FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Seth Coleman

(404)215-2680

ATLANTA, July 29 - The myth that Morehouse is an all-academic, no-athletics institution took another hit as the Maroon Tigers recently won the 1997-98 (Men's) Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Sports Award.

The honor is given to the SIAC school whose teams performed the best during the year. It was Morehouse's second All-Sports title in three years and its sixth overall. The winner is determined using a scoring system where points (20, 15, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1) are awarded to teams depending on where they finish in the conference races.

Morehouse racked up 95 points, winning conference titles in basketball (West Region), track, tennis and cross country. Considering the disappointing season had by the football team and the lack of a baseball program, makes winning the All-Sports championship all the more impressive, according to Morehouse sports information director James S. Nix.

"I think it says a lot for our athletic program," Nix said. "It says we have very good athletics to complement our excellent academics."

Founded in 1867, Morehouse is the nation's only historically black, private liberal arts college for men. The College enrolls approximately 3,000 students and graduates 500 each year, conferring bachelor's degrees on more black men than any other institution in the world.

Prominent alumni include Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize laureate and civil rights leader; David Satcher, U.S. surgeon general and director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Samuel L. Jackson, motion picture actor and Academy Award nominee; Spike Lee, filmmaker and president of 40 Acres and A Mule Productions; and Edwin C. Moses, Olympic gold medalist and financial consultant for Robinson-Humphrey Co. Inc.

For more information concerning the Morehouse athletic department, please contact James S. Nix at 404-681-2800, extension 2752.