Howard Bisons Play Season for Respect

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- These are tough times at Howard University which is personified by the fiscal crisis manifesting itself in the troubles of the football program. With the university recovering from a multi million-dollar deficit and the athletics department dealing with NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) sanctions, Bison football prepares for a season where there is nothing to play for other than respect.

That is something the rest of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) doesn’t show Howard these days. The Bison are picked 10th in the 11 team MEAC, just above Savannah State, which hasn’t made a mark in conference play since moving from Division II. They are 6-17 over the last two years and are facing significant challenges in their quest to regain respectability in the league.

“In this generation we don’t feel disrespected at all,” said Howard coach Gary Harrell. “We are trying to stay on track and move the program forward”,

“I know we are going to have a good football team this year. We feel like we can go from 1-10 to a first place record”.

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