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12 The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Savannah State Football To Play In Brunswick
Aaron Kelton Tina Jolley Opio Mashariki
The Savannah State
football team will play Albany
State in the inaugural Coastal
City HBCU Classic on Sep
tember 23, 2023 at Glynn
County Stadium in Brunswick,
Georgia.
A press conference
was held April 7 at Glynn
County Stadium to formally
announce the game.
Among those at the
press conference were SSU
head football coach Aaron
Kelton, Savannah State com
pliance coordinator/senior
women administrator Tina Jol
ley, Albany State wide receiver
coach Tod Devoe, ASU interim
athletics director/ head wom
en’s basketball coach Robert
Skinner, ASU assistant ath
letics director for academics
and compliance/senior woman
administrator Darlene Moore,
Glynn County Schools ath
letics director Steve Waters,
Glynn Academy head football
coach Rocky Hidalgo, Bruns
wick High head football coach
Garrett Grady, Brunswick/
Glynn County officials and
members of the Coastal City
Classic consortium group.
Kelton said that he
was excited about Savannah
State to be a part of the clas
sic .“This is going to be some
thing special. It hasn’t hap
pened here ever, and it’s going
to be the hottest ticket in town.
Everybody is talking about it,
and we’re going to continue
to make this the best game in
terms of classics in the coun
try.’’
Jolley told those
gathered that the Tigers would
bring a crowd and would win
the game. “The Tigers expect
to be victorious. We’re gonna
bring all of our fans, alumni
and student-athletes and show
what we’re capable of.’’
SSU athletics direc
tor Opio Mashariki said that
the university signed a two-
year deal to play in the classic.
“We will receive a financial
guarantee and our expenses
will be taken care of by the
promoters.’’ Savannah State
will be the visiting team this
year but expects to be the home
team in 2024.
Savannah State has
done well in the past Ending
players in Brunswick. Ken
Dawson, Gerald Jones and
Reggie Jackson earned all con
ference honors during their
time at SSU. Dawson was a
bruising running back who
made the All-SIAC team in
1979 and 1980. His efforts on
the gridiron led him to become
the first player at Savannah
State to get drafted when he
was selected in the 10th round
of the 1981 draft by the Seat
tle Seahawks. Jones made the
All-SIAC team as a punter in
1985. His 80 yard punt that
season against Morris Brown
still stands as a school record.
Jackson was a hard-hitting
linebacker who was a 1997 and
1998 member of the all con
ference team. Jackson led the
team in tackles in 1997 and the
following year led the Tigers
in tackles and sacks and was
named the SI AC Player of the
Year.
The contest will be
streamed on NBC’s Peacock
channel.
The Coastal City
Classic will feature two days
of activities. On Friday, Sept.
22, a golf outing at the King
and Prince Golf Resort will
start at 8 a.m., a coaches/media
luncheon will take place at the
Greater Works Faith Complex
at 1 p.m. and a alumni meet
& greet will happen that eve
ning from 5p.m.-7 p.m. at the
Brunswick Embassy Suites
Hotel.
On Saturday, Sept.
23, a Greek fest, pre-game
concert and pep rally will start
a 10 a.m. at the Glynn Place
Mall parking lot followed by
the football game which kicks
off at 3 p.m. at Glynn County
Stadium. The stadium, which is
located at 5 Community Action
Drive in Brunswick, can seat as
many as 12,000 fans.
Savannah State and
Albany State have meet 64
times on the gridiron and the
Rams hold a 45-17-2 lead in
the series that dates back to
1932. ASU beat the Tigers 30-
21 in 2022.
In the past the teams
have played in the now defunct
Music City Classic in Macon.
This will not be the
first time a HBCU classic will
be held in Brunswick. During
the early 2000’s the Stan Fo
rnax Gold Coast Classic was
held for a few years. Fornax
was a successful high school
coach at Risley High in Bruns
wick before going on to coach
football at Fort Valley State
where he led the Wildcats from
1963-77 while posting a 86-33-
7 record and four SI AC cham
pionships.
During the 2008 sea
son, Savannah State played
Edward Waters in the Ralph
Bunche Classic in neighbor
ing Kingsland, Georgia. That
game, which Edward Waters
won 26-21, drew 3,117 fans.
Tickets for the game
will go on sale on May 1 at all
Ticketmaster locations. Seats
will be priced starting at $25.
For hospitality ac
cess, tailgating and premium
seats, please contact the Coast
al City HBCU Classic office by
email at CCCinfo@coastalci-
tyclassic.com.
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FVSU Hires New Athletics Director
Fort Valley State
University has named Renae
Myles Payne, Ed.D. as the
university’s new athletic direc
tor. Payne, who brings more
than 25 years of experience in
intercollegiate athletics with
her, comes to FVSU from the
University of Miami (2019-22)
where she served as the senior
associate athletic director for
administration and chief diver
sity officer for the south Flori
da based school.
Before working at
Miami, Payne was at Winthrop
(2016-19) where she was the
senior associate athletic di
rector for internal operations,
chief operating officer and se
nior women’s administrator.
Prior to that she held positions
at Alabama A&M (2012-16),
Southwest Baptist (2007-12),
Delaware State (2005-07), San
Jose State (2005), Pittsburgh
(2000-04) and Connecticut
(2000).
Payne is an active
leader on the national scene.
She is the vice president of the
Minority Opportunities Athlet
ic Association (MOAA) and
will assume the presidency this
June during the MOAA/NA-
CDA Convention in Orlando,
Florida.
She has served on
NCAA committees and is a
regular presenter at NACDA
(National Association of Col
legiate Directors of Athletics),
CABMA (College Athletics
Business Management Associ
ation), and Women Feaders in
—
Renae Myles Payne
College Sports. In 2019, she
was named Administrator of
the Year in Division I by Wom
en Feaders in College Sports.
In addition, she is a member
of NADOHE (National Asso
ciation of Diversity Officers in
Higher Education) and a proud
member of Sigma Gamma Rho
Sorority, Inc.
Payne received her
M.Ed. in Sports Administra
tion from Northwestern State
University of Fouisiana and
her Ed.D. in Higher Education
Administration from the Uni
versity of Pittsburgh. She and
her husband, Marcus Payne,
have two adult daughters, Bri-
anna and Ariana. She is a na
tive of Clarksdale, Mississip
pi, and a 1997 graduate of the
University of Southern Missis
sippi, where she competed in
track and field.
Visit Savannah And The Savannah
Sports Council Welcome New Director
Visit Savannah wel
comes Kristyn Smith to the
team as the new Director of
the Savannah Sports Council.
Smith joins the organization
from OneSpartanburg, Inc. in
Spartanburg, South Carolina,
where she held a similar posi
tion in sports tourism develop
ment.
Kristyn will lead the
Savannah Sports Council team
in researching and generating
hotel bookings in sports and
related markets, along with
the management of the sports
council’s current events: the
Enmarket Savannah Hock
ey Classic, Publix Savannah
Women’s Half Marathon,
Georgia Power Sports Awards
Funcheon and the Enmarket
Savannah River Bridge Run.
“We are thrilled to
welcome Kristyn to lead the
Savannah Sports Council
team,’’ said Joseph Marinelli,
Visit Savannah and the Savan
nah Sports Council president.
“Her energy and enthusiasm
are unmatched, which exem
plifies the success that she has
had to date. We are already
getting calls from sports event
organizers around the country
telling us now that she is here,
they want to talk about coming
to Savannah.’’
A ten-year industry
veteran, Smith has had a suc
cessful career working with
the NCAA on bidding and se
curing national championships
and other collegiate sporting
events. While in Spartanburg,
Kristyn hosted major sporting
events, including the Caroli
na Panthers Training Camp,
Kristyn Smith
Southern Conference Cham
pionships, and USA Track
& Field Junior Olympics, to
name a few.
“I am especially ex
cited to join the Savannah team
and participate in this desti
nation,’’ said Kristyn Smith,
Savannah Sports Council di
rector. “With a new arena, an
expanding convention center,
and every type of sports ven
ue and facility imaginable, I’m
looking forward to bringing
new sports events and conven
tions to town for many years.’’
Kristyn holds an un
dergraduate degree in Exper
imental Psychology from the
University of South Carolina
and a Master’s in Sports Ad
ministration from Ohio Uni
versity. In her free time, she
enjoys playing and coaching
fast-pitch softball and spend
ing time with her family and
dog, Stella May.
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