Savannah State University Tigers athletics department has announced its tentative 2010 football schedule. Major renovations to Theodore A. Wright Stadium have forced SSU to schedule less home games. In 2010, the Tigers will play nine road games and two home contests with teams from six conferences--Southern, Southern Intercollegiate, Mid-Eastern, Big South, Colonial and Southwestern.The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced on March 10, 2010, that Savannah State University has been extended provisional membership to the MEAC beginning July 1, 2010.
“Scheduling was a difficult task for us this season,” said interim athletics director Marilynn Suggs. “We wanted to play our usual complement of home games, but with the stadium renovations we will not be able to do so.” “We have scheduled six games in the state of Georgia in order to give our students, alumni, boosters, fans and supporters the best opportunity to see us play. We are extremely excited about the renovations to the stadium and look forward to playing on our campus in 2011,” added Suggs.
When completed in the summer of 2011, the new Theodore A. Wright Stadium will accommodate 8,000 patrons – 4,500 on the home side and 3,500 on the visitor side – in a combination of bleachers and seats. The existing concrete bleachers will be ground up and used during construction.
Nearly all stadium structures will be demolished as part of the upgrade, but the skybox, built in 2008, and track and field will remain intact. An elevator and restrooms will be added to the skybox and team locker rooms, concession areas and restrooms for the home and visitor sides of the stadium will be constructed. A 500-seat student section will be located below the President’s Club section, and the SSU Student Government Association will have its own skybox for use during football games.
SSU students voted last year to begin paying in the fall an extra $150 semester fee to help fund both the stadium renovations and student center construction, expected to cost a combined $17 million. The expected cost for stadium renovations are $4.5 million. Students were involved in the design process for both projects and will be able to use the stadium for other events at no additional cost.
The stadium renovations – and construction of a new student complex, also slated to begin in July – will be financed by the Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority (GHEFA), which enables pooled financing of multiple projects under a single bond issue to help fund capital projects for the University System of Georgia and Department of Technical and Adult Education.
The Tigers will kick off the season on the road against local rival Georgia Southern in Statesboro on September 4. Savannah State will end the year with back-to-back home games on Nov. 13 and Nov. 20. North Carolina Central will come to Savannah on Nov. 13 and Norfolk State will be SSU’s Homecoming opponent on Nov. 20. SSU will announce the site of its home games at a later date.DATE OPPONENT EVENT LOCATION TIME
9/4/2010 Georgia Southern University Statesboro, Ga. - Paulson Stadium
9/10/2010 Fort Valley State University TBA
9/18/2010 Bethune Cookman University Daytona Beach, Fla. - Municipal Stadium
9/25/2010 Albany State University TBA
10/2/2010 Liberty University Lynchburg, Va. - Williams Stadium TBA
10/9/2010 Georgia State University Atlanta, Ga. - Georgia Dome TBA
10/16/2010 Florida A&M University Tallahassee, Fla. - Bragg Stadium TBA
10/23/2010 Alabama State University Montgomery, Ala. - Cramton Bowl 1:00 p.m.
10/30/2010 OPEN
11/6/2010 Old Dominion University Norfolk, Va. - Foreman Field 2:00 p.m.
11/13/2010 North Carolina Central University Savannah, Ga. H TBA
11/20/2010 Norfolk State University "Homecoming" Savannah, GA H TBA
WELCOME TO THE MEAC SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI AND BOOSTERS.
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