SportsGroove Presents CIAA 2011 Football Media Day

Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN) Mark Gray report from the CIAA 2011 Football Media Day as the conference prepares for its 100th season of intercollegiate athletics with the start of the gridiron action.

HSRN Announces 2011 Football Broadcast Schedule

Hartly, DE – The Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN) will broadcast 23 exciting football games including the Super 7 Series of classic events. The broadcasts will be national on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and on local stations across the country. “This will be our most exciting broadcast schedule yet. The staff is proud to present the HBCU community a national radio platform that will give all fans and alumni consistent coverage,” said HSRN CEO Omarr Bashir.

HSRN will kickoff the schedule on (Sept. 1) with the Division I FBS vs. Division I FCS match-up in Piscataway, NJ, N. C. Central and Rutgers.

The highlight of the schedule is the “Super 7 Series” which includes seven events that will bring the Major Classics to the HBCU national community. The series will open on (Sept. 3) in Nashville, TN with the John Merritt Classic featuring Tennessee State and Southern. The “Super 7 Series” will also feature (Sept. 10) Cleveland Classic – N.C. Central vs. Central State, (Sept. 24) Atlanta Classic – Florida A&M vs. Southern, (Oct. 1) Circle City Classic – Albany St. vs. Kentucky St., (Oct. 29) Magic City Classic – Alabama A&M vs. Alabama St., (Nov. 19) Florida Classic – Bethune Cookman vs. Florida A&M and (Nov. 26) Bayou Classic – Grambling St. vs. Southern.

HSRN will feature three additional classic games (Sept. 3) Battle of the First/Wade Wilson Classic – Lincoln vs. Cheyney, (Sept. 10) Nations Classic – Morehouse vs. Howard, (Oct. 1) and (Oct. 8) Morehouse/Tuskegee Classic. There will also be four double header weekends including the championship games for the CIAA and SIAC (Nov. 12).

Top non-conference match-ups this season will be the Hampton Roads, VA CAA vs. MEAC rivalry (Sept. 17) between Hampton and Old Dominion, FBS/FCS match-up (Nov. 3)) between Mississippi Valley St. and South Alabama, and (Nov. 24) Annual Turkey Day Classic – Alabama St. vs. Tuskegee.

Conference rival match-ups will include (Sept. 17) Bowie St. homecoming vs. Livingstone (Oct. 15), N.C. A&T homecoming vs. Delaware St., and (Oct. 22) Florida A&M vs. S.C. State.

Founded in 2006, HSRN was created to provide a sports voice for the HBCU community. For over 100 years HBCU's have participated in collegiate athletics with little to no media coverage. Stars like Walter Payton, Doug Williams, and Michael Strahan are just a few of the many superstars who were HBCU athletes. There are approximately 7 million fans of HBCU sports who were media orphans in search of a home. HSRN is the only national radio network dedicated to HBCU sports. Our goal is to fuse the greats of the past with the stars of today to showcase the significance of this unique colorful and underserved sports community.

HSRN 2011 Football Broadcast Schedule

Date	Game	Site	Time
09/01	N.C. Central vs. Rutgers	Piscataway, NJ	7:30pm
09/03	Lincoln @ Cheyney Battle of the First/Wade Wilson Classic	Cheyney, PA	1:00pm
09/03	$ - Southern vs. Tennessee St. John Merritt Classic	Nashville, TN	6:00pm CT
09/04	Bethune Cookman vs. Prairie View MEAC/SWAC Challenge	Orlando, FL	12:00pm
09/10	$ - Central St. vs. N.C. Central Cleveland Classic	Cleveland, OH	12:00pm
09/10	Howard vs. Morehouse Nation’s Classic	Washington, DC	3:30pm
09/17	Bowie St. vs. Livingstone	Bowie, MD	1:00pm
09/17	Hampton vs. Old Dominion	Norfolk, VA	6:00pm
09/24	$ - Florida A&M vs. Southern Atlanta Classic	Atlanta, GA	3:30pm
10/01	$ - Albany St. vs. Kentucky St. Circle City Classic	Indianapolis, IN	2:30pm
10/08	Morehouse vs. Tuskegee Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic	Columbus, GA	2:00pm
10/15	Delaware St. vs. N.C. A&T	Greensboro, NC	1:30pm
10/22	Florida A&M vs. S.C. State	Orangeburg, SC	1:30pm
10/29	$ - Alabama A&M vs. Alabama St. Magic City Classic	Birmingham, AL	3:30pm
11/03	Mississippi Valley St. vs. S. Alabama	Mobile, AL	TBA
11/05	Albany St. vs. Ft. Valley St. Fountain City Classic	Columbus, GA	2:00pm
11/12	CIAA Championship Game	Durham, NC	TBA
11/12	SIAC Championship Game	TBA	TBA
11/19	$ - Bethune Cookman vs. Florida A&M Florida Classic	Orlando, FL	2:00pm
11/24	Turkey Day Classic	Montgomery, AL	1:00pm
11/26	$ - Grambling vs. Southern Bayou Classic	New Orleans, LA	3:00pm
12/03	Pioneer Bowl	Columbus, GA	2:00pm
12/10	SWAC Championship Game	Birmingham, AL	2:00pm
	$ - Super Seven Series Schedule is Subject to Change

VISIT: HERITAGE SPORTS RADIO NETWORK

WEEK-TWELVE HSRN NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK FAN POLL NOMINEES

Hartly, DE – Each week, HSRN will announce a national player of the week from both the top DI-FCS and Division II action and fan voting will make the pick. The Fan Poll winner will be announced Wednesday afternoon. There were only two Division II teams in action last weekend so there are only two nominees.

The top performances each week will be selected and the fans across the country will get a chance to cast their vote for who they think had the best game. The Fan Poll is designed to get fans involved with the excitement of the HBCU college football action. Fans are asked to log on to HSRN.com and cast their vote for the top performance. Fans can vote on the poll today (Monday, Nov. 15) thru (Wednesday, Nov. 17) until 2pm ET. The nominees are:

Div. I FCS
KJ Black – Prairie View – QB – 6’4, 225 – SR/Louisville, KY
Black completed 18 of 23 passes with no interceptions for 329 yards and three touchdowns, including the winning 35 yard TD pass with four seconds on the clock. The Panthers defeated Alcorn St. 35-27.

DeAngelo Branche – Norfolk St. – QB – 5’11, 200 – SR/Norfolk, VA
Branche picked up 212 yards and three touchdowns to lead NSU to its third straight win 31-21 over Delaware State. Branche topped the 1,000 yard mark for the year and tallied the Spartans first 200 yard rushing game in three years.

Casey Therriault – Jackson St. – QB – 6’3, 205 – JR/Wyoming Park, MI
Therriault completed 22 of 30 passes with no interceptions for 331 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns, finishing the game with 422 total offensive yards. The Tigers defeated Arkansas Pine Bluff 52-30.

Arvell Nelson – Texas Southern – QB – 6’5, 225 – SR/Cleveland, OH
Nelson completed 14 of 23 passes for 171 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winning 10 yard TD run, leading the Tigers to a 41-34 win over Grambling State.

Div. II
Kevin Atkins – Shaw – QB – 6’2, 216 – SR/Durham, NC
Atkins completed 16 of 28 passes for 183 yards and rushed for 60 yards on 10 carries, finishing the game with 243 total offensive yards. He led the Bears to a 14-7 win over Virginia St. in the CIAA Championship game.

Thomas Logan – Stillman – TE – 6’3, 220 – JR/Pass Christian, MS
Logan finished the game with five (5) receptions for 98 yards and three touchdowns. He had TD catches for nine (9), 11 and 27 yards. Stillman defeated Central St. 44-13.

by LeCounte Conaway
Dir. of Communications
HSRN.com

HSRN National Player of the Week Fan Poll Nominees

WEEK-TEN HSRN NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK FAN POLL NOMINEES

Hartly, DE – Each week, HSRN will announce a national player of the week from both the top DI-FCS and Division II action and fan voting will make the pick. The Fan Poll winner will be announced Wednesday afternoon.

The top performances each week will be selected and the fans across the country will get a chance to cast their vote for who they think had the best game. The Fan Poll is designed to get fans involved with the excitement of the HBCU college football action. Fans are asked to log on to HSRN.com and cast their vote for the top performance. Fans can vote on the poll today (Monday, Nov. 1) thru (Wednesday, Nov. 3) until 2pm ET. The nominees are:

Div. I FCS
Andrew Pitts – Alabama State – RB – 5’10, 195 – FR/Montgomery, AL
Pitts picked up 122 yards on six carries, including a 47 yard touchdown run. He was HSRN’s Game of the Week MVP as the Hornets defeated Alabama A&M 31-10 in front of 61, 879 Magic City Classic fans.

Chris Merrill – South Carolina State – RB – 5’9, 190 – SO/Simpsonville, SC
Merrill rushed for a career high 160 yards on 21 carries, including touchdown runs for 12 and 23 yards and also caught two passes for 23 yards, finishing the game with 183 all purpose yards. The Bulldogs defeated Delaware St. 38-21.

Casey Therriault – Jackson State – QB – 6’3, 205 – JR/Wyoming Park, MI
Therriault completed 27 of 39 passes for 291 yards and rushed 26 yards, including a touchdown run from one yard out. He finished the game with 317 total offensive yards and the Tigers defeated Prairie View 30-13 in front of 23, 701 homecoming fans.

Phil Sylvester – Florida A&M – RB – 5’10, 195 – SR/Marianna, FL
Sylvester rushed 192 yards on 19 carries, including touchdown runs for 14 and 88 yards. In front of 30, 459 homecoming fans, his 88 yard touchdown with 3:04 left, put the game away for the Rattlers giving them a 31-17 win over Morgan St.

Div. II
Kevin Atkins – Shaw – QB – 6’2, 216 – SR/Durham, NC
Atkins completed 13 of 24 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, also rushed for 46 yards on nine carries including the five yard game winning touchdown run with 1:59 left in the game. That TD gave the Bears their first lead of the game and a 31-27 win over Winston Salem State.

Stanley Jennings – Albany State – QB – 6’2, 235 – JR/Marietta, GA
Jennings completed 14 of 22 passes for 279 yards, including touchdown passes for six, 60 and 70 yards. The Golden Rams defeated Stillman 44-5.

Daronte McNeil – Elizabeth City State – RB – 6’2, 215 – SO/Elizabeth City, NC
McNeil rushed for 290 yards on 11 carries, including two 97 yard touchdown runs. He set school records for yards in a game and in a season (1,241). The Vikings defeated Chowan 55-14.

Nykeem Barton – Tuskegee – RB – 5’11, 213 – SR/Brewton, AL
Barton picked up 130 yards on 11 carries, including touchdown runs for two, four and 29 yards. The Golden Tigers defeated Kentucky St. 45-21.

VOTE AT: HSRN.com



It’s Bethune Cookman At #1 In Division I-FCS
Albany State Unanimous Again In Division II

(Hartly, DE) – It’s Bethune Cookman on top in Division I FCS and Albany State is the unanimous choice again in Div. II, in this week’s HSRN Top - 10 Polls. Each week during the 2010 season HSRN staff and writers, along with selected media representatives, will rank Historical Black College Football Championship Sub-Division (FCS) Division I and NCAA Division II teams.

Division I-FCS Top-10

#	Schools (1st Place Votes)	2010 Record	Total Points	Previous Rank
1.	Bethune Cookman (18)	8-0	207	1
2.	Grambling State (3)	7-1	192	2
3.	South Carolina State	6-2	168	3
4.	Texas Southern	5-3	137	5
5.	Jackson State	6-2	134	7
6.	Florida A&M	5-3	93	8
7.	Alabama State	5-3	69	9
8.	Prairie View A&M	5-4	65	4
9.	Hampton	5-3	62	6
10.	Alcorn State	4-4	20	NR
	Others Receiving votes: Morgan St. (4-4) 6, Ark. Pine Bluff (4-4) 2

Division II

#	Schools (1st Place Votes)	2110 Record	Total Points	Previous Rank
1.	Albany State (21)	9-0	210	1
2.	Ft. Valley State	8-1	188	2
3.	St. Augustine’s	8-1	166	4
4.	Shaw	7-2	135	6
5.	Tuskegee	7-2	134	5
6.	Winston Salem State	8-2	98	3
7.	Virginia State	7-2	86	7
8.	Morehouse	7-2	68	8
9.	Bowie State	5-4	39	9
10.	Langston	5-3	20	10
	Others Receiving vote: Elizabeth City St. (5-4) 6

HSRN.com Press Release 11/1/10