Delta State head coach Todd Cooley issued a hefty condemnation of Kentucky State on Monday during his weekly press conference, alleging that the HBCU program backed out of an already scheduled game with the Statesmen. Kentucky State, the third-ranked team in the SIAC, is set to play Shorter University on Saturday.
NEWS: Kentucky State backs out of its game this week against Delta State just days before kickoff.
Kentucky State signed the contract on July 14th.
“They're supposed to be coming to Cleveland this weekend to play us, and they're not,” head coach Todd Cooley.
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Per Cooley, Kentucky State and Delta State inked a contract in July to play each other. The objective of both teams playing each other in the matchup was to give both teams 11 conference games in the event that they would be playoff eligible.
“You’ve got Kentucky State, who signed a contract to play us July 14, they’re supposed to be coming to Cleveland this weekend to play us, and they are not. They are playing Shorter, because they’re telling us that they’ve got an agreement to play the third-place team in the Conference Carolinas. Well, Shorter is not the third-place team in Conference Carolinas.”
In February 2024, the SIAC inked a deal with the Conference Carolinas for a Week 11 home-and-home series that is set to start this season to improve the playoff contention chances of SIAC teams that are not competing in the championship but have the record and resume to get an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
In the agreement, two Conference Carolinas schools that did not qualify for the conference championship will travel to compete against two SIAC schools that also did not qualify for the conference championship during week 11. The matchups would be determined at the end of the season. Shorter is currently 2-8 on the season and 1-5 in conference.
Despite the agreement between the Conference Carolinas and the SIAC, Cooley believes that Kentucky State could possibly be avoiding the matchup with Delta State, as a loss could effectively end their playoff chances.
“It’s baffling to me. It’s setting a precedent that should not be set,” Cooley said. “I would think if we beat them, they probably wouldn’t be in (the playoffs). So maybe that’s why they’re not playing us. You’d have to ask them. I just know they’re not playing us. It’s been frustrating.
He added, “But at the end of the day, when a team says they’re not coming, what are you going to do? All you can do now is go through legal action to determine what the repercussions for that are.”
