Carolina, who won a bowl game last year and is a high-caliber FBS program. We play a Charlotte team that is transitioning to the FBS level; and we face three opponents that participated in the NCAA playoffs last season (Bethune-Cookman, South Carolina State and Towson), including a Towson squad that played in the national championship game.
"Our fans will be excited to see the level of competition we are playing in 2014," Mack said.
NCCU kicks off the 2014 season on Aug. 30 with its first gridiron meeting against East Carolina in Greenville, N.C. The Pirates will be playing in their first season in the American Athletic Conference after a 17-year run in Conference USA. ECU is coming off one of its best campaigns in school history, compiling a 10-3 overall record, including a win over Ohio in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.
The Eagles' home-opener on Sept. 6 is against an old acquaintance from their CIAA days, Elizabeth City State. The contest is a rematch of the 2006 CIAA Championship Game, which NCCU won on a last-second field goal to cap a perfect 11-0 regular season. The Eagles lead the series with ECSU 19-8, including victories in nine of the last 11 meetings.
NCCU returns to O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium on Sept. 13 to host Charlotte for the first time. The 49ers ended last year's inaugural gridiron campaign with a 5-6 record, the first loss being handed to them by the Eagles in the Queen City. Charlotte will be playing in its final season as an FCS independent before moving to the FBS ranks as a member of Conference USA in 2015.
In week four, the Eagles leave their home state for the first time, travelling up to Maryland to challenge Towson on Sept. 20. The Tigers posted a 13-3 record last season, including a road win at NCCU, and advanced to the NCAA Division I-FCS national championship game.
After a bye week, NCCU begins Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play by hosting Howard on Oct. 4. This will be the Bison's first visit to the Bull City since 1994. The Eagles beat Howard last season in the nation's capital, but the Bison still hold a 9-8-1 series advantage.
NCCU journeys to South Carolina State on Oct. 11 for the first of two straight road games. The Bulldogs posted a 9-4 overall record last season, including a 7-1 conference mark to earn a share of the MEAC title. SCSU has won eight of the last nine matchups with NCCU to take a 12-9 series lead. The Eagles have not won in Orangeburg, S.C., since 1972, their only win south of the border since the two teams first met in 1927.
On Oct. 18, NCCU continues its two-game road swing at Morgan State in Baltimore, Md. These two programs have ruined each other's homecoming festivities for the past two seasons. The Bears have won six of the last eight meetings with the Eagles to extend their series cushion to 23-13-2.
The Eagles return home on Oct. 25 to host Savannah State. NCCU has won the last two meetings with the Tigers, both in Georgia, to push its series advantage to 6-2-1. In the last match-up in Durham in 2011, Savannah State edged the Eagles 33-30.
The month of November begins with NCCU's longest road trip of the season, a 1,140-mile round-trip venture to Daytona Beach, Fla., to challenge last year's MEAC co-champion Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 1. In 2013, the Wildcats amassed a 10-3 overall record and a 7-1 league tally to advance to the NCAA playoffs. The Eagles defeated Bethune-Cookman in the first meeting back in 1994, but the Wildcats have beaten NCCU in each of the last four contests since 2010.
Homecoming festivities will surround the Nov. 8 home game against Hampton. The Eagles beat the Pirates in their last trip to Durham in 2012, but that is NCCU's only win during the last nine contests in the series, which Hampton leads 18-6.
NCCU's final regular-season road game is at Norfolk State on Nov. 15. The Eagles have not played the Spartans in Virginia since 1995. NCCU defeated Norfolk State 24-13 last season in Durham to earn a 6-5 edge in the series.
The Eagles close out the regular season at home with the 86th meeting against rival North Carolina A&T on Nov. 22. Two years ago in Durham, in front of a sellout crowd at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium, the match-up ended in overtime for the fourth time in the past 17 contests between the in-state rivals. Last year's victory by the Aggies improved their series lead to 49-31-5.
NCCU will hold its spring football game on Friday, April 11 at 6 p.m. inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium.
Details about NCCU football season tickets will be announced at a later date.
For more information about NCCU football, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network app for iOS and Android devices.
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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