BCSP Notes . . .
Attendance Matters
Magic City Classic breaks another record, Angel City Classic jumps
The Magic City Classic, the football matchup of Alabama's two
HBCU state schools, Alabama State and Alabama
A&M, continued as a major draw this year, setting a new record and leading all black college games
in attendance for the second straight year.
The MCC, played at Birmingham's historic Legion Field this season on October 25, again outdrew both perennial season-ending November attractions the Florida Classic, pitting Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman at Orlando's Citrus Bowl and the Southern vs. Grambling State Bayou Classic matchup at the New Orleans Super Dome. The MCC's crowd of 69,113 broke last year's record of 68,593.
The Florida Classic, who had before last season led the list for the previous six seasons, finished second again drawing 60,712 fans the second straight year the number has dropped below 70,000 after toppping that number for eight consecutive years. The MCC and Florida Classic were the only games to top the 60,000 mark this year.
The Bayou Classic, came back from fifth and seventh place finishes in the past two seasons, to take the No. 3 spot drawing 59,874 to this year's Thanksgiving weekend rivalry. The State Fair Classic, staged at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas between Grambling and Prairie View A&M held on to the No. 4 spot with 54,315 in attendance.
The biggest jump this year was made by the Angel City Classic which pitted Prairie View and Morehouse at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Sept. 27. With backing from an A-List of Hollywood celebrities, the third annual ACC jumped from 13th last year (32,278) into the top five this season drawing 52,487.
There were 30 HBCU games that topped 20,000 fans this year. Those 30 drew over 1 million fans and averaged over 33,000 per contest.
Homecomings continue to lead when it comes to on-campus attended games and Tuskegee again had the most well-attended homecoming game as 31,302 packed into the Golden Tigers' Abbott Stadium for its Nov. 8 contest vs. Lane. Jackson State secured the No. 2 spot on the homecoming list with 25,542 for its Oct. 15 date vs. Miss. Valley State. Southern was in third place with the 25,512 it garnered for its Oct. 11 date vs. Texas Southern. Tennessee State, who had the second largest homecoming crowd last year, fell to No. 4 this season, with 24,361.
SIAC chooses new commissioner
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference Council of Presidents has announced the appointment of
Gregory Moore as the new conference commissioner.
Moore's appointment is effective January 19, 2009 and was announced at the end of the last day on the job for interim commissioner George Mategakis. Mategakis announced his resignation earlier this month. He had served as interim commissioner since William Lide was terminated in April.
"Mr. Moore brings a wealth of educational and professional experiences to the position," said Dr. Benjamin F. Payton, President of Tuskegee University, who serves as Chair of the Council.
Moore holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from the College of New Jersey and a J.D. degree from the University of Oregon School of Law. He has been Legal Counsel/Government Relations Director for Essex County College while maintaining a law practice, The Moore Law Group, LLC in New Jersey, dealing with sports law and commercial transactions.
He has also been Deputy Counsel for the New Jersey State Legislature and General Counsel for the Jersey Express Basketball Club.
"It is my sense that SIAC student athletes are the embodiment of what is best about college sports and I will work tirelessly to broaden the platform to showcase these outstanding young men and women," stated Moore, who was the unanimous choice of the search committee following interviews with four finalist candidates.
Fort Valley State picks Pittman
Fort Valley State has announced the selection of
Donald Pittman as its new head football coach. Pittman comes to FVSU from
Albany State where he served as offensive coordinator.
A 14-member search committee including retired FVSU coach Stan Lomax, interim director of football operations Wilson Gosier, state law maker and FVSU alumni Freddie Powell-Sims and Calvin Smyre selected Pittman from a pool of 40 applicants. FVSU President Dr. Larry E. Rivers - who made the final decision announced the selection during an afternoon press conference.
"This marks a great new day in the history of Wildcat football. I have confidence that Coach Pittman is going to lead our program to great new heights," said Rivers. "I also believe he's going to make sure our Wildcat players are scholars, as well as athletes." Pittman replaces Deondri Clark who resigned after the season
Pittman, a native of Las Vegas, has 30 years of experience in coaching college football. He served as the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M-Kingsville and was a running backs coach for 15 years before landing the offensive coordinator position at Albany State. Pittman will begin his head coaching career in a new home. A 10,000 seat stadium is under construction and is scheduled for completion by the time the 2009 football season begins
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