The city of Detroit gets back in the picture when the Detroit Classic debuts in the Motor City at the new Ford Field. Florida A&M of the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference is set to meet Alabama State of the Southwestern Athletic Conference in the August 30 game. FAMU graduate Kwame Kilpatrick is the mayor of Detroit and was reportedly instrumental in getting the city to get back in the classic business.

After one year as the site of the Silver Dollar Classic, Las Vegas will again serve as the site of a new classic, this one appropriately named the Las Vegas Classic. The SDC pitted Grambling State and Tennessee State a year ago. The LVC will bring in Southern and North Carolina A&T on Sept. 13 of this year. Organizers of last year's game were unable to put together a deal for a second year allowing another company, Urban Sports and Entertainment Group of Charlotte, to get involved.

Last year's Peach State Classic at Atlanta's Georgia Dome pitted MEAC rivals South Carolina State and N. C. A&T. This season a classic with the same name is set for Sept. 6 in Macon, Ga., between Winston-Salem State and Fort Valley State. The site of the SC State/NC A&T game is listed as TBD (to be determined) on both teams' schedules.

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association West Division rivals Winston-Salem State and North Carolina Central are scheduled to stage their classic duel in Atlantic City on Oct. 25 in the inaugural Boardwalk Classic.

Because of a scheduling conflict with the NFL's Bengals, Cincinnati's Riverfront Classic has been moved to Cleveland and re-named the Ohio Classic. Hampton and Tuskegee meet on Sept. 20 in Browns Stadium for this year's contest.

SWAC members Prairie View and Arkansas-Pine Bluff are set to square off in San Antonio on Nov. 8 of this year. The game does not have a classic name attached to it though it does have all the markings.

Last but certainly not least, there are discussions underway to bring the Hampton/Florida A&M game to San Francisco's Pac-Bell Park, home of Major League Baseball's Giants. The 2003 game is Hampton's home game and school officials are reportedly considering an offer from interested parties in San Francisco to move the game from Nov. 1 to Sept 13.

It is believed that this is the first time that Georgia Tech has ever named any facility on campus after an African-American. It is also thought to be among the few such gestures by any major college or university in the country, second possibly to the late Chester Grant who had an athletics facility named for him on the campus of North Carolina State.

"Obviously this is the biggest thing that has ever happened in my life," Smith told writer Hal Lamar for a piece on "Inside Hotlanta and the SIAC," a column that appears on onnidan.com.

Atlanta native Harris, who has spent 18 years as athletic trainer at Georgia Tech, estimates he has won 786 games, the most in the history of the school, the Atlantic Coast Conference and perhaps the history of college athletics.

The complete story is available at http://www.onnidan.com/02-03/columns/insi0515.htm.

"CIAA student-athletes possess a strong commitment to athletics and strive for higher achievements in academics," said CIAA Commissioner Leon G. Kerry. "These students represent the strength of the CIAA and its dedication to creating ambassadors for the future."

The 2003 CIAA Commissioner's All-Academic Team recognizes 20 student-athletes, 10 on the First Team and 10 on the Second Team, as voted on by the CIAA-Sports Information Directors' Association. The average grade point average of the First Team is a 3.834, and the average for the Second Team is a 3.648 GPA (on a 4.0 scale).

To be eligible, a student-athlete must have completed one full academic year at a CIAA institution, earned a minimum 3.20 overall grade point average, and played as a starter or important reserve in a CIAA sanctioned sport.

2003 CIAA CommissionerŐs All-Academic Team

FIRST TEAM
Name	Sport	School	Year	Hometown	GPA	Major
Aaron Federspiel	Football	WSSU	Sr.	W-Salem, NC	3.88	Sports Management
Sharon Gorgani	V-ball/S-ball	ECSU	Sr.	New Bern, NC	3.763	Business Administration
Andregus Holmes	Football	FSU	Sr.	Dunn, NC	3.596	Political Science
Luqman Jaaber	Basketball	VUU	So.	Richmond, VA	4.000	Computer Science
Katrina Johnson	Volleyball	SAC	Jr.	Nassau, Bah.	3.8	Accounting
Pheshetta Johnson	Bowling	NCCU	Sr.	Huntersville, NC	3.794	Biology
Rhonda Lee	Bowling	NCCU	Jr.	Knightdale, NC	4.000	Law Enforcement
LaToya Martin	Softball	SU	Sr.	Nassau, Bah.	3.90	Bus. Administration
Santisha Martin	Tr./Cr.C	SAC	So.	Nassau, Bah.	3.8	Accounting
Katherine Wade	Track	VUU	Sr.	Phoenix, AZ	3.8	Marketing
SECOND TEAM
Shennel Beckles	Volleyball	SAC	Sr.	Nassau, Bah.	3.4	English
Kim Bond	Tennis	ECSU	Sr.	Ahoskie, NC	3.77	Computer Science
Bryan Chapman	Basketball	FSU	Sr.	Colonia, NJ	3.234	Business Management
Roshawnnah Clark	Tennis	FSU	Grad.	Fayetteville, NC	3.434	Political Science
Bryan James	Football	JCSU	Jr.	Conover, NC	3.653	Comp. Engin.
Sophia M.-Lindsay	Volleyball	SAC	Sr.	Nassau, Bah.	3.6	Comp. Info. Systems
Kareem Nembhard	Tr./Cr.C.	LC	So.	Kingston, Jam.	3.75	Accounting
Felicia Smith	Softball	BSU	Jr.	Glen Burnie, MD	3.805	Psychology
Ebony Sumerlin	Basketball	JCSU	So.	Va. Beach, VA	3.9	Computer Engineering
Courtney Walls	V-ball/S-ball	BSU	So.	Laurel, MD	3.935	Biology

© 2003 Azeez Communications, Inc.

Return to Front Page