BCSP Notes . . .

There will be a press conference Friday morning at 10 am, just before the media's interviews with league head coaches, announcing the package of 2004 MEAC games to be televised nationally.

The 2004 season kicks off Labor Day weekend, as all eight MEAC teams will be in action including three classic game match ups between Howard and Alabama State (Ford Detroit Football Classic-Detroit, Mich.); Hampton and Jackson State (Eddie Robinson Classic-Orlando, Fla.) and the Aggie-Eagle Classic in Raleigh, N.C., between North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central.

The league will also hold a reception on Thursday from 7­9 pm, as MEAC Football Alum reunite in Arlington to celebrate 35 years of MEAC Football.

Here is a breakdown of the scheduled events for Friday, July 30, 2004.

9:15 - 10 am	Media Registration (First Floor)
10 - 11:30 a.m.	1-on-1 Media Interviews w/ Coaches
11 - 12 n	Press Luncheon Registration
12n - 2 p.m.	Press Luncheon

HBCU Battle of the Bands
Recognizing that "halftime is showtime", six HBCU marching bands will participate in the 2nd "Defeat the Beat" Battle of the Bands, August 21 at Charlotte's Memorial Stadium.

Bands from Albany State, Bethune-Cookman, Jackson State, Miles, North Carolina Central and South Carolina State will be joined by 2003 champion North Carolina A&T for this year's event. Exhibition performances will be given by Charlotte's West Charlotte High School and E.E. Smith High School of Fayetteville, NC.

National radio personality Tom Joyner will be the featured host of the program. One dollar from every ticket sold to this year's event will benefit the Tom Joyner Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping students pursue an education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Last year over 22,000 fans attended the event in North Carolina's Queen City.

Created and promoted by Enka Entertainment,"Defeat the Beat" was created to promote and uphold principles of musicanship, sportsmanship, scholastic achievement and community service. Former Johnson C. Smith band director Duncan Gray is chief operations officer for the event.

Doors are set to open at 4:30pm with the event to begin at 6:00pm. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com.

Silver Dollar Classic Returns!
After weeks of speculation its finally official as Alcorn State and Grambling State will kick off the 2004 football campaign in Carson, California, for the second annual Silver Dollar Classic at the Home Depot Center on Sunday, Sept. 5 at 5 p.m. PT.

Prior to being presented with an offer to participate in the Classic, Grambling was set to host Alcorn at Eddie Robinson Stadium in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) cross-divisional match-up.

Instead, Grambling will participate in the Classic for the second time. In 2002, GSU took on Tennessee State University in the inaugural game held in Las Vegas. The purpose of the Silver Dollar Classic is to bring awareness of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to the Western states, which, due to lack of presence, are unable to have the black college football experience.

The Silver Dollar Classic will be a weekend affair with several activities preceding Sunday evening's contest. All throughout the brand new Home Depot Center events will take place, including a career expo, presidential luncheon, and "Battle of the Bands." On Sunday, two separate "Gospel Brunches" will take place, in which fans of each school will have the opportunity to assemble prior to the 5 p.m. kickoff.

"We're extremely delighted to have been chosen to play in this game," commented Robert Raines, athletic director at Alcorn State. "With our participation in the Classic in Washington D.C., (Sept. 18, Prince George's Classic) this gives us an opportunity to showcase our program from coast-to-coast. It should be a great game."

ASU and Grambling have entertained each other on 51 occasions over the course of their respective histories. Grambling leads the all-time series 35-15-1. Alcorn had the Tigers on the ropes the past two seasons, but faltered in the fourth quarter as GSU triumphed. Last season, the Braves squandered a five-point fourth-quarter lead as Grambling took advantage of two bad snaps on punt attempts to score 17 unanswered points en route to a 40-28 win.

Fans may purchase tickets via Tickermaster at 213-480-3232 or www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets will be available through both school's respective ticket offices within the coming weeks.

© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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