SU's Nzekwe answers the call

ORLANDO, Fla. — During a long, hot offseason, first-year Southern coach Stump Mitchell famously said he thought Gary Hollimon might lead the nation in rushing. As it turns out, Mitchell may have picked the wrong guy.

In Mitchell’s wild debut, a walk-on — sophomore running back Sylvester Nzekwe — came off the bench to lead all players with 98 rushing yards and a touchdown in the Jaguars’ 37-27 comeback victory against Delaware State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge.

It was the first time in his college career Nzekwe played with the offense in a meaningful moment; all last season, the Seattle native played almost entirely on special teams. Sunday, with a national ESPN audience watching, voters selected Nzekwe as the Jagaurs’ team MVP.

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Offseason of change leads SU to new look, era

Baton Rouge, LA - Neckties. When it came to neckties, the man decided he wouldn’t budge. In the eight months since Stump Mitchell drove to Southern University in his black SUV, he concerned himself with so many changes to the Jaguars football program. Then, in the final days of this hard, boiling-hot preseason at SU, the first-year coach had one more change in mind. He made men’s fashion a top priority.

Friday morning, the Jaguars boarded a plane for Orlando, Fla., site of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. They begin their first season under Mitchell against Delaware State at 11 a.m. Sunday in Citrus Bowl Stadium, with a national audience watching along on ESPN.

But before they left town, Mitchell notified his players of one more change: No one, he said, is allowed to travel unless...

WATCH GAME ON SUNDAY AT 11:00 AM Central Time/12:00 ET --@ESPN

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Pro Football HOF Mel Blount, Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams among Honorees for Annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge Legends Reception

Pro Football Hall of Famer Mel Blount (Southern University) and Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams (Grambling State University) lead a group of six honorees who will be recognized at the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Legends Reception at the Ballroom of the Americas at Disney’s Contemporary Hotel, near Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. ET. Also to be saluted as Legends: Author Omar Tyree (Howard University), U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Zeita Merchant (Tougaloo College), Kellogg’s Senior Vice President of Global Nutrition/Corporate Affairs Celeste Clark (Southern University), and former NFL linebacker and seven-time Pro Bowl player Robert Brazile (Jackson State University).

The reception will honor individuals who graduated from a Historically Black College or University. Each honoree will receive an HBCU Trailblazer Award in recognition of the impact made in his or her respective career and community. ESPN sportscaster Jay Harris will co-host the festivities alongside motivational speaker Trey Godfrey.

The Legends Reception will precede the sixth annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney, which will feature a college football matchup between the SWAC’s Southern University and the MEAC’s Delaware State University. The game will kick off Sunday, Sept. 5, at noon at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando and will be televised nationally on ESPN and ESPN HD, as well as ESPN3.com.

“It’s fitting that the MEAC/SWAC Challenge acknowledges the legacy of those who paved the way for the future leaders who will graduate from historically black colleges and universities,” said Nikki Godfrey, executive director of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. “We are thrilled to host this ceremony, which will continue to grow and make our event even more special.”

Individual tickets for the game are available through Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or via www.ticketmaster.com. Fans can also purchase travel packages through Anthony Travel’s website or by calling 1-888-632-6951. For more information about the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and for access to its Facebook page, please visit the official website: www.meacswacchallenge.com . Fans can also stay up to date on the event via Twitter: www.twitter.com/MEAC_SWAC .

About the MEAC/SWAC Challenge

Each year, the MEAC/SWAC Challenge is played at a neutral site within the footprint of one of the conferences. The week of the game includes ancillary events, highlighted by an annual high school career panel, the Halftime Battle of the Bands and the Legends Reception. The MEAC leads the series 4-1. Teams for future games are determined on an annual basis.

No more mud at the Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium

Premium quality Astroturf is being laid at the stadium. Orlando Venues Executive Director Alan Johnson said the carpet is laid from sideline to sideline, then sewn together by a special machine. "We're excited about this surface," he said. It gives the stadium operators more flexibility to host events like concerts, monster trucks and motorcross.

On Wednesday, the turf was already laid and pallets of sand and tiny rubber bits in large sacks were waiting to be installed. The infill gives the grass a more natural feel. The million dollar installation is expected to be done by the end of August. The first game played will be the MEAC/SWAC Challenge between Southern University and Delaware State, Johnson said.

Slideshow: See: Citrus Bowl's New Astroturf



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Citrus Bowl begins artificial turf installation

ORLANDO, FL -- The organization that runs the Citrus Bowl and its bowl games has ensured that the field conditions that marred last year's games will not happen again.

Florida Citrus Sports says installation of an artificial turf surface is underway, and the new field will be ready for the MEAC/SWAC Challenge between Southern and Delaware State on Sept. 5.

“We have been staging major events in the stadium for over 60 years where the athlete experience is of premium importance,” said Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan in a news release. “Hosting a large number of events in short time windows have challenged the ability to provide optimum field conditions and paint schemes needed for national television. With this improvement, we are very excited about our ability to provide one of the safest, most technologically-advanced playing surfaces in the industry to our customer.”

Heavy rain and cold temperatures following last December's eight high school football championships at the stadium did not allow a new grass field to set properly before the Champs Sports Bowl and Capital One Bowl, making for a messy and dangerous situation. Miami Hurricanes running back Graig Cooper suffered a knee injury that he and his coaching staff blamed on the poor field conditions. Cooper's status for the 2010 season is still up in the air as he rehabs the injury.



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New Citrus Bowl field could end up in legal fight

Delay those purchase orders for new turf shoes -- MEAC/SWAC Challenge teams Delaware State University and Southern University. Same for you also, Florida Classic rivals Bethune-Cookman University and Florida A&M University. You are not out of the mud yet, with the Citrus Bowl. Read on....

You thought the mud debacle at the Citrus Bowl was bad?

Just wait. The long-anticipated installation of artificial turf could be caught up in a legal tangle, potentially damaging the hopes of putting in the new turf in time for the 2010 season. FieldTurf has questioned the way the city awarded AstroTurf the contract to put in the new grass, and is now threatening legal action. Darren Gill, vice president of marketing for FieldTurf, said in a phone interview, “This is not a case of sour grapes, but when the bidding laws aren’t abided by it should be a concern of the citizens of Orlando.”

Gill said the company has requested various documents from the City of Orlando through the Freedom of Information Act and is in the process of determining whether it should take legal action. Rather than go through a public bidding process for the artificial turf, the City of Orlando chose to go through national purchasing co-ops. Both companies already have established contracts through their respective co-ops. The city is a member of both co-ops, so they were allowed to utilize their services. The city then took a look at both contracts and went with AstroTurf “because of the quality, installation, history and pricing,” according to City of Orlando spokeswoman Cassandra Lafser.

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The artificial surface being installed in the stadium