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[/insert_php]You can’t argue with perfection.
Neither did the coaches or the media as the North Carolina A&T Aggies, by virtue of their 21-14 win over Gambling in the Celebration Bowl on Saturday, finish a unanimous No.1 and are HBCU national champions with the release of the final BOXTOROW Coaches and Media Polls.
“We appreciate BOXTOROW recognizing us as their national champion,” said N.C. A&T seventh-year head coach Rod Broadway. “It is honor because we know how much they devote to covering Black college football.
“I told my coaches when we met before the start of camp that this might be the best team I’ve ever coached and look how it turned out. We’re 12-0. We’re Black college national champs for the second time in three years and our seniors walk out of here with 40 wins and five rings. That’s special. But this was a special group, and it’s been a blessing to coach these guys.”
Two-time defending SWAC champion Grambling State finished second. The Tigers won last year’s BOXTOROW national championship.
The Aggies sat atop the poll all year with the exception of the preseason poll. The Aggies became the first Division I HBCU to finish the season undefeated.
The BOXTOROW HBCU FCS coaches poll and the media poll are administered by FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW. The coaches poll is voted on by the HBCU Football Championship Subdivision coaches and the media poll is voted on by media members around the country who cover HBCU football.
BOXTOROW National Football Champions (Coaches) Year-by-Year
2017 North Carolina A&T
2016 Grambling
2015 North Carolina A&T
2014 Alcorn State
2013 Bethune-Cookman
2012 Arkansas-Pine Bluff
2011 Norfolk State
2010 Bethune-Cookman
2009 South Carolina State
BOXTOROW National Football Champions (Media) Year-by-Year
2017 North Carolina A&T
2016 Grambling
2015 North Carolina A&T
2014 Alcorn State
2013 Bethune-Cookman
2012 Winston-Salem State
2011 Winston-Salem State
2010 Bethune-Cookman
2009 South Carolina State
2008 Grambling
2007 Tuskegee
2017 BOXTOROW HBCU FCS Football Coaches Top 10 Poll
Final
(Records through December 16, 2017)
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina A&T (22) | 12-0 | 220 | 1 |
| 2 | Grambling | 11-2 | 198 | 2 |
| 3 | Alcorn State | 7-5 | 167 | 4 |
| 4 | Bethune-Cookman | 7-4 | 160 | 3 |
| 5 | Southern | 7-4 | 121 | 5 |
| 6 | Howard | 7-4 | 113 | 6 |
| 7 | North Carolina Central | 7-4 | 98 | 7 |
| 8 | Hampton | 6-5 | 61 | 8 |
| 9 | Prairie View A&M | 6-5 | 43 | 9 |
| 10 | Tennessee State | 6-5 | 39 | 10 |
Other receiving votes: Alabama State (5-6) 4, Norfolk State (4-7) 2, Jackson State (3-8) 1.
(1st place votes in parentheses)
2017 BOXTOROW HBCU Media Top 10 Poll
Final
(Records through December 16, 2017)
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts. | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North CarolinaA&T (15) | 12-0 | 150 | 1 |
| 2 | Grambling | 11-2 | 134 | 2 |
| 3 | Virginia State | 10-1 | 111 | 3 |
| 4 | Bowie State | 9-2 | 89 | 4 |
| 5 | Southern | 7-4 | 81 | 5 |
| 6 | Alcorn State | 7-4 | 80 | 6 |
| 7 | North Carolina Central | 7-4 | 51 | 7 |
| 8 | Tuskegee | 9-2 | 45 | 8 |
| 9 | Howard | 7-4 | 41 | 9 |
| 10 | Bethune-Cookman | 7-4 | 23 | 10 |
Other receiving votes: Langston (10-1) 15, Tennessee State (6-5) 3, Benedict (7-2) 3.
(1st place votes in parentheses)