NCCU To Host Parade and Pep Rally for the 2022 HBCU National Champions Eagles

Durham, NC – North Carolina Central University (NCCU) will celebrate its football team – the 2022 HBCU National Champion Eagles – with a parade and pep rally at 10 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 21!

Beginning at Cecil Street, the parade route will run from Fayetteville Street to the entrance of the O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium from Lawson Street.

Participants will include NCCU Head Football Coach Trei Oliver and members of the NCCU football program; the Sound Machine; NCCU cheerleaders and Eddie the Eagle mascot; NCCU student leaders; Chancellor Johnson O. Akinleye; and City of Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neal ’84, L ‘91.

The pep rally will follow in the stadium with a recognition ceremony of the team and coaching staff by Mayor O’Neal and Chancellor Akinleye.

Attendees will also have an opportunity to meet and receive signed posters from the championship-winning team and view and take photos with the Cricket Celebration Bowl and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship trophies.

On Dec. 17, 2022, NCCU Football defeated Jackson State University, 41-34, in the Cricket Celebration Bowl overtime thriller at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The university’s 2022 HBCU national title will join the company of those won in 1954, 2005, and 2006.

About North Carolina Central University   

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) prepares students to succeed in the global marketplace. Consistently ranked as a top Historically Black College or University, NCCU’s flagship programs in the sciences, education, law, business, nursing and the arts prepare students for professions ranging from clinical research to information science. Founded in 1910, NCCU remains committed to diversity in and access to higher education. With a mission to investigate health disparities, the university’s two state-of-the-art research institutes give students real-world experience working alongside faculty researchers and pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry professionals. The university’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024, Charting a New Landscape for Student-Center Success, focuses on four areas: student access and success; innovation, research and entrepreneurship; collaboration and partnerships; and institutional sustainability. Visit www.nccu.edu. 

Feature photo credit: Lawrence Davis III