North Carolina Central University

FOOTBALL

     DURHAM, NC -- North Carolina Central University, the defending Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association champions, released its 2006 football schedule Thursday, and the Eagles will face a challenging slate of opposition in their quest for a repeat conference title and a return trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs. 
     In 2006, NCCU will face a new Division I-AA non-conference opponent, get reacquainted with a league foe, and spend six straight weeks away from home in the school's final gridiron season in the CIAA.
     NCCU opens its schedule by hosting the defending Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) champions Albany State University on Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. The Golden Rams finished last season with an 8-2 record after losing in the first-round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Playoffs as a No. 4 seed. ASU and NCCU played in 1997 and 1998 with the Golden Rams winning both contests.

*** Schedule Revised June 16 [Press Release] ***

     On Sunday, Sept. 3, the Eagles will participate in the "Labor Day Classic" against Shaw University, the 2004 CIAA football champions, at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. NCCU leads the all-time series 29-8-1 since the Eagles and Bears first met in 1928.
     NCCU then returns home for consecutive weeks to host Saint Paul's College on Sept. 9 and Lenoir-Rhyne College on Sept. 16. Both games will kick off at 4 p.m. inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. 
     This will be the first time the Eagles have played St. Paul's since 1987, when NCCU defeated the Tigers 31-8 in Durham, N.C. The Eagles hold a 11-6 edge in the series with SPC.
     It took overtime for Lenoir-Rhyne and NCCU to settle the schools' first meeting last season, with the Eagles beating the Bears 28-21 in front of a capacity crowd in Hickory, N.C. Lenoir-Rhyne will be looking for revenge as a representative of the South Atlantic Conference on Sept. 16.
     NCCU then begins a six-week journey away from home when the Eagles travel to Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. on Sept. 23 for a 6 p.m. start. This will be NCCU's first meeting with the NCAA Division I-AA Jaguars of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), and the Eagles' first game outside of North Carolina since traveling to play Delaware State University on Sept. 11, 2004. 
     On Sept. 30, NCCU travels to Bowie State University for a rematch of the 2005 CIAA Football Championship Game starting at 1 p.m. The Eagles rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Bulldogs 26-23 on a field goal in the game's closing seconds to win the conference title. NCCU leads the series against Bowie State with a 14-4-1 record since 1981, including three consecutive victories.
     NCCU takes a short ride to Raleigh, N.C. on Oct. 7 to play Saint Augustine's College at 1:30 p.m. The Falcons were the only team to defeat NCCU during the 2005 regular season. 
     On Oct. 14, NCCU heads to Fayetteville State University, the 2002 and 2003 CIAA football champions, for a 6 p.m. start. The Eagles have not won in Fayetteville, N.C. since 2000, dropping the last two road games against the Broncos. 
     After a bye week, NCCU goes to Salisbury, N.C. to play Livingstone College on Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. for the Blue Bears' Homecoming.
     NCCU celebrates its Homecoming on Nov. 4 versus Johnson C. Smith University at 1:30 p.m. The Eagles have won three games in a row against the Golden Bulls by a combined score of 134-21, but JCSU has won three of the last five contests in Durham, N.C.
     On Nov. 11, NCCU is scheduled to host the CIAA Football Championship Game for the fifth time since 2000. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. 
     In 2005, NCCU captured the first CIAA football championship in 25 years, won 10 games for the first time in school history, and finished as the No. 2 ranked team in the Southeast Region.