North Carolina Central spoiled the Deion Sanders farewell party last week when they defeated Jackson State in the Celebration Bowl, and head coach Trei Oliver has since made it clear that he is not a fan of his Hall of Fame counterpart.
After NCCU’s thrilling 41-34 overtime win over Jackson State last Saturday, Oliver spoke about the lack of respect his team received from their opponent. He said there were several examples both the day of and leading up to the game, starting with Jackson State athletic director Ashley Robinson referring to Oliver’s team as “North Carolina A&T State University.”
“Their athletic director addressed us as North Carolina A&T State University. We pull up to dinner the other night, (Jackson State’s) buses won’t move. They got to drop our guys off in the middle of a street,” Oliver said, via Kendrick Marshall of HBCU Sports.
Then on the day of the game, Oliver says NCCU players had to stand in the tunnel for 10 minutes before they took the field because Jackson State was not prepared to come out for the national anthem.
Oliver still seemed annoyed during his end-of-season Zoom press conference on Tuesday. He deadpanned that Colorado could have signed him for a lot less money than they are paying Sanders.
#NCCU head coach and national champion Trei Oliver having a little fun on today's postseason zoom.
"Colorado if y'all have second thoughts, contact my agent."
More from coach tonight at 6 on @ABC11_WTVD#YouDoWhatYouWantWhenYouPoppin #CelebrationBowl2022 pic.twitter.com/uqib1KVBHR
— Travon Miles (@TrayABC11) December 19, 2022
“I will say this — Colorado could have probably gotten me for half price. The ink isn’t dry on the contract,” Oliver said. “I know they had to wait until after the game. So, Colorado, if you’re having second thoughts, contact my agent.”
Oliver’s team was more than a two-touchdown underdog heading into the Celebration Bowl even with all the distractions surrounding Sanders. Some of those distractions seemed to serve as motivation for NCCU.
H/T Football Scoop
