The Infamous Fight w/ NCCU

[Bornthrilla]

Alright, time to share your recollections of this legendary event.

Who really started it? Where were you when it all went down? Were you actually the dude that got hit with the tuba?

I know Dooms said that he was in the gym that night, not fighting but hiding behind a cheerleader.

I believe I was a freshman in high school back in Houston when I saw highlights of the brawl on CNN.

[JayBee]

What year was that? It must have been a big deal to have been on CNN!

[Aggie Monster]

I was still in high school when I saw it on the news. Cant remember what grade though so it had to to between 89-93.

[sammiz]

Anybody got video footage?

[90Aggie]

I was going to go to the game, but my dad had come down to G'bo to visit, so I was hanging out with him that night. When I got home, I saw the report on the news.

[Bornthrilla]

BASKETBALL;
5 Players on Probation After Brawl Halts Game

Five members of the North Carolina A&T basketball team were placed on probation by the school today for their part in a brawl in which fans tangled with players and the police.

The five players will be allowed to play in their team's next game. Under National Collegiate Athletic Association rules, if a player is involved in a fight and it is his first offense he is placed on a one-game probation. A second fight results in a one-game suspension, and a third incident would lead to a suspension for an entire season.

Videotape Will Be Reviewed

The North Carolina A&T coach, Don Corbett, said at a news conference today that he would review videotape of his team's game with North Carolina Central on Thursday night, and would determine if further action was necessary. No action has been taken against players for Central, which was the visiting team.

Officials said the game was declared a no-contest. The game was suspended with 8 minutes 4 seconds left and A&T holding a 39-38 lead. North Carolina Central officials sought the no-contest ruling to maintain the Eagles' chances for a bid to the N.C.A.A. Division II tournament and a defense of their national championship.

Athletic Series May End

In addition, the A&T chancellor, Edward Fort, announced that discussions would begin immediately on ending the series of athletic contests between his school and Central, which is in Durham. The schools' intense rivalry dates to 1930.

Fort said campus security would continue its investigation of the brawl and determine if any other disciplinary action is necessary.

About 200 fans broke up the game with an on-court free-for-all, triggered when the Central forward Derrick Leak was fouled by the A&T center Jimmy Humphries.

''Even people from the A&T pep band were fighting,'' the Central sports information director, Wallace Dooley, said in a telephone interview. ''They were hitting people with their instruments. There was general rioting throughout the gymnasium between Central fans and A&T fans.''

Seven Treated for Injuries

Seven people - two city police officers, one campus security officer and four students - were treated for cuts and bruises and released, said Candy Colglazier, a spokeswoman for Moses Cone Memorial Hospital.

The Greensboro city police were called in to reinforce A&T security officers as approximately 6,000 fans were removed from the gym.

Cassundra Morrison, a sophomore member of the A&T pep band, was carried out on a stretcher after apparently being trampled during the fighting.

Fights Among Spectators

The fighting continued outside among several hundred spectators as players tried to board buses.

There was conflicting information about the number of people arrested, with a sheriff's official reporting three and city and campus police reporting no arrests.

Both coaches said none of their players were hurt in the brawl, although the glasses of the Central coach, Mike Bernard, were broken.

[Aggie One]

I was there. Everyone around me were either swinging or running tyring not to get hit with flying chairs. I just chilled and took it all in. A classic case of mass hysteria and mob violence that wa totally out of control. bloddy noses and and split nogggins.

The blame? The refs. Central came into the first five minutes of the game with a huge chip on their shoulders, dishing out hard intentional fouls ( no calls), shoving our players at the free throw line during substitutions, mouthing and jawing with the band and the dawg pound and finally going over getting into the face of Coach Corbett and his staff.

The final straw was when Bobby Moore snatched a rebound away from NCCU's 6-10 center who picked him up and threw him into the band then the fight was on.

Not much different from what they did here in football last season.

I just don't have much if any repect for NCCU . Their track record of bad sportsmanship and thug like behavior is legendary not only with us but with a number of other HBCUs.

[Aggie Monster]

I remember the interview from the NCCU player on the news.

"we were out numbered, so we were just trying to survive and get out of there. People were throwing chairs. It was crazy!"

I remember him looking really shook.

[Bigboy]

I was there that night. Most of the fighting was limited to the pep band area, dog pound and NCCU's bench area. Security got things under control but the game was called off. I was pissed that they called the game because it was becoming a really good game at the time of the fight. I think NCCU won the DII champianship that year if I am not mistaken.

[aggie82]

i was there..you could tell by the atmosphere that something was about to happen....there was not a seat in the house...

[Tee-Sharp]

I was there. I couldn't get to my normal spot near the court because of the large crowd. I ended up on the 2nd level. The atmosphere was electric.

There was a scuffle amongst the players under the basket. The referees seemed to have things under control. Then all of a sudden, a guy on Centrals bench in street clothes jumps up and starts wailing on an A&T player. Aggie fans & band members in the area joined the fray. Things got out of control at that point. Everybody in the gym was on their feet. Someone (A&T) turned off the gym lights a couple of times in an attempt to restore order.

I think this fight has been immortalized on an ESPN video called Blood, Sweat and Tears?

[DOOMS]

I saw the high(low)lights on t.v. It was ultimately the reason why I chose to go to A&T (at the time I was a thuggish high school senior). I figured if they were fighting hard enough to make it to local t.v. in Atlanta, that was the place for me. Up to that point I was wavering between A&T, Hampton, some school in Philly, and pleading my daddy to let me stay close to home and go to Georgia Tech.

I'm surprised the clip ain't on Youtube. Somebody has to have it.

[sammiz]

OK Thrilla, Pull the rabbit out of the Hat!!!!!!!!! Get that clip!!!

[aggierob]

I had graduated and saw the hightlights on the Raleigh local news and ESPN. I called some friends that were still in school and they remember seeing an A&T players getting knocked into the stands, then all hell broke loose. The most memorable sights were the tuba landing on a Central fan's head and Coach Mike Bernard trying to hold on to his broken glasses.

I would love to see the footage now.

[DECKS]

I was there and the intensity was crazy! There had to be at least 8,500 people in Corbett that night because folks were sitting in the aisles. There was a lot of jawing and shoving going on during the entire game. Make no mistake, the event that triggered the brawl was when a dude dressed in maroon and gray street clothes sitting behind the NCCU bench ran onto the court and started flailing away on an Aggie basketball player. For a milisecond people looked stunned and then all heyal broke loose.The Dawg Pound & Pep Band started whoopin azz. If you had maroon & gray on then your azz was grass! NCCU's football players in attendance started running onto the court only to get clocked by chairs and instruments. We had to restrain folks in my section in the upper bleachers from tossing an NCCU fan down the bleachers. Campus security was a joke and lost a lot of respect that night. A couple of em were scared to jump in and break things up.