It’s been nearly a year since the coach from rival coaches from HBCU programs North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central had a war of words — and it hasn’t been forgotten.
Following last season’s 30-16 win over NC A&T, NCCU head coach Trei Oliver talked about the crowd at the rivalry game between the two HBCU programs in Greensboro compared to what it would look like against CAA opponents.
“With what you saw Saturday night in that stadium, they’re not going to have crowds like that except for homecoming, you know,” Oliver said. “So if you want to come play in a type of environment like that, if you want to come play in classics, the Circle City, the Magic City, whatever the case may be, the SWAC and the MEAC are where you need to be – they not going to be doing all that in the CAA.”
That prompted a response from Brown via Twitter.
“The little school up the road will never be able to match what A&T has achieved or offers, “Brown tweeted, including photos of championship trophies. “We are the best for a reason. Aggie Pride.”
NC Central head coach Trei Oliver was recently asked about the verbal jab thrown at his program last September by North Carolina A&T head coach Vincent Brown.
“His account had to have been hacked. Because there is no way a head coach would get out there after getting beat by their rival,” Oliver told reporters during NCCU’s weekly media call. “I find that hard to believe because I don’t think that he would be doing that in the CAA. Sending that to Richmond and those other schools in those conferences. So I don’t know if he wants to come to black colleges to try throw shade.”
Oliver found irony in the statement due to his personal involvement with the success that Brown — who succeeded Oliver’s mentor Sam Washington — pointed to as a differentiator between the programs. Oliver was an outside linebackers coach at NC A&T under Rod Broadway from 2011 through 2015, helping the team to win a pair of MEAC titles (2014-2015) and the inaugural Celebration Bowl.
“It’s ironic because, like two of those trophies — I was a part of winning those championships. If you look closely, I might be in some of those pictures,” Oliver said. “And half the staff was from (North Carolina) Central anyway.”
The two HBCU programs are set to match up on Saturday in Durham at 7:00 PM at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium.