DI/MEAC/Baseball
NCCU Sports Information
BOSTON – The North Carolina Central University baseball team will be a part of history when the Eagles play Florida A&M University at Fenway Park, the legendary home of the Boston Red Sox, on April 25 during the first-ever HBCU Legacy Weekend Celebration (April 23-25), presented by the City of Boston, the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Area Church League, Inc.
City of Boston, Boston Red Sox and Boston Area Church League, Inc., Partner for History-Making Event
Left to Right: President/CEO of the Boston Red Sox, Larry Lucchino; Mayor Marty Walsh; Chancellor of North Carolina Central University Dr. Debra Saunders-White; Red Sox Special Advisor, Frank Jordan; President of Florida A&M University, Dr. Elmira Mangum; Chairman of the Board of the Boston Red Sox, Tom Werner; Boston Superintendent in Chief, William Gross; and Wally the Green Monster.
The match-up between the NCCU Eagles and the FAMU Rattlers, both members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, will be the first official conference-standing HBCU baseball game to be played at Fenway Park. The contest is a highlight of the Boston Red Sox Open House at Fenway Park on Saturday, April 25, which is free to the public and also includes a college and career fair.
The two MEAC squads will also play a doubleheader on Friday, April 24 at Jim Rice Field in Roxbury, Mass.
“It’s an honor to be included in such a historic event,” said NCCU baseball head coach Jim Koerner. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that our student-athletes are very excited to take part in.”
During a press conference on April 6, NCCU Chancellor Dr. Debra Saunders-White and Director of Athletics Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree joined FAMU President Dr. Elmira Mangum; Marty Walsh, Mayor of the City of Boston; Larry Lucchino, President and CEO of the Red Sox; Tom Werner, Chairman of the Red Sox and television producer (“A Different World”); and Frank Jordan, creator of the HBCU Legacy Weekend Celebration and Special Adviser to the Red Sox, to announce the line-up of weekend events.
“This is a wonderful honor to play in an inaugural game at Fenway Park, but more importantly to be in the city of Boston, where we can talk about all the wonderful things that happen at our great institution,” said Saunders-White.
Also in attendance at the press conference were Sam Kennedy, Boston Red Sox COO; Red Sox Foundation Executive Director, Gena Borson; Troup Parkinson, Boston Red Sox; Dr. Charles Steinberg, Senior Adviser to the Boston Sox CEO; Rev. Thomas Kennedy; Bert James; David Friedman, Boston Red
Sox Senior Legal Counselor; Tom Kershaw, owner of Cheers of Boston; Pat Moscaritolo, President/CEO of the Greater Boston Visitors and Convention Bureau; Judge Milton L. Wright; Harold Sparrow; Kathryn Saunders; Cindy Viana; Daisy Grondin; Nora Baston, Assistant Deputy Superintendent; Laura Dickerson, Boston Police Department; Abe Ayuso, Lieutenant with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department; Alfredo Lliriano; Angel Martinez; Robby Thomas, Executive Director of the Boston Area Church League; Massachusetts State Representative, Ben Swan; Avery Esdaile, Athletics Director of the Boston Public School System; Paul McCaffrey, Boston Parks and Recreation Department; and Boston Police Superintendent in Chief, William Gross, the first African-American Chief of Police in the City of Boston.
In addition to the games between NCCU and FAMU, the weekend of events includes a reception on April 23, a debate hosted by Harvard University on April 24, and a college and career fair hosted by the Red Sox on April 25 during the Open House at Fenway Park.
All of the events held in Boston during the HBCU Legacy Weekend Celebration (April 23-25) will be free to the public.
Special thanks to John Henry, Principle Owner of the Boston Red Sox Baseball Team for his leadership and support of the Boston Historical Black College Legacy Weekend.
Special thanks to the Boston Red Sox Chairman of the Board, Tom Werner, for his leadership.
Special thanks to the Boston Red Sox President/CEO Larry Lucchino for his vision and leadership.
Special thanks to Mayor Marty Walsh and the City of Boston for rolling out the red carpet.
We appreciate Frank Jordan for suggesting that the Boston Red Sox host this history-making event in the City of Boston.