Winston-Salem State Captures 2011 SBN National Championship
 
(Pittsburgh, PA – December 12, 2011) –Winston-Salem State University has captured the 2011 SBN Sports Black College National Football Championship. The Rams posted a 13-1 record on the way to winning their first-ever SBN Jake Gaither National Championship Trophy.
 
South Carolina State was the preseason favorite to win this season's championship, while Winston-Salem State was an honorable mention receiving just 17 points. Head Coach Connell Maynor and his team won the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) title with a perfect 10-0 regular season followed by a win in the conference championship game and two victories in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. They advanced to the national semi-finals before losing to Wayne State.
 
In final SBN Poll voting, Winston-Salem State received twenty-six first place votes and 281 points. Bethune- Cookman University was second with three first-place votes and 252 points. The Wildcats also finished second in 2010. Jackson State University finished in third place with 196 points, Norfolk State was fourth with one first-place vote and 181 points and South Carolina State was fifth with 137 points. Grambling State University, Alabama State University, Alabama A&M University, Florida A&M University and Hampton   University rounded out the top ten.
 
Winston-Salem State will be honored during the SBN Black College All-American (BCAA) and Black College Football Hall of Fame Awards Weekend, February 17-18, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia. American Urban Radio Networks and the Black College Football Hall of Fame will also honor the SBN Coach of the Year and the SBN Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. The awards weekend will feature the Third Annual Black College Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony. A who's who list of college and professional football greats are scheduled to attend, including Doug Williams, James “Shack” Harris, Mel Blount, Harry Carson, Rayfield Wright, L.C. Greenwood and Billy “White Shoes” Johnson.
 
The SBN Sports Network is a division of American Urban Radio Networks, the largest Black-owned radio network company in the country, with offices and bureaus in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Detroit and Pittsburgh.