by Lut Williams

Its hard to say which will be the more intriguing or the more fun to watch of two
black college football games vs. nationally ranked opponents this weekend being played
about 30 minutes apart in North Carolina. Both hearken back to a bygone era.
One game involves the most recent standard bearer in NCAA Div. II black college
football, Winston-Salem (N. C.) State University. Te other involves North Carolina
A&T State University, just 30 miles down the road from Winston-Salem in Greensboro.
A&T plays in the NCAA Div. I stepchild, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

PATH TO A RIVALRY
Te two have taken remarkably divergent paths to football glory. Tey initially
and literally traded jabs, barbs and wins across the athletics spectrum in the pre-1970s
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), afectionately known then as the
C-I-double A. Well call it the old C-I-double-A.
Before 1970 they were the nearest and bitterest of rivals, as much for students, as
on the playing feld. In fact, historically speaking, they competed for more than that.
Youd have to go back to the founding of each institution in the early 1890s to get
to the real roots of the rivalry. Sufce it to say that when the states fathers i.e. old white
men at the state capital in Raleigh were deciding where to start North Carolinas frst
African-American land grant institution, it was between Greensboro and Winston-Salem.
Greensboro won.
In 1915, the Greensboro school became the Agricultural and Technical College of
North Carolina, A&T for short. Negro was in front of the ofcial name as more than
a modifer. Its road to a modern day institution of science and technology was paved by
initial instruction in Agriculture, Horticulture and Mathematics.
WSSU, named formally as Winston-Salem Teachers College in 1925, and known
afectionately as just TC, became just that, the frst African-American institution in the
United States to grant degrees in elementary teacher education.
And thus, the germs of a backyard rivalry were born.
Te gridiron rivalry dates back to their frst meetings, beginning in 1952, that
were dominated by A&T. Te Aggies won the frst 18 games, most by lopsided scores. But
in 1970, A&T and six of the larger institutions in the CIAA decided to seek bigger and
better opportunities by leaving the conference and Div. II, and move up to NCAA Div. I
to form the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
A diary of commentary on the world of Historically Black College and University Sports
TWO BIG GAMES, ONE PROBLEM
Winston-Salem State and North Carolina A&T
meet nationally-ranked opponents this week on the gridiron
with more riding on the outcomes than just the games.
And, theres just one problem.
WSSU, except for a brief fing with the MEAC between 2007 and 2010, stayed in
Div. II and the CIAA.
Te rivalry took new meaning in 1977 when now recently retired WSSU Athletic
Director Bill Hayes lef as the frst black assistant in the ACC at Wake Forest to become
WSSUs head football coach. He wanted and got his shot at the high and mighty (Div. I)
Aggies. Hayes posted back-to-back wins over A&T in his frst two seasons and a 5-6 mark
over his 11-year tenure.
Ironically, in one of the weirdest and perhaps shrewdest moves ever in the an-
nals of black college football, Hayes lef WSSU (Rams might say he was stolen) to become
A&Ts new head coach in 1988. And the rivalry intensifed.
In his frst two years at A&T, the Rams, under his former assistant Pete Richard-
son, returned the favor, getting back-to-back wins over Hayes and the Aggies, and won
three of the frst four games before Hayes turned the tables and won nine straight ending
in 1999.
Afer a seven-year hiatus, WSSU won three of fve between 2006 and 2010 before
A&T decided it had had enough of the Div. II upstarts. Tey havent played since.
If you throw out A&Ts 18-0 start, the series stands at a rivalry-like A&T 17-WSSU
12 in their last 29 meetings.
To put the rivalry in some kind of personality perspective, there are some inter-
esting contrasts:
WSSU produced the irrepressible Louis Farrakhan; A&T, Keep Hope Alive
Jesse Jackson.
- WSSU had the larger than life, Clarence Big House Gaines as its basketball
coach; A&T, the inimitable Cal Irvin and the bearish Don Corbett.
- WSSUs professional sports icon and Hall of Famer is the famboyantly named,
Earl Te Pearl Monroe of the NBA; A&Ts is the quiet Elvin Bethea of the NFL.
- In more recent times, WSSU claims ESPN motor mouth Stephen A. Smith.
Space Shuttle Challenger victim, astronaut Ron McNair, hailed from A&T.

And Hayes is the winningest football coach in the history of both schools. Such is
the stuf of rivalries.
With that as a backdrop, lets understand where they are today and why their
games, both at home this week, hearken to a bygone era.

STANDING ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN
Since returning to the league in 2010, Winston-Salem State has become the darling
of the CIAA and all of Div. II black college football.
In the last four seasons under head coach Connell Maynor, the Rams have posted
a 49-6 overall record, a 26-2 CIAA mark including 23 straight in-conference wins and
two (should be three, Ill explain) CIAA titles. Tree straight Div. II playof appearances,
an 8-3 overall playof mark, two trips to the national semifnals (2011, 2012) and one trip
Hayes at WSSU
AS STUDENTS &
PROFESSIONALS:
Stephen A. Smith (far
left and above); Ron
McNair (left and right).
CONTRASTS:
(Above) Farrakhan
(l.) and Jesse
Jackson (r). as
students. (Below)
same, as activists.
(2012) to the national title game burnished that reputation.
Te Rams were Black College Sports Page national champions in 2011 and
2012.
By the way, in another twist, Maynor played quaterback for Hayes at WSSU,
followed him to A&T and did the same for the Aggies and was hired by Hayes
when Hayes returned to WSSU as its athletics director.
All of Maynors and the Rams postseason successes have come at the
expense of PWCs Predominantly White Colleges for the uninformed and is
unprecedented in recent history. Prior to its playof win in 2011, no CIAA team had
won a playof game in 22 years. WSSUs success has come while the MEAC has yet
to get a win in the FCS postseason in 18 games dating back to 1999.
Which brings us to WSSUs season opener this Saturday at home vs. UNC-
Pembroke.
Te Braves handed Maynors Rams their frst regular season defeat (25-21)
in three years to open the 2013 season and went on to earn their frst ever Div. II
playof berth. UNCP is one of the up-and-coming PWCs in the nation and enters
the season ranked 18th in the D2football.com national poll. Te Rams are ranked
17th. UNCP would like nothing better than to use the Rams as a footstool for their
national aspirations. Te Rams will have nothing of it.
Needless to say, the revenge factor is defnitely in play.
Also, Saturdays game will be the debut of new WSSU head coach Kienus
Boulware, Maynors defensive coordinator who took over when Maynor departed
for the head coaching job at Hampton University afer last season. All eyes will be
on Boulware to see which direction hes taking the program.
Just as intriguing, however, is the debut of WSSU quarterback Phillip Sims.
Sims landed and sat out at WSSU last season afer a tumultuous four-year odyssey
that took him from a heralded high school quarterback in Hampton, Va., through
the hallowed halls of national power Alabama and the pristine confnes of the Uni-
versity of Virginia, all fueled by the kind of arm and natural passing talent likely not
seen in black college parts since the halcyon days of the likes of Tennessee States
Jeferson Street Joe Gilliam or more recently Steve Air McNair at Alcorn
State.
He has confdence, he has poise in the pocket and he throws
darts, said Boulware of Sims who is playing his last year of
college eligibility with the Rams. I cant tell you the number of
fngers that he hurt during spring football practice. We had a
couple of fellows that didnt fnish up spring practice because of
the velocity on his footballs.
Hes showing us why he was rated the top quarterback in the
country coming out of high school.
Ive seen Sims throw just once in a WSSU scrimmage a cou-
ple of weeks ago. But just watching the fight of his ball and how
quickly and accurately it gets to receivers lets me know what the pros are looking
for.
But hes just second string for the Rams.
Sims plays behind starter Rudy Johnson, a senior with a roundabout odys-
sey of his own (from San Diego to Texas Southern to WSSU), who led the Rams to
nine straight wins last season and to their third straight trip to the playofs. Johnson
is however more famous for the infamous beating he took from a rival player a day
before last years CIAA title game a beating that garnered national headlines and
MAYNOR: Came,
conquered, left. Again.
BOULWARE: The
new head Ram.
Sims 1:
At
Alabama
Sims 2:
At UVA.
Sims 3: At WSSU.
caused the game to be cancelled. And, because he was second on the depth chart at the
start of last season, he didnt play in last years loss to UNCP to open the season, and be-
cause of the beatdown, he barely played in the Rams playof loss to Shepherd that ended
it.
Intrigue is all around.

CLIMBING THE STEEP PATH
Since taking over at A&T four years ago, head coach Rod Broadway has rescued
the Aggies from the doldrums and has them on an upward trajectory despite afer over-
coming more than his share of obstacles. And none of his own doing.
He inherited a team that was 1-10 the season before he arrived and was bogged
down with Academic Progress Rate (APR) issues that limited practice time, cancelled
spring football and reduced scholarships. Despite that, Broadway has persevered and
posted 5-6 and back-to-back 7-4 marks in his three seasons.
Tis year the sights are set higher. With practice time, spring football and scholar-
ships restored, Broadway has his eyes directed toward the top of the MEAC a strato-
sphere currently inhabited by Bethune-Cookman and South Carolina State and
beyond.
Broadway is no stranger to success. He has registered conference titles, playof
appearances and black college national titles during stops at North Carolina Central
(CIAA) and Grambling State (SWAC) in an 11-year head coaching career. Hes had assis-
tant stints at East Carolina, Duke and North Carolina and won an NCAA national cham-
pionship under Steve Spurrier at Florida and was a part of the Gators staf during four
SEC championships and six bowl appearances.
And, hes brought in the kind of speed and talent that has the Aggies closing in on
those ahead of them. Were pretty good now, but we should be really special in the fu-
ture, Broadway said.
Saturday the Aggies face Coastal Carolina, which has been running roughshod
over A&T and other MEAC competition, posting a 14-1 mark vs. the MEAC since 2005,
4-0 vs. the Aggies, en route to establishing a reputation as a regional and budding national
power. Te Chanticleers, who won two playof games before running into three-time FCS
national champion North Dakota State last season, are deservedly ranked #5 nationally in
the FCS.
Its a big and pivotal game for Broadway and the Aggies. Te game will determine
just how far up Broadways and the Aggies needle is pointing.

THE PROBLEM
WSSUs and N.C. A&Ts quests this week have as much to do with the past as the
present. Ironically, both games are on Hall of Fame weekend for the two schools where
legends of the past are honored.
Tere was a time when the best football talent in the country, like Phillip Sims,
played at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) like Grambling, Tennessee
State, Tuskegee, Alcorn State, South Carolina State and the like. Tat was quite a while
ago.
In the modern landscape, just putting together a team at HBCUs that can really
compete on the national level is a tall task. Winston-Salem State and A&T are two places
that have taken on the challenge and this weeks games will be a great indication of how
theyre doing.
I wish I could see them both. Problem is, both games start at 6 p.m.!
Intrigue.
JOHNSON: Yet to lose
as at WSSU.
CLEAR VISION:
A&T head coach Rod
Broadway sees a bright
future ahead for the
Aggies.
The A&T Quiz?
1. What was the original name of North
Carolina A&T State University?
2. Who was John Oliver Crosby?
3. A&T was a males only institution dur-
ing what years?
4. A&Ts frst white graduate was in what
year?
5. Name the Greensboro Four who sat in
at the Woolworths Lunch Counter in Feb-
ruary 1960 launching the nationwide sit-in
movement.
A N S W E R S 1 . A g r i c u l t u r a l a n d M e c h a n i c a l C o l -
l e g e f o r t h e C o l o r e d R a c e 2 . F i r s t p r e s i d e n t o f
A & T i n 1 8 9 2 3 . 1 9 0 1 - 1 9 2 7 4 . 1 9 6 4 5 . E z e l l B l a i r ,
D a v i d R i c h m o n d , F r a n k l i n M c C a i n & J o s e p h
M c N e i l
The WSSU Quiz?

1. What was the original name of Winston-
Salem State University?
2. Who was Dr. Simon Green Atkins?
3. Atkins graduated from what HBCU and
taught at what HBCU before coming to
WSSU?
4. Black Winston-Salem residents raised
$2000 towards the start of WSSU, how
much did R. J. Reynolds donate?
5. What year did the name of the school
become Winston-Salem State University
and what year did it become part of the
University of North Carolina system?
A N S W E R S 1 . S l a t e r I n d u s t r i a l a n d S t a t e N o r m a l
S c h o o l 2 . F o u n d e r o f t h e s c h o o l i n 1 8 9 2 3 . 1
S a i n t A u g u s t i n e s C o l l e g e a n d L i v i n g s t o n e C o l -
l e g e 4 . $ 5 0 0 5 . 1 9 6 9 a n d 1 9 7 2
TEST YOUR BLACK COLLEGE KNOWLEDGE
A diary of commentary on the black college sports world