- DIVISION II -

UNCP, Fayetteville State gearing up for 10th meeting in Two Rivers Classic

Broncos won for the first time in the series last season

Published

August 27, 2023

UNC Pembroke and Fayetteville State will renew the Two Rivers Classic for the 10th time on Thursday night. Coaches and players from the two schools will be available for a kickoff show on Monday. (Graphic courtesy Fayetteville State University athletics).

UNC Pembroke will host the first-ever Two Rivers Classic Kickoff Show at the Wing Company in Pembroke on Monday, Aug. 28.

UNC Pembroke coach Mark Hall and Fayetteville State coach Richard Hayes will be featured, as well as players from both teams. The show begins at 11 a.m. and is open to the public. Wing Company of Pembroke is located at 54 Union Chapel Road, Pembroke, NC.

The showcase will lead up to the Two Rivers Classic game between the schools on Thursday, Aug. 31. Pembroke will host the season’s opening contest at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. Kickoff is 6 p.m.

The two schools renewed the Two Rivers Classic a year ago after six-year absence. After dropping each of the first eight contests from 2009-16, Fayetteville State won last season’s game 15-13.

Thursday’s game will feature a rematch of sorts among the coaches. Hayes outdueled Hall in last year’s CIAA championship game when Hall was still with the Chowan program. Hall moved to UNCP in the off-season bringing more than a dozen of his Chowan players with him.

Hayes and the Broncos have been picked to win the CIAA again this season and are ready to take everyone’s best shot. Mountain East Conference coaches voted UNC Pembroke sixth-best in that 11-team league.

Tickets for the Two Rivers Classic are currently on sale via the UNC Pembroke Ticketing Office. For information regarding tickets, contact the UNCP Athletics Ticketing Office at 910.775.4123 or reach out by email at tickets@uncp.edu.