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April 29, 2010

ESPN Regional Television announced today that the sixth annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney will air Sunday, Sept. 5, at noon ET on ESPN, live from Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla. This will mark the first time the game, which will be produced in high definition, will be offered on ESPN. This season, the annual event, which features teams from two prominent Historically Black College/University leagues, will present a matchup of the MEAC’s Delaware State Hornets vs. the SWAC’s Southern University Jaguars.

“The MEAC/SWAC Challenge is developing into a premier HBCU football event,” said MEAC/SWAC Challenge Executive Director Nikki Godfrey. “We are eagerly looking forward to bringing the sixth edition of the event to the Orlando community and to a national stage on ESPN. The football game and its many ancillary events showcase the best of the black college football experience.”

Each year, the MEAC/SWAC Challenge features a MEAC team against a SWAC member at a neutral site located within the footprint of one of the conferences. Several ancillary events will take place around the game, highlighted by a high school career panel, the Disney Step Classic and the Halftime Battle of the Bands.

In the Labor Day Weekend event, Delaware State and Southern, which have previously met just twice, will be playing one another for the first time in nearly 25 years. The Hornets lead the series 0-2, winning the meetings in 1985 and 1986.

This is Delaware State’s first appearance in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. Southern played in the event in 2007, defeating Florida A&M 33-27 and earning the SWAC’s first MEAC/SWAC Challenge trophy at historic Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.

The inaugural MEAC/SWAC Challenge in 2005 showcased the MEAC’s South Carolina State vs. Alabama State of the SWAC, with South Carolina State prevailing, 27-14. In 2006, the contest went into overtime with the MEAC’s Hampton University defeating the SWAC’s Grambling State, 27-26.

In 2008, Hampton defeated Jackson State 17-13 at Citrus Bowl Stadium. MEAC power South Carolina State took earned the trophy in 2009, defeating the SWAC’s Grambling State 34-31. The MEAC leads the series 4-1. Teams for future games are determined on an annual basis.

For more information about the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and for access to its Facebook page, please visit the official website: www.meacswacchallenge.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the event via Twitter: www.twitter.com/MEAC_SWAC.

About ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. – SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, WAC).

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Texas Bowl (Houston); the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Cancun Governor’s Cup; Charleston Classic (S.C.); DIRECTV SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tipoff (San Juan); SONIC All-College Basketball Classic (Oklahoma City) and BracketBusters; as well as the new ESPNU Warrior Classic (Lacrosse) and the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.

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Media Contacts: Jenny Zimmerman, ESPN, at 407-566-2213 or [email protected]; Andrea Finger, Disney, at 407-828-3109 or [email protected]; Patricia Porter, MEAC, at 757-416-7100, ext. 7116 or [email protected]