N.C. A&T topples Central 24-10 for first unbeaten season since 1999

GREENSBORO, North Carolina — N.C. A&T ended its regular season today with a perfect record, toppling Central 24-10.

The unbeaten Aggies (11-0, 8-0) celebrate their first unbeaten MEAC season since 1999. The Aggies are 11-0 for first time in their 93-year history.



Why the Aggies won: A&T protected the football, had a healthy quarterback and got a big lift from backup running back Jamari Smith. The Aggies had no turnovers, and never really came close to one after two deflected passes on their first possession. Junior Lamar Raynard played against the Eagles for the first time and was efficient, making plays with his arm and his feet and taking only one sack. And Smith, a graduate transfer, accounted for 113 total yards and gave A&T some elusiveness in the backfield to go with Marquell Cartwright’s power.

The big plays: A&T’s Elijah Bell, the league’s best wide receiver, made two. He outjumped a Central defensive back in the end zone to haul in a 13-yard touchdown for the game’s first points. Then in the fourth quarter, he made a one-handed catch for a 38-yard gain down the sideline that kept alive a clock-killing 10-play drive that ended with a field goal.

What it means for A&T: The Aggies are 11-0 for the first time in the program’s 93-year history. This is their third MEAC championship in the last four years, but their first outright title since 2003 and the first time they’re undefeated in the MEAC since 1999. They’ll head to the postseason for the third year in a row.

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FAMU's Marching 100 to unveil the latest 'Kinsey Collection'

ORLANDO, Florida -- Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, who graduated from Florida A&M University in 1966, have long been generous to their alma mater.

On Saturday, the university’s Marching 100 will show off the fruits of the couple’s $500,000 donation when it debuts new uniforms at the Florida Classic in Orlando. The FAMU Rattlers take on the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University.

The Marching 100 will pay a special tribute to the Kinseys during the performance.

“This is a way Shirley and I would like to use our blessings to help the band and the university,” Kinsey said Friday from Orlando. “The band is the symbol of excellence for everybody in the Southeast as it relates to marching bands.



"There has never been an organization that I belong to that has had the impact in shaping me in the person I am today as the Marching 100."

The 241-member band's freshman class also boasts GPA averages between 3.0 and 4.0, with many honors students majoring in STEM disciplines.

With the gift, the university was able to purchase 315 band uniforms, 12 drum major uniforms, 20 flag uniforms from Fruhauf Uniform Company in Wichita, Kansas.

The gift also provided for the purchase of a 45-foot trailer that is being used to transport the band’s instruments and equipment, Kinsey said. It, too, will be on display Saturday.

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Dr. John Eason introduced as Florida A&M's interim athletic director

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- A week before John Eason got the call to be Florida A&M’s interim athletic director, he was relaxing on his back porch in Bogart, Ga, listening to the rain and contemplating what was next after retirement.

Eason, who was dealing with the death of his sister at the time, said he asked God, “Is there anything else?”

FAMU interim President Larry Robinson provided an answer, calling the 72-year-old former FAMU football player and former Florida State assistant coach out of retirement and asking him to see the Rattlers’ athletic department through yet another tough time.

“I feel like I’m blessed,” Eason said. “I’m blessed because I’m here. I’m blessed because I asked if there’s anything else.”

Eason believes he’s up to the task of steering FAMU in the right direction. On Wednesday, he was officially introduced as the school’s interim athletic director. He will take over for outgoing Athletic Director Milton Overton Jr. – who will be Kennesaw State’s new AD – on Dec. 1.

Eason said he doesn't know how long he'll be FAMU's interim AD -- he'll be the eighth head of the department in the last decade -- but he wants his time with the Rattlers to be remembered.

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HBCU Football Judgment Day Schedule, Week 12

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2017



NCAA Division II National Playoffs
Delta State at Bowie State, 1 PM, WATCH LIVE
West Georgia at Virginia State, 1 PM, WATCH LIVE

NAIA National Football Championship Playoffs
Northwestern (Iowa) at Langston (Oklahoma), 3 PM   | Live Stats | Live Video*

MEAC
Delaware State at Florida State, 12 Noon, TV: ACC Network
North Carolina Central at North Carolina A&T, 1 PM, TV: ESPN3
Howard at Hampton, 1 PM
Norfolk State at Morgan State, 1 PM
South Carolina State at Savannah State, 1 PM
Florida A&M at Bethune-Cookman, 2 PM, TV: ESPN Classic, ESPN News

OVC
Jacksonville State 36, Tennessee State 6 (Nov. 16)

SWAC
Prairie View A&M 42, Incarnate Word 28 (Nov. 16)
Alabama State at Mississippi Valley State, 2 PM
Kentucky State at Alabama A&M, 2 PM
Alcorn State at Jackson State, 3 PM
Texas Southern at Arkansas Pine Bluff, 3:30 PM

 All times local to host site

Nuggets' Pace named Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Brianna Pace is one of 351 cited as a Daktronics-NAIA Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete for 2017. The NAIA announced the honors Friday.
     
Pace is a junior from Junction City, Kan., and a graduate of Junction City High School. The XULA computer science major qualified for the NAIA honor by having a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4-point scale and reaching junior academic status.
     
Pace is a two-time All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference runner in cross country. She finished third at the GCAC Championships in October and helped the Gold Nuggets finish first in GCAC team scoring for the 11th consecutive season.
     
Pace is the first in this sport from XULA to earn Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete since Catherine Fakler and Hannah Finnegan in 2014.
  
The Gold Nuggets will conclude their season Saturday in the NAIA National Championships at Fort Vancouver, Wash.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Busy day includes XULA basketball/volleyball doubleheader

NEW ORLEANS — Once again the Saturday before Thanksgiving will be one of the busiest of the year for the intercollegiate athletics teams of Xavier University of Louisiana.

Men's basketball, volleyball and cross country will compete — the first two on campus at the Convocation Center.

At 1 p.m. the Gold Rush will play Huston-Tillotson in the homecoming basketball game, followed at 4 p.m. by Gold Nuggets volleyball against Marian (Ind.) in an NAIA National Championship Opening Round match. Basketball ticket-buyers can watch the volleyball for free. Admission to the volleyball match only will be $5.

The XULA-Marian winner will be a first-time qualifier for the NAIA National Championship Final Site at Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 28-Dec. 2. The Gold Nuggets (23-2) were a first-round loser each of the previous six seasons; the Knights (27-5) are in the national field for the first time.

Two time zones away in Vancouver, Wash., XULA women's cross country will be one of 36 teams competing for NAIA individual and team national titles. That 5,000-meter race will start at 11:30 a.m. PST (1:30 p.m. New Orleans time). Also competing will be Gold Rush's lone qualifier, Camren Sewell, in the 8K men's race at 10:30 a.m. PST.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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North Carolina A&T Aggies Celebrate Bowl Berth

NORFOLK, Virginia — The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced Monday night that the North Carolina A&T football team will represent the conference in the 2017 Celebration Bowl to be played noon in Atlanta on Dec. 16 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The conference explained the Aggies second bowl berth in three years in the following memo:

North Carolina A&T State’s win over Savannah State on Saturday clinched at least a share of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) football championship for the third time in four seasons.

Due to North Carolina Central’s loss last Saturday to Bethune-Cookman, only North Carolina A&T State (7-0 MEAC) and Howard (6-1) have an opportunity to win a share of the MEAC title. The Aggies will host North Carolina Central live on ESPN3 this Saturday, while Howard will travel to Hampton.



At stake for the Aggies on Saturday is an outright MEAC championship, which would mark their first since 2003. An Aggies win would accomplish this feat regardless of Howard’s outcome against Hampton. As NCAT loss, coupled with a Howard win, would allow the Bison to share the MEAC championship with the Aggies. It would be the Bison’s first title since 1993.

The MEAC’s tiebreaker system goes as follows:

Both North Carolina A&T State and Howard earned six (6) points for wins over Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams, as the Aggies defeated Charlotte and Howard beat UNLV. The Aggies earned an additional four (4) points for their non-conference Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) win over Gardner-Webb, while Howard does not have a non-conference FCS win.

With the third annual Celebration Bowl scheduled for Dec. 16 in Atlanta, Ga. at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, televised live on ABC as 12 p.m., North Carolina A&T State will be the MEAC’s representative regardless of Saturday’s outcomes via tiebreaker over the Bison by a 10-6 points edge. The teams did not have a head-to-head match-up in 2017.

MEAC tiebreaker scenarios at a glance:

-If NCAT wins: MEAC outright champion with an 8-0 conference record and the MEAC’s representative in the Celebration Bowl
-If NCAT loses and Howard wins: Howard and NCAT are named MEAC co-champions and NCAT is the MEAC representative in the Celebration Bowl. Howard and other postseason-eligible MEAC teams can potentially be selected at-large to the FCS Championship.
-If NCAT and Howard both lose, NCAT is the outright MEAC champion with a 7-1 record and will be the MEAC representative in the Celebration Bowl. Howard’s conference record would be 6-2.

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION