SC State cancels “The Lowcountry Classic” for this year, as SLED investigates the event

South Carolina State will not be hosting the Low Country Classis in Charleston this year.  This comes while the State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the event. University trustees questioned the event’s finances last year, and an internal audit is under way. The university is citing the decline in state funding as the reason the event is being canceled.  You can read the entire press release from the university below:

SC STATE WILL NOT HOST THE LOW COUNTRY CLASSIC THIS YEAR

The Bulldogs will play five games in Orangeburg for the first time since the 2005 campaign

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – South Carolina State will not host the Low Country Classic in Charleston, S.C. during the 2009 football season, the University announced today.

SC State president, Dr. George E. Cooper, shared that as a result of the on-going decline in appropriated state resources, the University, this year, would focus on using available resources to support events on the campus and in Orangeburg.

The decision means that The Bulldogs will play five games in Orangeburg for the first time since the 2005 campaign.

Dr. Cooper said that he hopes SC State alumni, stakeholders and fans will increase their support of the football team, no matter where The Bulldogs play.

SC State, which will play an 11-game schedule in 2009, opens the season Sept. 6 against Grambling in the fifth MEAC/SWAC Challenge at Orlando, Fla. The Bulldogs will be making their second appearance in the game, created and sponsored by ESPN to match outstanding teams from the MEAC and SWAC. SC State played Alabama State in the inaugural MEAC/SWAC Challenge in 2005, coming away with a 27-14 win.

The first of five home games will be Sept. 26 against Winston-Salem State.