WRAL Sports Fan

College Football

Bull City Classic brings unique match-up

Aug 16, 2012

Durham, N.C. — For Durham native Desmond Scott the upcoming Bull City Classic between Duke and North Carolina Central means a lot more than just another football game.

"The saying on the other side of the track that's kinda what this game is, you have the Duke community and then you have the North Carolina Central community. It's a beautiful thing, it's helping the Durham community grow and intertwine," said Scott, who is a running back for Duke. 

The game brings Durham’s two Universities together but the teams themselves are already well-acquainted. Scott and Central star Geovonie Irvine were high school teammates at Hillside.

"Some of these guys date the same girls, some of those things go on," joke head Duke football coach David Cutcliffe. "When you're five miles apart, okay, that's what you call a pretty good rivalry starting there."

This will be the second meeting between the two football teams, with more planned for later this decade. And it continues a long tradition between the two athletic programs. One that dates back to the 1940’s and John McClendon’s secret game, and the groundbreaking work between the two schools’ legendary track coaches, Al Buehler, and the late Dr. Leroy Walker.

"There's a history of ground breaking things that go on with the track and with the basketball over the years. And now to have a classic with an HBCU and a historically white university, to have a classic and to actually plan it for years to come, I think it's huge," said NCCU head football coach Henry Frazier.

"There's a lot of water under the bridge but there's a lot that remains to be done and I think this football game could be important to all of that," said Cutcliffe.

Mark down September 15th it should be classic day for the Bull City.