NCAA hitting SWAC hard

Houston, TX - Doug Williams returned to his alma mater, Grambling State, for a second stint as head football coach earlier this year to find the Southwestern Athletic Conference seemingly encountering one problem after another.

"If we keep doing business the way we've done it, we are going to put ourselves right out of business," Williams said last month at SWAC media day in Birmingham, Ala.

Since January, the SWAC has faced a wide range of indiscretions that include a current NCAA investigation into the Texas Southern football and men's basketball programs and postseason bans for three schools because of poor academic performances. In two other embarrassing instances, a former football coach sued — and won — a lawsuit for wrongful termination and an athletic director at another SWAC school (Southern) was arrested for allegedly soliciting a prostitute.



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UMES Announces Women's Basketball Recruiting Class

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. -- Hawks women's basketball head coach Fred Batchelor has announced the addition of four student-athletes for the 2011-2012 season.

All four players will enter the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as freshmen: Porsha Barr (Waldorf, Md.), Jessica Long (Fort Washington, Md.), Shawnee Sweeney (Colonial Heights, Md.) and Alexis Udoji (Randolph, Mass.).

"We are extremely excited about this recruiting class," says Batchelor. "With these strong freshmen, this class represents a group that will come in and help us immediately."

Porsha Barr - Freshman - 5'10" - Forward - Waldorf, Md. (Westlake HS)

Porsha arrives on campus after being the top scorer from Westlake High School. She averaged a double-double a game in her senior season with the Wolverines, getting 17 points and 10 rebounds per contest, leading Westlake to a combined 38-9 record in her final two seasons. Barr scored a season high 29 points twice in her senior year. She has competed with the AAU squad Lady Pearls, based out of Washington D.C. and was named an All-Star at the INDY 100 last summer.

"Porsha is a high energy player who will compete and challenge her teammates every day. She is capable of creating opportunities to help the team by making plays out of pure effort and out working her opponents. She is a strong rebounder who is most effective in transition. She will assist in our consistency of building a foundation of hard work. She is what every coach would love to have; a self motivated, determined young lady on and off the floor."



Jessica Long - Freshman - 5'7" - Guard - Fort Washington, Md. (Oxon Hill HS)

Jessica will suit up for the Lady Hawks as the 79th-ranked point guard in the Class of 2011 as ranked by ESPN. Long scored over 1,000 points in her high school career and was the leading scorer in Prince George's County in 2011 with Oxon Hill High School, averaging over 23 points per game for the Clippers. She spent her first three years at Paul VI Catholic in Fairfax, Virginia, being named the Best Defensive Player in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference twice plus named all-conference 3rd-Team in 2010. Long helped the Panthers to two straight Virginia Independent State Championships in 2009 and 2010. She has competed with AAU squads Team Unique, Team MD Sure Shots and the U-16 Fairfax Stars.

"I see Jessica as a throw back, old school point guard. She has the ability to run a team like a true floor general, which will make the players around her better. I love the way she defends the ball. Her ability to pressure and contain the opponents' point of attack will allow us to be a more effective team on both ends of the floor. I also believe she will be a great teammate. She will have an opportunity to learn and grow into the challenge of being a Division-I point guard."


Long is #1

Shawnee Sweeney - Freshman - 5'7" - Guard - Colonial Heights, Va. (Thomas Dale HS)

Shawnee comes to UMES as one of the strongest scoring shooting guards from the state of Virginia. She led Thomas Dale High School to their first two state tournament appearances in its history, finished ranked #6 in the state in 2010 and #8 in 2011 plus led the Knights to three straight Central District regular season and tournament championships from 2009 to 2011, amassing a combined 71-12 record. Sweeney averaged 15.3 points a game in high school, being named 1st-Team All-District and All-Metro 2nd-Team her senior year. She has also played for the AAU teams James River Blaze and Virginia Storm. Sweeney was named to her high school's Distinguished Honor Roll all four years.

"Shawnee is an extremely sharp young lady that has the ability and mentality to be an assassin from three point range. What I love about her the most is that she is just not a three point shooter. She is a tough, physical guard that is capable of attacking the basket to create for her teammates as well as get to the free throw line. Her passion and desire to produce excellence in every facet of her life is what's most impressive."


Sweeney is #3...

Alexis Udoji - Freshman - 6'4" - Center - Randolph, Mass. (Cardinal Spellman HS)

Alexis comes to Princess Anne as one of the top players in New England at the five position. As Cardinal Spellman High School's starting center, Udoji led the Cardinals to the Central Catholic League Championship in 2011, being named the league's Most Valuable Player that season after being named Defensive Player of the Year in 2010. She averaged a triple-double a game in her final three seasons, including 31 points, 16 blocks and 13 rebounds in the CCL title game, helping her be named The Enterprise Player of the Year in basketball. She set her school's record in blocked shots in a game with 20 in 2009.

"I believe this young lady will make a considerable contribution to our program as well as our league over her playing career. Her ability to effect the game on the defensive end will allow us to extend our pressure along with being able to take more risk because of her ability to block shots and make up for her teammates mistakes. Her development is critical to the overall effect she will have as a Lady Hawk. Alexis has a great spirit and a servant attitude which I believe will make her a pleasure to coach."


Udoji is #5 is this clip...

With an 8-8 record in the MEAC, the Lady Hawks earned a .500 or better conference finish for the fourth season in a row last year.

By University of Maryland Eastern Shore Sports Information

Bowie State Football Has Strong Local Flavor

Bowie, MD - Trevon Bennett is still waiting for his chance, and he may have to wait one more year. A Riverdale Baptist graduate, Bennett is a rising sophomore quarterback at Bowie State University as the Division II Bulldogs get ready to begin practice later this month. Bennett was a true freshman last season and played behind starting quarterback Clifton Budd, who returns this season as a senior after throwing for 1,538 yards last year.

"I want to be the No. 1 backup," Bennett told Patch on Tuesday. "The hopes are real high going into the season." "We had a better turnout this year than last year," he said. "Everyone is on the same page this year. And after attending eight weeks of summer workouts at Bowie State, "everything is going pretty well."

The Bulldogs open the season Sept. 3 at Assumption in Worcester, MA. The first home game for Bowie State is 1 p.m., Sept. 10 against Benedict College.

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Grambling State University football practice kicks off

Grambling, LA - Finally, football is here again. Grambling State's players report for training camp Wednesday, then have two workouts Thursday: a 6 a.m. conditioning test, then the first official practice at 7 p.m. After a long summer of keeping tabs on his players from a distance, head coach Doug Williams is eager to get back on the field.

"I really am," Williams said. "You go through the spring, and you go through some things from an evaluation standpoint, and then you spend the next few months with the kids away from you. You're just with the coaches, trying to figure out who is going to go where. You're trying to put the puzzle together."



Wednesday is mostly an administrative day. Players will be checking in, getting their equipment, getting room assignments, going through admission, registration and financial aid paperwork, sitting through meetings with trainers and campus security, and spending a little time hobnobbing with each other.

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ASU soccer team reports to camp

MONTGOMERY, AL -- Alabama State University's soccer program has reported to campus and will begin practice for the 2011 season Thursday at 7 a.m.

Head Coach Jodie Smith enters his fifth season at the helm of the program and is very excited about this year's team as the Hornets are coming off the best season in the short seven-year history of the program.

"The girls realized towards the end of the last season we could be a different team," Smith said. "We have several starters returning and we actually had several players hang around this summer and you could tell they had a different approach during the spring and summer towards the program."

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Former Crimson Wave Rassoull among new VSU players

Petersburg, VA - The Virginia State University men's basketball coaching staff, has announced their 2011-12 signees for the upcoming season.

Trojans' new head coach, Darryl Jacobs will bring in four freshmen that included Hopewell resident Manny Wallace who played at Christchurch and six transfers, includling Petersburg native Ibn Rassoull, to attend Virginia State University.  The Trojans look to rebuild after a 13-42 record over the past two seasons.

TRANSFERS

- Ibn Rassoull 6-4 190 G/F SR Petersburg, VA/St. Paul's

Rassoull averaged 14.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists last season at St. Paul's College and was also named to the 2010-11 All-CIAA team. He is also a graduate of Petersburg HS and can play multiple positions on the court for VSU.

- Daniel "Larry" Awosanya 6-8 220 F/C JR London, England/Campbell

Awosanya transfers from Div. I Campbell University where he maintained a 3.2 GPA while being named to the Atlantic Sun All-Academic team as a freshmen. Larry is a talented strong athletic player that attacks the basket extremely well while drawing contact from defenders.

- Richard "RJ" Hall 6-1 175 G JR Bay Shore, NY/Kennesaw State

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Killingsworth-Putney joins Bethune-Cookman Coaching Staff

Daytona Beach, FL - Bethune-Cookman's volleyball team just recorded a big lift in its search for a new assistant coach. Kisya Killingsworth-Putney is joinging the team.

Killingsworth-Putney's accolades are all spikes, each more ball-flattening than the next. At Pine Ridge High, she was named Miss Florida Volleyball in 2003 and led the Panthers to a state tournament berth. At the University of Florida, she was an All SEC player and an All-American.

She played on teams that won the SEC and appeared in the NCAA Regionals all four of her years as a Gator. Killingsworth is of just five players in Gators history with 1,000 kills and 300 blocks in her career. And in the rally era of UF volleyball stats, Killingsworth-Putney is the only player in school history to accumulate 300 blocks and 300 digs, and she finished her career with a school record 65 solo blocks.

Killingsworth-Putney will be rejoining her longtime coaching partner Isaac Raphael, who was hired as the Wildcats' head coach in July.

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Penny a profit to volleyball program, ASU says

Montgomery, AL - Alabama State athletic director Stacy Danley opened Monday's news conference with a simple declaration. "The transformation continues," he said.

And with that, the Hornets introduced Penny Lucas-White as the program's new volleyball coach, taking another step in the school's goal to be competitive in the Southwestern Athletic Conference as well as an annual participant in NCAA postseason play.

The spirit of optimism echoed the news conference in June announcing Mervyl Melendez as the Hornets' baseball coach. Monday's gathering showcased a program coming off its finest season in SWAC competition that now has its sights set still higher.

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Southern football highlights fall camps

BATON ROUGE — Student-athletes from three Southern University programs will return to Baton Rouge this week as fall camp opens in preparation for the 2011 campaigns in football, women's volleyball and women's soccer.

Eager to erase the lingering effects from last season's 2-9 record, head football coach Stump Mitchell will welcome his Southern Jaguars to fall camp Wednesday at the A.W. Mumford Fieldhouse as the Jaguars prepare for the 2011 season.

"There's no question we're excited (about the start of fall camp) with a lot of guys coming back with a lot of experience and a coaching staff that I feel will take us to the next level," said Mitchell. "We're just excited to get started."

The Jaguars first practice is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Thursday and is open to the public. The Jaguars kickoff their 2011 season in LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans, for the John Merrit Classic against Tennessee State at 6 p.m. Sept. 3.



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ASU to begin football practice Wednesday

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- The 2011 Alabama State football team begins its quest for the SWAC Championship Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. when fall practice opens at Hornet Stadium.

"We have high expectations," head coach Reggie Barlow said of his team, which won the Eastern Division title last season. "We're coming from a different place; far different from where it was five years ago or even three years ago. We are at a place where we want to get back to the championship game and win it all this time."



Barlow and the football coaching staff will welcome approximately 90 players to camp, which opens with six consecutive practice days. The first two-a-day practice is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 8.

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SC State Begins Football Drills; Elmore Declared Ineligible

ORANGEBURG, SC – South Carolina State conducted its first preseason football workout Tuesday night as the Bulldogs began preparing for the 2011 campaign.

Tuesday’s practice was originally set for 3:10 in the afternoon, however, head coach Buddy Pough and his staff moved the drill to the evening to avoid scorching temperatures. Bulldog practices through Saturday will also begin in the evening at approximately 7 p.m.

Almost 100 players were on hand for Tuesday’s practice, which was conducted in shorts and helmets and concentrated mostly on conditioning.

Pough noted his team appeared to be in reasonable good shape but added that he and his staff considered it a sense of urgency that his players hit the ground running and learn quickly because of the many unknowns for a team that lost 11 starters, among them the Bulldogs’ three-year starting quarterback, three starting offensive linemen and the starting linebacker corps.

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NSU-BCU Football Game Moved to Thursday, Oct. 20 for ESPNU

Norfolk, VA - Norfolk State's home football game against Bethune-Cookman has been moved up two days to Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. to accommodate a live ESPNU broadcast. The game was originally slated for Saturday, Oct. 22.

The teams have split their last four meetings in the series, with B-CU winning 21-7 last season en route to a share of the MEAC regular-season football title. The Spartans have won the last two meetings at Dick Price Stadium.

This will be NSU's first home Thursday night game since an Oct. 6, 2005 matchup against South Carolina State.

“We are very excited about having the opportunity to play on national television this year,” NSU Athletics Director Marty L. Miller said. “This televised game will showcase the outstanding student-athletes who are major contributors to the success of the athletic programs as well as the great facilities that we have at Norfolk State University.”



By Matt Michalec, Sports Information Director
VISIT: NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY
VISIT: NSUSPARTANS

Ex-Bethune-Cookman's Weems signs 1-year deal with Falcons

Atlanta, GA - Former Seabreeze and Bethune-Cookman standout Eric Weems signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday. Weems was a restricted free agent. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

With the changes to kickoffs this year, it was thought his value to the Falcons would diminish. He also returns punts, plays on coverage teams and fills in at times at wide receiver. He made his first Pro Bowl last season after returning 40 kickoffs for 1,100 yards and one touchdown and 18 punts for 230 yards and one touchdown. He added six receptions for 61 yards.

Weems was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month in December after a franchise-record 102-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and 55-yard punt return for a touchdown.



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Detroit land ex-Jaguars linebacker Justin Durant (Hampton U.)

Justin Durant, Detroit Lions 

Detroit, MI - Their front four is one of the best in the game. Now the Detroit Lions are on their way to upgrading their back seven.

The Lions made their first significant move of the free-agent signing period late Wednesday, agreeing to terms on a two-year contract with linebacker Justin Durant (Hampton University), according to a team source.

Reached by phone shortly before 11 p.m., Durant's agent, Adisa Bakari said, "Not yet. Deal's not done." But Bakari and the Lions were heavy in contract talks late into the night. Durant, who played four seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars, appeared to confirm the signing, first reported by the Chicago Tribune, on Twitter.

Now everybody from the 313, put ya (...) hands up and follow me!!!" he wrote.

Durant, who turns 26 in September, has never played a full 16 games in a season and missed six games last year with a groin injury.

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Bayou Classic to be on NBC through ‘12

New York, NY - NBC Sports announced Tuesday it will continue to televise the annual Bayou Classic through 2012. The Southern-Grambling football rivalry in the Louisiana Superdome has been televised by NBC on Thanksgiving weekend since 1991. As part of the agreement, State Farm is continuing its title sponsorship.

“The Bayou Classic is a slice of Americana, and at the end of this agreement we will have broadcast this iconic event for 23 straight years,” said Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports and VERSUS in the announcement. This year’s Bayou Classic is scheduled for Nov. 26.

“The NBC Sports broadcast and the title sponsorship helps us spread our Jaguar pride into millions of households nationwide,” Southern University System President Ronald Mason Jr. said in the release. “(The) Bayou Classic is more than a football game; it’s a tradition of family fun and camaraderie that we look forward to every Thanksgiving weekend.”

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UAPB now a SWAC title contender?

Pine Bluff, Ark. - Having spent his childhood in Arlington, Texas, with freeways and skyscrapers that seemed to stretch on forever, Colton Jones had plenty to enjoy. Even late into the night, Jones could find a hot hamburger, a cold milkshake and, in all likelihood, a pro sporting event nearby. Then, at 18 years old, Jones headed to Pine Bluff, Ark., which was, suffice it to say, a little different.

“You just have to get used to the atmosphere, the people around town, everything,” said Jones, now a fifth-year senior and a mainstay on the Arkansas-Pine Bluff offensive line. “The surroundings are very different between home and Pine Bluff. It was hard at first, but I’m a survivor. Basically, you adapt to your circumstances.”

Now, that trait might come in handy again.

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Jackson’s promotion at W.Va. Wesleyan a league accomplishment

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When his predecessor accepted another job at another West Virginia Conference school, Jonas Jackson received a promotion from West Virginia Wesleyan officials.

Changing one word in his job title resulted in a historical accomplishment for Jackson, who went from assistant head coach to interim head coach in June after Dennis Creehan resigned to become the athletic director at Alderson-Broaddus.

Jackson is believed to be the first black head coach at a non-HBCU (Historically Black College or University) in the league's long history.

"It says a lot about our institution, and it says a lot about our president, our dean and our athletic director," said Jackson, a 32-year-old Boston native who has a bachelor's degree from Eastern Michigan and a master's degree from Valparaiso.

"It's an honor, and I embrace it. I have to make sure I work very, very hard to represent the institution and those who aspire to be where I am. For up-and-coming black coaches like myself, we have to work our tails off and put our best foot forward so other guys get this opportunity."

Despite the historical significance of his promotion, Jackson said he is not sure colleges' hiring practices are "a black-and-white issue."

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Howard University Bison: A Star On And Off The Floor

Greenbelt, MD - Eleanor Roosevelt graduate and incoming Howard University freshman Prince Okoroh has balanced his athletic accomplishments with an impressive academic career.

Prince Okoroh’s talent on the basketball court gained the former Eleanor Roosevelt High School standout an athletic scholarship to Howard University. It’s his dedication to performing well in the classroom, though, that may be even more impressive.

You didn't have to worry about eligibility stuff with Prince, Roosevelt coach Brendan O’Connell said. “It’s weird, because, like, in the offseason and stuff, he would miss practice or miss a workout or miss a running session. But it’s because he was going to take a college class at Johns Hopkins or something like that. So how can I get mad at him, you know?”

Okoroh — who was awarded a Gates Millennium Scholarship at Roosevelt — took part in the 2011 World Scholar-Athlete Games in the Greater Hartford, Conn. area, which ran June 26 through July 4.



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Southern University moving forward after tough ‘10

Baton Rouge, LA - At the intersection of Swan Avenue and Scenic Highway, less than a mile from A.W. Mumford Stadium, a homemade sign hangs underneath the window of a sports apparel shop. Painted in sloppy blue letters, the sign reads: “Just get it done.”

That was the slogan adopted by Stump Mitchell’s first football team at Southern University.

As fans and alumni painfully remember, there was only one problem: When it came to winning games, the Jaguars didn’t get it done. After the final whistle at the Bayou Classic, players slowly walked off the field inside the Superdome and headed toward the tunnel, looking upward, toward thousands of empty seats.

The Jaguars had clinched a 2-9 record, the worst season in school history.

SU key football dates - Wednesday: Players report...Thursday: Practice begins... Aug. 14: Media day...Aug. 22: Classes begin...Sept. 3: Season opener, at Tennessee State...Sept. 10: Home opener, vs. Alabama A&M.

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NSU quarterback makes preseason first team

NORFOLK, VA - In just one offseason, Norfolk State quarterback Chris Walley has gone from criticized to recognized. The NSU senior is 1 of 3 Spartans on the preseason All-MEAC first team, joining offensive tackle Kendall Noble and defensive tackle Josh Turner. Linebacker Corwin Hammond was named to the second team. The teams were announced at the MEAC's preseason luncheon Friday.

It's the first time an NSU quarterback has earned the preseason recognition. Heading into last year, the Spartans' quarterback competition was the focus of training-camp conversation - and Walley's start was poor.

While learning a new offense and rotating through an uninspiring selection of wide receivers, the Spartans spent much of the season near the bottom of the MEAC in passing. Walley, a junior college transfer, passed for fewer than 55 yards in consecutive weeks during the middle of the season.

He rebounded, though, averaging more than 240 yards in his final three games ...

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North Carolina Central excited to return to MEAC as D-1 member

NORFOLK, Va. — The Eagles of N.C. Central are expected to do better this football season than their staunch rival from Greensboro, those N.C. A&T State University Aggies. That’s the good news for NCCU. The bad news, announced Friday during the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference annual football luncheon, is NCCU is predicted to finish in the bottom half of the conference they just rejoined.

Head coaches and sports-information directors from the MEAC pegged NCCU to finish seventh among the 11 teams that play football in the league, while A&T was picked to finish ninth.

NCCU was a founding member of the MEAC in the early 1970s and then left in 1979 for the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association when the MEAC moved to Division I. The Eagles have been going through the process of reclassifying as a D-I program since 2007 and this will be their first year as a full member pending more approval step by the NCAA in August.



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Southern-FAMU to be shown by Versus

Atlanta, GA - The Atlanta Football Classic between Southern and Florida A&M will be televised by the cable network Versus, according to a release from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

SU and FAMU will play at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 24 in the Georgia Dome. It is the first meeting between the longtime rivals since FAMU held off the Jaguars in a 52-49 shootout at A.W. Mumford Stadium in 2008. The teams have played 58 games since 1941, according to school records. The Rattlers hold a 33-24-1 edge.

The Atlanta Football Classic is one of two Southern games to appear on national television this season.

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MEAC to use instant replay for televised games

NORFOLK, Va. — To this day, there is still some debate about one play three seasons ago that might have changed the postseason fate for Florida A&M in Joe Taylor's first season as head football coach.

At the crux of matter is a pass by quarterback Eddie Battle that was ruled a fumble, enabling South Carolina State to score the first six points on its way to a 20-point halftime lead. FAMU mounted a furious second-half comeback but the momentum swing caused by the questionable call was too much to overcome in a 28-21 loss.

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference commissioner Dennis Thomas on Friday said the league will be implementing the use of instant replay, a move that he hopes will alleviate calls such as the one that still haunts FAMU. Instant replay will be available this season to teams whose games are televised, Thomas said during the conference's media day at the Waterside Marriott.

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SIAC Championship debate

ATLANTA — Albany State’s road to its sixth SIAC football title in the past decade will be a little rockier than normal. Yes, the Rams were named preseason favorites to repeat as conference champions at Wednesday’s SIAC Kick-Off Luncheon at Fox Sports Grill in Atlanta.

But there is a new factor in this year’s conference — a championship game.

In the past, the team with the best regular-season conference record was crowned as the SIAC champ. This year, the 10 teams are divided into two five-team divisions — East and West — and the winner of each division will face off in the inaugural SIAC Championship game Nov. 12.

Teams will play a seven-game conference slate, including all four divisional opponents and three rotating non-divisional opponents. Every two years, one non-divisional opponent will rotate on, and off, each team’s schedule over a 10-year period, and each team will play its non-divisional opponents an equal number of times.

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Battle For Atlanta: Clark Atlanta Panthers vs. Georgia State Panthers

BATTLE DATE: FRIDAY, SEPT. 2, 2011 GEORGIA DOME, ATLANTA, GA 7:30 p.m. ET