River Ridge running back Shawn Ford will join Division II Chowan University in Murfreesboro, North Carolina to play football, according to trainer Rob Oppedisano.

Ford led the Royal Knights in rushing as a senior with 104 carries for 463 yards and a score. He also caught eight passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.

The Hawks, who went 2-9 in 2007, will be led by Tim Place, in his first season with Chowan after spending the past two seasons as the head coach at Urbana University in Ohio.

Chowan is the newest member of the CIAA, a conference made up of 11 Historical Black Colleges and Universities. Chowan, which will play in the CIAA’s Western Division, is the first non-HBCU admitted since it’s inception in 1912. The CIAA, which has a total of 12 teams, is the oldest HBCU league in the country.