NC Central, A&T players in postgame fight

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A post-game, helmet-swinging brawl between members of the North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T football teams on Saturday, has put the future of the rivalry in jeopardy.
The fight began after Central secured the 27-22 win and players stormed the field and began stomping on the A&T logo. Police ran in after several minutes and broke up the fight using pepper spray.
Later, A&T athletics director DeLores “Dee” Todd said the two schools likely would take a “cooling-off period.”
“I’m disgusted. It’s very disgusting,” Todd told The News & Observer of Raleigh. “It’s a game, why (jump on the logo)?”
One unidentified Central player was suspended for next week’s game against Presbyterian, assistant athletics director Kyle Serba said Sunday, adding no fans were involved in the incident.
“When the game is over, we need to share our elation in a positive manner,” first-year Central coach Mose Rison said in a statement issued by the school Sunday afternoon.
After the game, Todd demanded her coaches sequester the Aggies in the locker room until the Eagles had departed.
Central athletics director Bill Hayes, who was A&T’s football coach for 15 years, said he didn’t see the fight, because he was making his way to the field from the stands. On Sunday, Hayes issued a statement calling the fight “an unfortunate ending to an otherwise wonderful night of college football.”
Hayes said as more information was discovered, the school would act accordingly.
A&T Police Chief Richard Holden said an investigation into the incident is continuing but no charges have been filed.
Todd, who was not immediately available for comment Sunday, said that before the 2005 game in Raleigh, A&T coaches kept their players in the locker room because there was a history of unsportsmanlike behavior between the teams.
The game was billed as the return of a rivalry that dates back to 1924. It was the teams’ first meeting since NCCU beat A&T 23-22 in the 2005 Aggie-Eagle Classic. It also was the first time the two historically black colleges met as opponents in the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-AA. N.C. Central moved up to the classification from Division II.
A&T has the nation’s longest losing streak at 20 games.