The Miles College Golden Bears Football Team

WHEREAS, on November 12, 2011, 83 years after fielding its first football team, history was made as the Miles College Golden Bears football team won their first Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Division II Championship, by defeating Albany State University; the Golden Bears stunned Albany State for a 20-17 victory on a Patton Chambers 29-yard field goal with nine seconds left on the clock; and

WHEREAS, first-year coach Reginald Ruffin led Miles to the Western Division Championship and won the league’s first championship game; Coach Ruffin was also named the 2011 SIAC Football Coach of the Year, as voted on by the SIAC Football Coaches’ Association; and

WHEREAS, the championship is the first under the leadership of Dr. George T. French, Jr., 14th President of Miles College; and

WHEREAS, evolving into a well respected program, Miles College Football has created an insurgence of pride, dedication, perseverance and commitment to excellence; the 2011 championship victory further illuminated Miles College’s demonstration of team work, camaraderie, sacrifice and dedication to the respect and guidance of authority; and

WHEREAS, Miles College was founded in 1898 by the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, now the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (C.M.E.,) and chartered by the State of Alabama in 1905, as Miles College, to educate African American young people; and

WHEREAS, Miles College is deeply committed to education and community service, and the school’s success can be demonstrated by the hundreds of students and former players who have graduated and gone on to become educators, industry leaders, politicians and outstanding members of their communities; and

WHEREAS, the 2011 championship victory has served as a conduit to bringing Magic back to the Magic City of Birmingham and the City of Fairfield, while igniting a flame in the hearts of those dedicated alumni who have remained steadfast in Miles College’s quest to become champions:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby commend

The Miles College Golden Bears Football Team

for their outstanding achievements and offer congratulations upon the occasion of their first Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Division II Championship.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 17th day of January 2012.

 

      

Governor Robert Bentley