Garden City Classic

     South Carolina State University's Bulldogs and Claflin University's Panthers have decided to revive the Garden City Classic after 15 years.

     Mention of the classic by Mrs. Charlene Johnson, the Director of Athletics at SC State, to SC State's head coach Tim Carter was how things all got started.

     "She said it was a game that in the years past had been a very exciting game for the community," Coach Carter said.

     In a press conference held Sept. 21, it was announced that the classic would start Nov. 11 in the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center at SC State Univeristy.

     "Next, we're going to play the game over at Claflin; we signed a two year contract," Coach Carter also said.

     Ron Woodard is the head coach at Claflin, and next year's game will be in the Jonas T. Kennedy Center. The classic was a game that received excellent reception from the community. It is bound to be exciting and will hopefully generate some enthusiasm from the neighboring schools so that the tradition can be continued.

     "The place is probably going to be sold out, so that right there is exciting to me. Coach Woodard has done a tremendous job over there at Claflin," State's head coach Tim Carter said.

     The classic started in 1987 and ended in 1997 when the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the league SC State is affiliated with, issued a ruling that conference teams could not play non-Division I opponents. The MEAC has since changed those rules, and thus the rivalry has been reborn.

     "I think there's going to be a lot of older people who followed both programs back then that will be attending the game just in terms of just bragging rights, just because we're right over the fence," said SC State's women's head coach Douglas Robertson.

    The Bulldogs lead the Panthers 7-3 in the series; they took the last win with a score of 69-61. However, the Lady Bulldogs were 3-6 against the Lady Panthers, and there was not a Women's Garden City Classic for the 1990-1991 school year.

     "Probably about 15 years ago, Claflin's women's basketball team was really, really good. It's ok, we're still going to maintain some level of competitiveness," Robertson said.

     The classic will be the season opener for both teams. Everyone involved has high expectations.

     "We're going to play hard I know that much; I'm excited," Robertson said.

     Tickets for this year's games will be on sale at the SC State Ticket Office (803-536-8579) and the Claflin Office of Fiscal Affairs (803-535-5492). Tickets are $15 for reserved and $10 general admission. A limited number of student tickets at $5 each will also be available.