Democratic presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton has cancelled his speaking engagement at Central Methodist College in Fayette.

"The only information I have is that he’s changed his booking agency and there are conflicts in his schedule," said college spokesman Don Cullimore.

The university will try to reschedule the event, but it probably won’t happen in July or August, he said.

Sharpton would have followed in the tradition of Libertarian candidate Harry Brown and 2000 Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan, had he made his Thursday appearance at the college.

Brown was in Fayette in 1995, while Buchanan was in town in 2000, Cullimore said.

Sharpton would have spoken at a lecture hall on campus that seats between 200 and 300 people, Cullimore said.

"We were really looking forward to having Mr. Sharpton - we’ve had some really good experiences with past candidates showing up," said Cullimore. "For Buchanan, the room was packed. We had a lot of people standing round. We probably had a crowd of 300."

Sharpton was scheduled to speak after answering an invitation from CMC professor of sociology Michael Hirsch, who extends invitations to all major presidential candidates. Hirsch is also mayor of Fayette.

Sharpton, known for his outspokenness, is one of nine announced Democratic candidates for the presidential election in 2004.

In announcing his campaign in January, Sharpton promised to speak on behalf of the disaffected Americans, including young people, minorities, women, gays and lesbians. Attempts to reach Sharpton or his campaign staff were unsuccessful on this morning.