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Shaw University is a proud member of the
SPORTS
ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT INFORMATION
Shaw University is a proud member of the
Shaw Football Picked Third in HSRN Preseason Division II Poll
(Raleigh, NC) – The Shaw University football team has ranked third in the Heritage Sports Radio Network preseason Division II poll. The HSRN poll ranks HBCU football teams.
The reigning back-to-back CIAA champions received two of 16 first place votes and a total of 117 points to finish behind Tuskegee (eight first place votes, 143 points total) and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association divisional rival Fayetteville State (three first place votes, 132 points total).
“Preseason rankings are nice recognition for the program,” said Head Coach Darrell Asberry. He continued, “It’s clear, however, that we need to beat Fayetteville State in order to get the respect that we so rightfully deserve.”
The Bears had previously been ranked 25th in Division II by Sporting News. Shaw was picked to finish in a tie for second by the CIAA Coaches Association. Fayetteville State was ranked first by the coaches.
In 2008, Shaw finished 8-3 with a 7-1 record in the conference. Their only CIAA loss was to cross-town rival Saint Augustine's. Shaw defeated Elizabeth City State 36-7 to win the CIAA Championship – their second straight title.
CIAA schools Elizabeth City State and Virginia State were ranked seventh and eighth in the HSRN poll.
The top ten (with point totals): Tuskegee (143), Fayetteville State (132), SHAW (117), Albany State (99), West Virginia State (83), Langston (79), Elizabeth City State (78), Virginia State (39), Morehouse (36), and Clark-Atlanta (23).
HSRN also ranks the HBCU Division I-FCS (formerly Division I-AA) schools. Grambling State sits atop that poll, while Shaw’s Sept. 5 foe, Bethune Cookman comes in at sixth.
Shaw University opens its season on August 29 against Elizabeth City State at 6:00 p.m. at Millbrook High School Stadium in Raleigh, NC.