EAGLES FOOTBALL 2019 – GAME #1 NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY “EAGLES” VS. AUSTIN PEAY STATE UNIVERSITY “GOVERNORS” Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019 – Kickoff at 7:00 p.m. (CT) Fortera Stadium - Clarksville, Tenn. - ESPN+ THE GAME 2019 NCCU Football Schedule North Carolina Central University “Eagles” vs. Austin Peay State Univ. “Governors” Date Opponent Time/Result THE KICKOFF Aug. 29 at Austin Peay..... (ESPN+) 7 p.m. (CT) Thursday, August 29, 2019 – Kickoff at 7:00 p.m. (CT) / 8:00 p.m. (ET) Sept. 7 at Towson .............................6 p.m. Sept. 14 at Gardner-Webb .........(ESPN+) 6 p.m. THE SITE Sept. 21 Elizabeth City State ..............4 p.m. Fortera Stadium (8,000 capacity / FieldTurf XT) - Clarksville, Tenn. Sept. 28 at Morgan State ...........(ESPN3) 6 p.m. THE RECORDS (2018) Oct. 5 at Florida A&M .............(ESPN3) 2 p.m. N.C. Central (5-6 overall, 3-4 MEAC); Austin Peay (5-6, 3-5 OVC) Oct. 10 (T) Bethune-Cookman...... (ESPNU) 6 p.m. Oct. 26 Delaware State ............(ESPN3) 2 p.m. MEDIA COVERAGE Nov. 2 at Howard ..... (ESPN3 live/ESPNU TD) 1 p.m. Audio: NCCU Sports Network at NCCUEaglePride.com (internet stream). Broadcast starts at 6:30 p.m. (CT). Jonathan Duren (play-by-play). Nov. 9 Norfolk State (HC) .........(ESPN3) 2 p.m. Video: ESPN+ Nov. 16 S.C. State .................... (ESPN3) 2 p.m. Nov. 23 at N.C. A&T ... (ESPN3 live/ESPNU TD) 1 p.m. QUICK HITS Dec. 21 Celebration Bowl ......... (ABC) 12 p.m. • Thursday’s contest will be the first gridiron meeting between NCCU and Austin MEAC Champion vs. SWAC Champion - Atlanta Peay. The Eagles have a 2-1 record on Thursday night the past two seasons. • NCCU opens the season with three straight non-conference road games before its NCCU Ticket Office: (919) 530-6530 home-opener on Sept. 21 versus Elizabeth City State. NCCU Athletics Web Site: NCCUEaglePride.com Twitter: @NCCUAthletics / @NCCU_Football • NCCU is under the direction of first-year head coach Trei Oliver, who was an all- YouTube: www.youtube.com/NCCUEagles region safety and punter (1994-97) at NCCU, as well as an assistant coach (2003-06). • Austin Peay was picked to finish fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference by a preseason media poll. The Governors finished 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the OVC in 2018. HEAD COACHES • NCCU led the conference and ranked 14th in the NCAA Division I-FCS in tackles for North Carolina Central: loss with an average of 7.7 per game in 2018. Head Coach ..................................... Trei Oliver • NCCU topped the MEAC and finished 21st in the nation (FCS) in turnover margin Alma Mater ................N.C. Central Univ. (1998) (+0.55 per game) last season. Record at NCCU .....................0-0 (1st season) • NCCU junior running back Isaiah Totten enters his third season ranked 15th on Career Record .........................0-0 (1st season) NCCU’s career rushing list with 1,486 ground yards, averaging 5.63 yards per run. • NCCU redshirt senior defensive end Darius Royster amassed 17.0 takedowns Austin Peay: behind the line of scrimmage (T-2nd in MEAC, 15th in FCS) and four forced fumbles Head Coach ............................. Mark Hudspeth (1st in MEAC, 9th in FCS) last season. Alma Mater ...........................Delta State (1992) Record at APSU ......................0-0 (1st season) • Since the start of the 2012 season, NCCU has scored 38 touchdowns on defense Career Record ...................95-59 (15th season) and special teams, including three defensive scores in 2017 and two last season. MEDIA RELATIONS CONTACTS THE SERIES This will be the first football meeting between NCCU and Austin Peay. North Carolina Central: SID .................................................. Kyle Serba THE COACHES Office Phone ............................. (919) 530-7054 NCCU: Trei Oliver (N.C. Central, 1998) is in his first season as a college head E-Mail [email protected] Web Site ........................NCCUEaglePride.com coach. With 20 years of college coaching experience that includes five conference championships and three black college football national titles, Oliver returned to Austin Peay: his alma mater as North Carolina Central University’s 24th head football coach in SID .................................................. Cody Bush December 2018. A native of Yorktown, Virginia, Oliver earned all-conference and all- Office Phone ............................. (931) 221-7561 region honors as a defensive back and punter during his four-year playing career E-Mail [email protected] at NCCU from 1994-97. The 1998 graduate later returned to NCCU as an assistant Web Site ................................ LetsGoPeay.com coach from 2003-06, helping the Eagles to back-to-back Central Intercollegiate Twitter Talk: #NCCUfootball Athletic Association (CIAA) championships in 2005 and 2006. Austin Peay: Mark Hudspeth (Delta State, 1992) was announced as the 20th head QUICK FACTS football coach in Austin Peay program history in December 2018. He joined Austin School: North Carolina Central University Peay after spending the 2018 season as the associate head coach and tight ends Location: Durham, NC 27707 coach at Mississippi State. Hudspeth has 16 years of head coaching experience at the Founded: 1910 by Dr. James E. Shepard FBS, NCAA Division II and high school levels, and his teams went a combined 142-60 Enrollment: 8,207 with him at the helm. Nickname: Eagles School Colors: Maroon & Gray ROYSTER NAMED PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Stadium: O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium NCCU redshirt senior defensive end Darius Royster was named as the Preseason Capacity (Surface): 10,000 (Mondoturf) Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year by Phil Steele’s College National Affiliation: NCAA Division I-FCS Football Preview magazine. In 2018, Royster led the MEAC and ranked ninth in the Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference nation (FCS) with 4 forced fumbles, tied for second in the conference and ranked 15th Chancellor: Dr. Johnson O. Akinleye in the nation with a team-high 17.0 tackles for a loss, and tied for fifth in the league Alma Mater: Alabama A&M with a team-best 5.0 sacks. He finished third on the squad with 58 total takedowns, 39 Athletics Director: Ingrid Wicker-McCree, Ed.D. of which were unassisted. Royster broke the school record for most tackles for loss in Alma Mater: George Washington a game with 6.0 TFL among his season-best 10 total tackles versus Prairie View A&M Athletics Dept. Phone: (919) 530-7057 (Sept. 2) in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, and registered 5.0 stops for a loss at S.C. Athletics Dept. Web Site: NCCUEaglePride.com State (Nov. 24) in the final game of last season. Twitter: @NCCUAthletics / @NCCU_Football Facebook: Facebook.com/NCCUAthletics SEVEN NCCU EAGLES VOTED TO PRESEASON ALL-MEAC TEAMS Seven North Carolina Central University Eagles were named to the 2019 Preseason Athletics Ticket Office Phone: (919) 530-6530 All-MEAC Football Teams, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced on Friday from its annual football media day and luncheon in Norfolk, Virginia. NCCU junior FOOTBALL HISTORY running back Isaiah Totten, redshirt senior defensive lineman Darius Royster, and First Year of Football: 1923 senior defensive lineman Kawuan Cox were voted to the Preseason All-MEAC First 475-390-30 Overall All-Time Record: Team. Redshirt junior offensive lineman Andrew Dale was selected to the Preseason NCAA Playoff Record (Yrs): 1-3 (3 years - 1988, All-MEAC Second Team, while redshirt sophomore center Somadina Okezie-Okeke, 2005, 2006 - NCAA Div. II) sophomore offensive lineman Ricky Lee and junior linebacker Branden Bailey Last Playoff Opponent: Delta State (Div. II) received Preseason All-MEAC Third Team honors. Totten (Apex, N.C.) ranked third in Result (Date): Lost, 17-24 (Nov. 25, 2006) the conference in rushing with 768 yards and seven touchdowns in 2018, averaging Conference Championships: MEAC (1972, 5.5 yards per carry to earn All-MEAC First Team recognition. In two seasons, he has 1973, 2016); CIAA (1953, 1954, 1956, 1961, amassed 1,486 rushing yards to rank 15th on NCCU’s career rushing list, averaging 1963, 1980, 2005, 2006) 5.63 yards per carry with 12 career rushing touchdowns. Royster (Chesapeake, Va.) led the MEAC and ranked ninth in the nation (FCS) with four forced fumbles a year SPORTS INFORMATION ago, tied for second in the conference and ranked 15th in the nation with a team-high Sports Information Director: Kyle Serba 17.0 tackles for a loss, and tied for fifth in the league with a team-best 5.0 sacks. The SID Office Phone: (919) 530-7054 2018 All-MEAC Third Team pick finished third on the squad with 58 total takedowns, SID E-Mail: [email protected] 39 of which were unassisted. He broke the school record for most tackles for loss in Radio Play-by-Play: Jonathan Duren a game with 6.0 TFL versus Prairie View A&M in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, while Phone/Email: (919) 530-6892/[email protected] adding 5.0 stops for a loss at S.C. State. Cox (Summerville, S.C.) tied for sixth in the conference with 4.5 sacks, to go along with 6.5 stops for a loss, 26 total tackles and a COACHING STAFF forced fumble as a Third Team All-MEAC honoree last season. Dale (Morehead City, Head Coach: Trei Oliver N.C.) started seven games on the offensive front last season before being sidelined Alma Mater (Year): N.C. Central Univ. (1998) with an injury. Okezie-Okeke (Woodstock, Ga.) started all 11 games in his first college Record at NCCU (Years): 0-0 (1st year) season as a center, grading out at 85 percent of his blocking assignments with five pancake blocks. Lee (Jacksonville, Fla.) started all 11 games at right tackle as a true Career Record (Years): 0-0 (1st year) freshman, grading out at 83 percent of his blocking assignments with three pancake Coaching Responsibilities: blocks.