Alabama: America's College Football Capital?


cetmo

cetmo

CIO
With today's announcement (SWAC vs MEAC in B'ham in '05), has the State of Alabama put itself in contention for this prestigious title?

Alabama has the following football credentials in its namesake:

SWAC vs MEAC (SWAC/MEAC Challenge in '05) - Birmingham
CIAA vs SIAC (Pioneer Bowl) - Mobile
Tuskegee vs ASU (Turkey Day Classic - Oldest BCF Game) - Montgomery
AAMU vs ASU (Magic City Classic) - Birmingham
SWAC Championship Game
ASU and AAMU alternating SWAC East Championships
Tuskegee as a SIAC Powerhouse - Tuskegee

The Senior Bowl - Mobile
Blue-Gray All-Star Game - Montgomery/Troy
The GMAC Bowl (Conf USA/MAC/WAC) - Mobile
Auburn vs Alabama (Iron Bowl) - Tuscaloosa/Auburn
Home of 4 Div I-A teams (Auburn, Alabama, UAB, Troy State)
Jacksonville State University defending 2003 OVC Champion

Home of the SEC HQ - Birmingham
Home of the SWAC HQ - Birmingham

Legion Field in Birmingham (former home of the SEC Football Championship) boasts it is "The Football Capital of the South".

Do you think Alabama can boast that it is America's Black College Football Capital or can we go as far to say America's Football Capital?

What makes Alabama such a draw: low cost to produce events or a truly great state for Football?
 
http://www.swac.org/04-05/news/espn0930.htm

ESPN Regional Television to create MEAC/SWAC Challenge Football Game
Annual Nationally Televised Matchup To Begin With South Carolina St. vs. Alabama St. Sept. 3, 2005 in Birmingham; Event Week To Include Diversity Job Fair

September 30, 2004

ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, Inc., and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), two prominent HBCU (Historically Black College/University) leagues, have reached a multi-year agreement to create the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. The ERT owned-and-operated annual college football game will be played the Saturday of Labor Day weekend beginning in 2005, it was announced by Chuck Gerber, executive vice president, ESPN Regional Television, Dennis Thomas, MEAC commissioner and Robert Vowels, SWAC commissioner. The week of the game will also include ancillary events, highlighted by an annual diversity job fair.

Each year, the game will pit a MEAC team against a SWAC member at a neutral site located within the footprint of one of the conferences. The inaugural matchup, featuring South Carolina State vs. Alabama State, will be played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005 and will be televised by either ESPN or ESPN2. Teams and sites for future games will be determined on an annual basis.

In addition to the game, the week of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge will feature a series of related events, beginning on the Thursday before the game. Planned activities for this year’s event from September 1 to September 3 include (details and additional activities are currently being finalized):
A two-day, ESPN-led job fair (Friday and Saturday) targeting recent graduates and alumni of MEAC and SWAC institutions as well as other diverse candidates.
A welcome reception for VIPs at the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham on Thursday
A kickoff luncheon (public tickets will be available) on Friday at the Sheraton Birmingham, the official host hotel of the 2005 MEAC/SWAC Challenge
A pep rally for fans and a showcase of school bands

ESPN Regional Television will be responsible for the MEAC/SWAC Challenge organization, operation, sponsorship, marketing efforts and more. Additional details, including sponsorship and ticket sales are still being finalized.

“This event will bring national attention to tradition-rich football programs as well as support the important objective of fostering diversity,” said Gerber. “We continuously search for ways to expand our event models to further involve communities and fans and the MEAC/SWAC Challenge will provide a great foundation to build upon for future events.”
 

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This weekend the college football capital will be Georgia.

Miami at Georgia Tech - I am taking the 'Canes in a closer than expected game. Tech does have talent, and expect their offensive coaches to have more sense than the FSU offensive coaches in developing plans in blocking Rolle.

LSU at Georgia - Because of the LSU quarterback situation, I am taking the 'Dawgs. But LSU's defense could still give Greene trouble.
 
we all know the true capital of college football

B A T O N R O U G E , L A


The home of the BLACK NATIONAL CHAMPION and them other peoples champion. I hate to even mention that other school because I can't stand them.

The two best tailgaiting colleges in THE USA.
 
Cetmo,

It is a known, and indisputable fact, that ALABAMA is The College Football Capital of the Planet.

You can add to that list that Tuskegee has more wins than any other Black College, and the first HBCU with 700 wins. There is also the University of North Alabama who won back-to-back-to-back Division II National Championships in the early '90's.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is there a "state supported HBCU" that has been playing football longer than Alabama State? I don't think so. Bama State has been playing football since 1901.

The list goes on and on.
 
Deuce,
Fo' sho, I completely forgot about UNA. Let's append to the list from the orig post:

University of North Alabama is Div II Powerhouse
(* GSC CHAMPIONS: 1980, 1983, 1985, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2003
* NCAA PLAYOFFS: 1980, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2003
* NCAA DIVISION II NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 1993, 1994, 1995)

Tuskegee has more wins than any other Black College
Tuskegee was the first HBCU with 700 wins


Sound like Alabama can make the case for BOTH titles.
 
I'd like to thank my friends from ASU for the kind words about TU, but I have to make 2 corrections.

TU was the first HBCU to 500 wins not 700. We haven't gotten to 700 yet.

The Turkey Day Classic is the oldest BCF Classic. Not the oldest BCF game.

Both of these statistics are impressive nonetheless and lend credence to a claim of Alabama as the "College football Capital".
 
Thx for the corrections.

I originally didn't stress this too much but, The University of Alabama has 12 National championships and Alabama is the all-time winningest team in the history of the Southeastern Conference. Alabama has also won more Southeastern Conference Championships than any other team in SEC history (21).
 
Shelt a 'Skegee Grad said:
The Turkey Day Classic is the oldest BCF Classic. Not the oldest BCF game.
Click to expand...

Shelt,

I'm not sure exactly what you mean when you say the "oldest BCF game". I know that the "first" BCF game was played in 1892 between Livingstone and Biddle College (now known as Johnson C. Smith). But I don't believe that game has been played every year.

Do you mean the "longest continually played" game between two BCF teams? Or do you mean the oldest game between two teams who still play each other, even if the game was not played every year? Confusing, I know.

Please elaborate. Thanks.
 
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