36th Annual Black College All-American Weekend an Orlando Success

The annual SBN Sports Black College All-American Awards (BCAA) weekend took place on Friday, February 12 and Saturday, February 13, 2010 in Orlando, Florida. Celebrating its 36th anniversary, the weekend of activities culminated in an awards luncheon recognizing the top football student-athletes from the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). It also celebrated the accomplishments recent BCAA honorees continue to have on and off the field.

The weekend of BCAA events began at the Doubletree Resort Orlando - International Drive Friday, February 12, 2010 with a welcoming reception for the BCAA Honorary Committee, 2009 honorees, current and former members of the NFL, and other dignitaries. It was an evening of camaraderie, food, music and fun. Special recognition was given to our sponsors, which included Johnson and Johnson, Allstate, My Jeweler Inc., Russell Athletics and Corporate Travel America.

The main event, Saturday, February 13, 2010, was co-hosted by Ty Miller, SBN Director of Sports, and Chrystal Holmes, on-air personality for Star 94.5 FM-Orlando. A moving keynote address was delivered by ESPN Analyst and NFL Hall of Fame nominee Cris Carter. Johnson and Johnson donated ten thousand dollars each to SBN's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year and was represented by Vice-President for Process Excellence, Ms. Beverly Williamson. Allstate donated ten thousand dollars on behalf of the SBN Coach of the Year and was represented by Toure' S. Claiborne, Director, Integrated Marketing Communications. American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) contributed ten thousand dollars on behalf of the national championship team and was represented by President of Program Operations and Affiliation, Jerry Lopes.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Raheem Morris presented the SBN Doug Williams Offensive Player of the Year Award to Prairie View A&M University quarterback KJ Black. Former Pittsburgh Steelers Greg Lloyd presented the SBN Mel Blount Defensive Player of the Year Award to Grambling State University defensive lineman Christian Anthony. Prairie View A&M University Head Coach Henry Frazier, III received the SBN Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award for the second consecutive year and The South Carolina State Bulldogs were recognized as the 2009 SBN Jake Gaither Black College National Championship team. Each of the 25 members of SBN's 2009 Black College All-American Team received SBN's signature Black College All-American trophy and the custom-made SBN Black College All-American ring designed by BCAA sponsor, My Jeweler Inc., of Smyrna, GA.

In commenting on the weekend, Jerry Lopes, American Urban Radio Networks President of Program Operations and Affiliations remarked, "With the beautiful backdrop of the Doubletree Resort Orlando it was an extraordinary weekend for our clients, honorees, their families and other guests including some 50 kids and coaches from Orange County Public Schools who were our special guests. Cris Carter's keynote was right on point and our honorary committee including former NFL standouts Larry Little, Eddie Robinson Jr., Greg Lloyd, Ken Burrough and L.C. Greenwood did their usual job of sharing little nuggets with our All-Americans and the high school athletes. I cannot say enough about young pros like Jacoby Jones of the Houston Texans, Marcus Benard of the Cleveland Browns, Javarris Williams of the Kansas City Chiefs and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie who came back to share with the All-Americans what their early years have been like in the NFL. Rodgers-Cromartie especially who is rehabbing after suffering an injury in Arizona's playoff loss to Minnesota."

For a visual recap of this year's awards journal and ceremony, please visit us at: http://www.aurn.com/bcaa2010/