Winston-SalemState, Norfolk State HBCU National Champions

Fuquay-Varina, NC - The Winston-Salem State Rams and the Norfolk State Spartans were voted HBCU Football National Champions in the final Boxtorow National HBCU Football Media and Coaches Polls.

In the final media poll CIAA Champion Winston-Salem State received 16-of-19 first place votes.  The Rams made it all the way to the NCAA Division II National Championship Semifinals before falling to Wayne State 21-14 on Saturday. 

MEAC Champions Norfolk State received two first place votes from the media and finished the season #2.  The Spartans won the MEAC and made it to the FCS National Playoffs for the first time in school history.  The Jackson State Tigers received the other first place vote and finished #3, followed by Bethune-Cookman at #4.  The Grambling State Tigers, who defeated Alabama A&M 16-15 in the SWAC Championship Game on Saturday finished the season at #5.

The aforementioned Bulldogs finished #6, while South Carolina State finished #7.  Alabama State was #8 followed by Morehouse at #9 and Florida A&M at #10.

In the final coaches poll, Norfolk State received 13-of-15 first place votes.  The Jackson State Tigers received the other two first place votes and finished #2.  Bethune-Cookman was #3, followed by Grambling State at #4.  Alabama State rounded out the top 5.

South Carolina State finished #6, Alabama A&M #7, Florida A&M #8, Hampton #9, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff #10.

The teams will be recognized at the Boxtorow HBCU All-Star Gala Banquet on Friday, December 16 at the Westin Peachtree Hotel in downtown Atlanta beginning at 7:30 p.m. The banquet will feature NFL Hall of Famer Darrell Green and will be emceed by Steve Wyche of nfl.com and NFL Network.

The last HBCU football game of 2011 will be the HBCU All-Star Bowl, which will take place on Sunday, December 16 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta at 3 p.m. ET.  The top 100 draft eligible seniors will square off in an East vs. West format, with teams from the MEAC and the CIAA representing the East and teams from the SWAC and SIAC representing the West.  The game will be broadcast nationally on Classics Sports Radio Network (www.classicsportsradio.com).

FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW (Boxtorow) is the nationally syndicated sports talk radio show which places major emphasis on HBCU Sports.  The show airs on radio stations around the country and Fridays from 1-2p ET on SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel 141.

The voters in the media poll are comprised of some of the top media members in the country who cover HBCU football. The coaches poll is voted on by the FCS HBCU coaches.  The media poll is in its fifth year and the coaches poll is in its third.

Boxtorow National HBCU Football Champions Year-by-year (Media)
2007 Tuskegee
2008 Grambling
2009 South Carolina State
2010 Bethune-Cookman
2011 Winston-Salem State

Boxtorow National HBCU Football Champions (Coaches) Year-by-year
2009 South Carolina State
2010 Bethune-Cookman
2011 Norfolk State

Final 2011 Boxtorow HBCU Football Media Top 10 Poll
(Records through December 10)

Others receiving votes: Albany State (8-4) 11, Hampton (7-4) 7, Miles (8-4) 3, Elizabeth City State (8-4) 1, Johnson C. Smith (6-5) 2.
(1st place votes in parentheses)

Final Boxtorow FCS HBCU Football Coaches Top 10 Poll
(Records through December 10)

Others receiving votes: Tennessee State (5-6) 2, North Carolina A&T (5-6) 1, Prairie View A&M (5-6) 1.
(1st place votes in parentheses)