Courtesy of North Carolina Central Athletic Communications


MEAC Notes


THE GAME
Alcorn State University "Braves" vs. North Carolina Central University "Eagles"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021 – Kickoff at 7 p.m.

THE SITE
Center Parc Stadium (24,333 capacity/FieldTurf) - Atlanta, Ga.

THE EVENT
The 16th edition of the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge will air live on ESPN, while ESPN's College GameDay Built by the Home Depot pregame show will broadcast live from outside Center Parc Stadium from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. The MEAC holds a 10-4 record in the event. 

THE RECORDS
2019: N.C. Central (4-8 overall, 3-5 MEAC); Alcorn State (9-4, 6-1 SWAC)
Note: Neither program played during the 2020-21 season.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network at NCCUEaglePride.com (internet stream). Jonathan Duren (play-by-play).
TV/Video: ESPN (live). Booth: Mark Jones, Jay Walker, Robert Griffin III. Sidelines: Tiffany Greene, Quint Kessenich.

QUICK HITS
• 644 days... That's how long it will be between games for NCCU when the Eagles take the field on Saturday against Alcorn State in the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge.
• This will be NCCU's and Alcorn State's second appearance in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. NCCU suffered a 40-24 defeat to Prairie View A&M in 2018, while the Braves' contest at Bethune-Cookman was suspended in the second quarter due to weather conditions.
• Alcorn State has won all five meetings with the NCCU Eagles between 1970-76. The last match-up was on Sept. 25, 1976, a 23-17 home victory by the Braves.
• Alcorn State received 35 votes in the 2021 preseason NCAA FCS top-25 poll.
• Alcorn State's last game played was in the 2019 Celebration Bowl on Dec. 21, 2019, a loss to North Carolina A&T in a 64-44 shootout.
• Alcorn State has won four SWAC championships since 2014 (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019), with a record of 49-26 (.653) during that time, including back-to-back 9-4 campaigns in 2018 and 2019.
• NCCU is under the direction of second-season head coach Trei Oliver, who was an all-region safety and punter (1994-97) at NCCU, as well as an Eagles' assistant coach (2003-06).
• NCCU boasted the top pass defense in the MEAC in 2019, allowing just 170.0 passing yards per contest (11th in FCS).
• NCCU's 14 interceptions in 2019, good for second in the MEAC, were the most picks by the Eagles since 2013 (14).
• Twenty-one NCCU Eagles have already earned their undergraduate degrees, including 13 from NCCU and eight graduate transfers.
• NCCU quarterback Davius Richard became just the third quarterback in school history to throw for more than 2,000 passing yards (2,020 yards/2019) as a freshman, joining Earl "Air" Harvey (3,190 yards/1985) and Stafford Brown (2.577 yards/2006).
• As a freshman in 2019, NCCU quarterback Davius Richard achieved the sixth-best passing performance in school history versus Norfolk State (Nov. 9, 2019), amassing 384 passing yards with three touchdowns, completing 30 of 46 throws. Only NCCU hall of fame quarterback Earl "Air" Harvey (1985-88) has thrown for more passing yards, as he holds the top five single-game passing efforts in school history.
• NCCU junior running back Isaiah Totten ranks seventh on NCCU's career rushing list with 2,122 ground yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, with 15 touchdowns. Totten needs 355 yards to move to third, 719 yards to jump to second, and 887 yards to break Greg Pruitt Jr.'s NCCU career record of 3,008 rushing yards.
• Thanks to Jerome Foster's pick-six against Elizabeth City State on Sept. 21, 2019, NCCU has now had at least one interception for a touchdown in 16 consecutive seasons.
• Davius Richards' 62-yard touchdown run at Morgan State (Sept. 28, 2019) is the longest rush by an NCCU quarterback since Lawrence Fuller raced 74 yards against Morris Brown on Sept. 30, 2000.
• NCCU's 330 yards rushing at Morgan State (Sept. 28, 2019) are the most against a conference opponent since Oct. 23, 2004, when the Eagles were in the Division II CIAA and rushed for 349 yards against CIAA foe Livingstone College.
• Since the start of the 2012 season, NCCU has scored 40 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including a pick-six and a kickoff return TD in 2019.

THE SERIES
This will be the sixth meeting between the Eagles and Braves, with Alcorn State winning all five previous match-ups, which were held between 1970-76.
09/25/1976 - Alcorn State 23, NCCU 17 (Lorman, Miss.)
09/27/1975 - Alcorn State 54, NCCU 7 (Durham, N.C.)
09/28/1974 - Alcorn State 14, NCCU 12 (Lorman, Miss.)
09/22/1973 - Alcorn State 10, NCCU 8 (Durham, N.C.)
09/26/1970 - Alcorn State 27, NCCU 0 (neutral site)

THE VENUE - CENTER PARC STADIUM HISTORY
The venue for Saturday's contest, Center Parc Stadium, was originally built for the 1996 Summer Olympics as Centennial Olympic Stadium. Following the 1996 Summer Paralympics, the Olympic Stadium was reconfigured as designed into the baseball-specific Turner Field, serving as the home of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball from 1997 until 2016. The stadium currently serves as the home field for the Georgia State University football team.

THE COACHES
NCCU: Trei Oliver (N.C. Central, 1998) is in his second season as a college head coach. With 22 years of college coaching experience that includes five conference championships and three black college football national titles, Oliver returned to his alma mater as North Carolina Central University's 24th head football coach in December 2018. A native of Yorktown, Virginia, Oliver earned all-conference and all-region honors as a defensive back and punter during his four-year playing career at NCCU from 1994-97. The 1998 graduate later returned to NCCU as an assistant coach from 2003-06, helping the Eagles to back-to-back Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championships in 2005 and 2006.

Alcorn State: In four seasons, Fred "Air" McNair (Alcorn State, 1992) has coached the Braves to four SWAC East Division titles and a pair of SWAC Championships. The two-time SWAC Coach of the Year winner brought the Braves to the Celebration Bowl in both 2018 and 2019. He is the original "Air McNair" and the older brother of the late Tennessee Titans quarterback and 2003 Co-Most Valuable Player, Steve "Air II" McNair. McNair hoists a 22-8 SWAC record after four seasons, and 30-19 overall. He became the first SWAC Coach of the Year winner at Alcorn since Cardell Jones in 1992.

ALUMS AS HEAD FOOTBALL COACHES AT NCCU
Oliver is the third alumnus to lead the NCCU football program, following in the footsteps of Bishop Harris, a 1963 graduate who coached the Eagles from 1991-92, and Herman Riddick, a 1933 graduate who guided the Eagles to a school record 112 victories from 1945-1964.

EIGHT NCCU EAGLES VOTED TO PRESEASON ALL-MEAC TEAMS
Eight NCCU Eagles were named to the 2021 Preseason All-MEAC Football Teams. NCCU senior running back Isaiah Totten, senior defensive back Stephen Stokes and sophomore return specialist Brandon Codrington were voted to the Preseason All-MEAC First Team, while senior offensive lineman Robert Mitchell, sophomore offensive lineman Corey Bullock, junior defensive lineman Jessie Malit, sophomore defensive back Manny Smith, and sophomore placekicker Adrian Olivo were selected to the Preseason All-MEAC Second Team.
• Totten (Apex, N.C.), a repeat All-MEAC First Team pick in 2019, ran for 636 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 4.0 yards per carry, to become just the eighth Eagle in school history to amass 2,000 career rushing yards. He currently ranks seventh on NCCU's all-time rushing list with 2,122 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per run with 15 touchdowns.
• Stokes (Baltimore, Md.) finished with 62 tackles (46 solo), including 7.0 hits for a loss and a pair of fumble recoveries in 2019. He placed third on the team and 10th in the conference with eight passes defended (2 interceptions, 6 pass break-ups).
• Codrington (Raleigh, N.C.), named All-MEAC Third Team in 2019, finished among the conference leaders in both punt returns and kickoff returns. He ranked third in the MEAC with a punt return average of 7.8 yards, and averaged 18.8 yards per kickoff return. In the final minute of a tie game versus Delaware State (Oct. 26, 2019), Codrington returned a kickoff 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
• Mitchell (Millsboro, Del.) played in all 12 games on the offensive line in 2019, including 10 as a starter.
• Bullock (Accokeek, Md.) appeared in eight games as a rookie with four starts on the offensive front.
• Malit (Concord, N.C.) started all 12 games at defensive end in 2019, recording 26 tackles, including five for loss and 1.5 sacks. Earlier this year, he earned the Stats Perform FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, presented to a student-athlete who excels both in the classroom and in the community.
• Smith (Laurel Hill, N.C.) played in all 12 games during the 2019 campaign, including the final 11 as a starter in the defensive secondary. He ranked sixth on the team with 43 tackles (30 solo), along with 3.0 hits for a loss and three pass break-ups.
• Olivo (Plant City, Fla.) ranked fourth in MEAC in field goals made per game (0.83), field goal percentage (76.9%), and extra-point kick percentage (92.3%) in 2019. As the team's top scorer with 54 points, he made 10 of 13 field attempts and 24 of 26 extra-point kicks.

THREE NCCU EAGLES IN THE NFL
Three former NCCU Eagles are currently on NFL rosters, including cornerback Ryan Smith and offensive lineman Nick Leverett, who earned Super Bowl rings as members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past season. Smith is now a member of the Los Angeles Chargers, while Leverett remains with the Bucs. Bryan Mills, who was an all-American cornerback at NCCU in 2019, is now with the New Orleans Saints. 

NCCU FOOTBALL ON ESPN TV NETWORKS
Since 2011, when NCCU officially joined NCAA Division I (FCS), the Eagles have played in 15 games on ESPN TV networks (12 ESPNU, 2 ESPNews, 1 ESPN2). NCCU has a 5-10 record in those games.

EAGLES TURN DEFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS INTO POINTS
Since the start of the 2012 season, the Eagles have demonstrated a knack for finding the end zone when the offense is off the field. In the past 92 games, NCCU has scored 40 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including two in 2019, two in 2018, three in 2017, three in 2016, six in 2015, five in 2014, nine in 2013 and 10 in 2012. In that time, the Eagles have made trips to the end zone on 14 punt returns, seven kickoff returns, three blocked field goal returns, 12 interceptions and four fumble recoveries. 

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
• Twenty-one NCCU Eagles have already earned their undergraduate degrees, including 13 from NCCU and eight graduate transfers: Quentin Chaplin, Jamal Currie-Elliott, Jorden Freeman, E.J. Hicks, Ryan McDaniel, Robert Mitchell, Justin Nicholson, Noah Rainbow-Douglas, Daeshawn Stephens, Matt Stevens, Stephen Stokes, Isaiah Totten, Cole Williams, Noah Ellison (Wagner), Isiah Macklin (San Diego State), Marcus McDonald (UNC Pembroke), Chidi Okonya (Duke), Desmond Quinerly (Saint Augustine's), Bruce Trigg (Morgan State), Tre Turner (Eastern Kentucky), Colby Warrior (Morgan State). 
• NCCU defensive lineman Chuck Manning was announced as a University Scholar-Athlete Award recipient by The National Football Foundation's Bill Dooley Chapter on June 28. A native of Durham, North Carolina, Manning played in all 23 games in his first two seasons at N.C. Central. During the Eagles' last season of competition in 2019, he collected 20 tackles, including 4.0 stops for loss with 2.0 sacks. The Riverside High School product currently boasts at 3.925 overall grade point average and is on track to graduate in December with a degree in mass communication.
• When wide receiver Daeshawn Stephens earned his bachelor's degree from NCCU in May 2020, he received distinction with the highest cumulative grade point average (3.848) among graduates in the mass communication department. In 2019, Stephens finished second on the team with 28 receptions for 354 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 12.6 yards per catch.

COMMUNITY SERVICE LEADERS
Two NCCU Eagles have earned national recognition for their community service efforts:
• Jessie Malit won the 2020-21 STATS Perform FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, presented to the nation's top FCS student-athlete who excels both in the classroom and in the community. Malit spearheaded the NCCU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's E.A.G.L.E.S. (Educated Actions Generate Lifelong Empowerment & Success) Vote initiative in October 2020, including a campus-wide March to the Polls event (289 out of a possible 315 eligible student-athletes registered to vote [92%], including 100% of the football team), organized a book drive to create a library in his mother's home village in Kenya (currently has collected more than 400 books with a goal of 1,000), volunteered at a battered women's shelter, led his church youth group in providing food and shelter for homeless men, volunteered at the Food Bank of North Carolina, and has advocated for support for poverty issues including housing, food security and quality education. The SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) Vice President at NCCU, he owns a 3.305 overall grade point average while pursing a bachelor's degree in political science with a concentration in pre-law and theory, and is on track to graduate in December 2021, with plans to attend graduate school to study public policy.
• Stephen Stokes was one of only 22 college football players in the nation to earn distinguished recognition as a member of the 2020 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, announced by Allstate and the American Football Coaches Association on Sept. 23, 2020. Among his many community service efforts, Stokes has volunteered with the Project BUILD Gang Intervention Program in Durham, N.C., working one-on-one with local youth who are at high risk of gang involvement. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he helped in his hometown by creating at-home workout videos for the Police Athletic League Center website and speaking to students at his alma mater, Parkville High School, about the importance of higher education. Stokes is also active with the Big Brother Program at R.N. Harris Elementary School in Durham. He graduated from NCCU in May 2020, achieving a 3.15 cumulative grade point average as a criminal justice major with a concentration in homeland security. He is currently pursuing a second undergraduate degree in psychology.

ABOUT NCCU FOOTBALL
• North Carolina Central University is in its 10th season of full NCAA Division I (FCS) athletics competition as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. 
• The Eagles have won 11 conference championships as members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1953, 1954, 1956, 1961, 1963, 1980, 2005, 2006) and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (1972, 1973, 2016), and have made three appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs (1988, 2005, 2006). The Eagles won back-to-back football conference championships and a Black College National Championship in their final two years in the Division II ranks (2005 and 2006) before starting the transition to Division I in 2007.
• During its storied gridiron tradition, NCCU has produced 146 all-conference selections (first team), 70 all-Americans, 41 NFL draft picks, 11 conference championships and two Black College National Championships (1954, 2006).
• Three Eagles have represented NCCU on the National Football League's grandest stage - the Super Bowl. The first NCCU Eagle to make a Super Bowl appearance was Richard Sligh, who was a reserve tackle with the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II against the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 14, 1968. Sligh, who holds the distinction as the tallest player in NFL history (7'0"), played at NCCU from 1962-64 and was later drafted by the Raiders in the 10th round of the 1967 NFL draft. On Jan. 24, 1982, former NCCU Eagle Louis Breeden was a starting cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI against the San Francisco 49ers. Earlier in the season (Nov. 8, 1981), Breeden intercepted a pass thrown by San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts and returned it a team-record 102 yards for a touchdown. The following year, he was selected as a First-Team All-Pro. He completed his 10-year NFL career with 33 interceptions for 558 return yards and two touchdowns. The third Eagle to play in the Super Bowl was Ryan Smith with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Feb. 7, 2021, as Smith became the first NCCU Eagle to play in a Super Bowl victory.
• The first Eagle selected in the NFL Draft was Matt Boone, who was taken by the Giants with the eighth pick in the 18th round in 1956. The latest Eagle announced during the NFL Draft was Ryan Smith, who was chosen by the Buccaneers in the fourth round in 2016. NCCU's highest draft pick was Doug Wilkerson, who was selected in the first round with the 14th overall pick of the 1970 NFL Draft by the Oilers. The Eagles have also had three second-round NFL draft picks, including Robert Massey in 1989 by the Saints, Charles Smith in 1975 by the Broncos and Chuck Hinton in 1962 by the Browns. 
• HBCU football pioneer John Brown, who represented NCCU (then North Carolina College) on the gridiron in the 1940s, was one of the first to play professional football out of a historically black college or university. Brown shares the honor with Ezzret Anderson of Kentucky State and Elmore Harris of Morgan State, who all began their professional football careers in 1947. Brown and Anderson were teammates on the Los Angeles Dons, while Harris was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. According to NCCU records, Brown was the first of the three to sign a professional football contract. He played center and linebacker with the Dons from 1947-49, before moving to the Canadian Football League.