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| Nyme Manns (Bowie State photo) |
After all the calculation and speculation, we now know who will play in the CIAA Championship Game. Bowie State will meet Winston-Salem State in the title game in Durham on Saturday after clinching the Northern Division title with a 63-42 win over Elizabeth City State.
Bowie went a perfect 7-0 in CIAA play, but played with an ineligible player at quarterback for its wins over Livingstone and Johnson C. Smith. The CIAA explained how Bowie won out over Virginia Union, who went 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the CIAA:
The CIAA has applied a nullification penalty to Bowie State University’s winning percentage for the participation of an ineligible student-athlete, along with other repercussions. The violation occurred in five overall games including two conference games. The NCAA penalty rate of 0.023 will be applied to the relevant games and deducted from the winning percentages.
Bowie State defeated Elizabeth City State 63-42 in a torrential rain storm. BSU, now 7-0 in the conference, will have a 0.954 winning percentage headed into the championship game. The Bulldogs divisional percentage will be unaffected, for the violation happen prior to divisional play.
And there you have it. Winston-Salem State (5-5, 5-2) clinched its spot Saturday afternoon with a 24-22 win over Fayetteville State. The win gave WSSU its fifth consecutive CIAA Division title.
These two teams met in the 1989 CIAA Championship Game, with Bowie State winning 28-24. That title was later vacated, however, as it was determined that Bowie used several ineligible players.