July 13, 2008

Daytona Beach, Fla. - Bethune-Cookman University football will be represented twice this year on television with games on both ESPNU and ESPN Classic. The release of the games comes from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) as they released their entire schedule of games to be televised throughout the 2008 campaign.

The Wildcats have been selected to have games against both Hampton University and rival Florida A&M University to be televised by the ESPN family of networks. B-CU travels to Hampton on Nov. 8 for a showdown with the Pirates at 2 p.m. at Armstrong Stadium on the campus of HU. The television time has not yet been determined as it will be tape-delayed.

The Pirates of Hampton have owned the series with the Wildcats as of late, winning six of the last seven meetings--including four in a row dating back to 2004. Last year's contest was on typical of meetings in Daytona Beach as a last-minute interception return for touchdown upset the Wildcats hopes of knocking off the three-time defending champions on "Senior Day."

The second game to be televised against Florida A&M needs no pageantry or revving up to get fans into their seats early and throughout the contest. The annual Florida Classic between FAMU and B-CU draws in an average of 80,000 fans annually, and has become the nation's number one (#1) black college football game through figures in the last six years--surpassing the annual Bayou Classic between Grambling State and Southern University in Louisiana.

The game will be televised, for the third consecutive season, live on ESPN Classic. The Wildcats snapped their skid of three-straight losses to the Rattlers last season with an emphatic 34-7 win over their rivals from the capital city in Tallahassee. The game is played at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, and draws more tailgaters and spectators outside the stadium than the stadium itself. Average attendance for the battle of Sunshine State bragging rights between two of the oldest HBCUs in Florida ranges between 200-250,000 people to the Orlando area. That includes programs like the Battle of the Bands, Florida Classic Symposium and annual Coaches Luncheon and Alumni Banquet(s).

Bethune-Cookman comes into the 2008 campaign with a host of returning players, as well as a slew of newcomers. Head coach Alvin B. Wyatt, Sr. and his staff has been working tirelessly throughout the off-season to make sure a three-peat of losing seasons does not happen in Daytona Beach. Preseason predictions for the conference standings and All-Conference teams will be announced at the annual Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Football Coaches Luncheon at the Marriott Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Va. The date for the event is scheduled for Friday, July 25 beginning at 11:30 am.

For more information on the 2008 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football season, please locate your internet browser to www.MEACsports.com. For information about the Wildcats football season, please call the B-CU Office of Sports Information at (386) 481-2206.