HARVEY NAMED TO NCAA BOARD: The Division I Board of Directors approved the appointment of three new presidents: William Harvey of Hampton, Judy Genshaft of South Florida and William Meehan of Jacksonville State.

The Board 18-member board that oversees management and sets policies for the organization is comprised on chief executive officers (CEOs) of institutions. All 11 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conferences have a permanent seat. Seven Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and Div. I conferences rotate seats.

Harvey has served as president at Hampton since 1978, overseeing increases in student enrollment, academic programs offered and average SAT scores for entering freshman. Before taking over as president, Harvey served three years in the Army. He also worked at Harvard, Fisk and Tuskegee. He holds degrees from Talladega College and Harvard.

All terms began at the end of the April 30 Board meeting.

HIGH DEF CHALLENGE: ESPN Regional Television (ERT) has announced that the fifth annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney will air on ESPN2/ESPN2 HD and ESPN360.com on Sunday, Sept. 6, at 2 p.m. ET. This will mark the first time the game will be offered in high definition and on ESPN's broadband digital sports television network.

This year's event will pit MEAC defending champion South Carolina State against 2008 SWAC title winner Grambling State for the first time since 1994. The yearly event, which features teams from two prominent HBCU (Historically Black College/University) leagues, will return to Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

South Carolina State and Grambling have previously met 14 times. The Grambling Tigers lead the series 10-4. However, the Bulldogs won the last meeting 31-27 in the 1994 Heritage Bowl. Both teams have also participated in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge before this year's scheduled appearance. South Carolina State played in the inaugural game in 2005 vs. Alabama State and Grambling in 2006 against Hampton.

THURSDAY SWAC GAMES SET: The Southwestern Athletic Conference has announced its four-game Thursday football schedule for the upcoming 2009 season.

All televised Thursday games will be shown live on ESPNU, beginning on Oct. 1 with Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff hosting Alcorn State at Golden Lion Stadium. In 2008, the teams played on Thursday night, with the Braves taking a 13-3 home win on Sept. 18.

On Oct. 22, Prairie View A&M will travel to Baton Rouge to face Southern at A.W. Mumford Stadium. Last season, the Panthers rallied from a double-digit deficit to defeat Southern 24-23 in Houston on Oct. 25.

The Thursday night lights travel to Robinson Stadium in Grambling, LA on Nov. 12 as the defending SWAC and HBCU National Champion Grambling State Tigers will host Texas Southern at 8 p.m. CT. This `Battle of Tigers' will be staged on Thursday night for the second straight year; in 2008 Grambling won at TSU 33-7 on Nov. 20.

Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26 will feature the 86th Turkey Day Classic between Alabama State and Tuskegee at3 p.m. in Montgomery, AL. Last year the Hornets ended Tuskegee's 26-game winning streak with a 17-13 win.

Kickoff times for the October 1 and October 22 games, as well as the SWAC Saturday Football TV Schedule, will be announced later this spring.

© 2009 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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