Pittsburgh, PA – The South Carolina State Bulldogs were selected number one in the SBN Black College Football Preseason Poll. The 2009 SBN Black College National Champions received 24 of a possible 30 first place votes and a total of 294 points. Defending SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference) Champion Prairie View A&M was predicted to finish second with six first place votes and 270 points. Florida A&M is in the 3rd slot with 210 points. Defending SIAC (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) Champion Tuskegee is favored to finish 4th with 207 points and Alabama A&M round out the top five with 141 points. Grambling State (138 points), Norfolk State (114 points), Shaw (111 points), Albany State (63 points) and defending CIAA(Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) Champ Fayetteville State round out the top ten. Texas Southern, Hampton, North Carolina A&T, Morgan State and Jackson State were among several other teams that accumulated points.
The SBN Sports Black College Football Poll is compiled on a weekly basis during the college football season by a select group of Black College head coaches, sports information directors, print, radio and television reporters. It is widely recognized as the authority when it comes to ranking historically Black College Football teams. For thirty-six years, these rankings have determined Black College Football’s National Championship team and the winner of the prestigious SBN Jake Gaither National Championship Trophy.
