Feb. 26, 2008
Complete Schedule in PDF Format 
DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central University announced on Tuesday its 2008 football schedule, which features five home games and six road contests in five different states.
After posting a 6-4 record in its inaugural season as an NCAA Division I-Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program in 2007, NCCU will face nine fellow FCS opponents during the upcoming campaign, including eight teams with five wins or more last year and two that finished among the top 25 in the nation.
James Madison University (Sept. 6 in Harrisonburg, Va.) competed in the NCAA playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons, finishing with an 8-4 record. The Dukes were ranked seventh in the final FCS coaches poll and 12th in the final Sports Network poll.
Cal Poly (Nov. 8 in San Luis Obispo, Calif.) finished with a 7-4 record to earn a national ranking in the top 25 poll (No. 24 by Sports Network) for the fourth consecutive season. The Mustangs return 10 starters to the second-ranked offense in the nation from a year ago (487.1 total yards per game).
NCCU will also face the nation's third-ranked offense when the Eagles travel to Presbyterian College (Oct. 11 in Clinton, S.C.). The Blue Hose averaged 480.9 total yards per game in 2007, and defeated NCCU 34-27 last season in the first meeting between the schools.
"This is probably the most competitive schedule we have had in quite some time," said NCCU head football coach Mose Rison. "We will be lining up against some outstanding football teams.
"I talked with the young men about our schedule the other day and they are aware that this is the direction we are heading," Rison said. "We know it will be a challenge and we look forward to it."
NCCU's five home games include the "Labor Day Classic" versus Fayetteville State on Sunday, Aug. 31, long-time rivals North Carolina A&T (Oct. 4) and Winston-Salem State (Nov. 15), the "Homecoming" game against Edward Waters on Nov. 1, and a season-ending match-up with Savannah State (Nov. 22).
The location of the North Carolina A&T contest has not been announced, since the NCCU Department of Athletics is considering another facility in anticipation of a crowd that would be too large for NCCU's 10,000-seat O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. Nearly 20,000 fans witnessed the Eagles and Aggies last season in Greensboro, N.C.
NCCU's other road games are against Morgan State (Sept. 13 in Baltimore, Md.), Central Connecticut State (Sept. 20 in New Britain, Conn.), and Coastal Carolina (Oct. 18 in Conway, S.C.).
Morgan State posted a 5-6 overall record in 2007, including a 4-5 mark in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
Central Connecticut State finished 6-5 overall and placed second in the Northeast Conference. The Blue Devils won league titles in 2004 and 2005.
Coastal Carolina ended last season at 5-6 with a 3-1 record in the Big South. The Chanticleers have won three Big South conference championships in the past four years and boast a record of 39-17 in five years of Division I-AA/FCS competition.
NCCU's six road games will take the Eagles to five different states, including Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, South Carolina and California. The Cal Poly trip will be NCCU's first journey to California in 20 years, when the Eagles played Cal State Sacramento in the second round of the NCAA playoffs on Nov. 27, 1988.
In contrast, just three seasons ago in 2005, NCCU played 12 football games and never left North Carolina.
