SSU followers show support during stadium dedication

Howard (1-3, 0-2 MEAC) at Savannah State (1-3, 1-0 MEAC)
Where: T.A. Wright Stadium, Savannah
When: Saturday at 7 p.m.
TV/radio: No TV/WHCJ 90.3 FM



Savannah, Georgia - Orange and blue balloons decorated the gate leading to the playing surface of Savannah State’s T. A. Wright Stadium. Bands serenaded, dignitaries bowed, cheerleaders cheered and a crowd of 500 on a sunny Thursday afternoon displayed the unity student government association vice president Jesse Fenton suggested when he said: “one mission, one vision, one Savannah State.”

It was a day to show your blue and orange colors as officials cut ribbons to dedicate the $6 million renovation of the Tigers’ football stadium. SSU plays its first game in the spiffed up stadium Saturday night at 7 against Howard University.

“It’s so exciting to break our home in with the community,” said Tigers senior quarterback A.J. DeFilippis. “You know, it wasn’t a day I expected to come. But it’s come and we’re embracing it.”

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Savannah State says T.A. Wright Stadium will be ready Oct. 1

Savannah, GA - Savannah State University's football team has not played a game on its campus since Nov. 14, 2009. Last season, because of construction to T.A. Wright Stadium, nine of the Tigers' 11 games were on the road. The final two games were played at Memorial Stadium.

That will change Oct. 1, when SSU returns to T.A. Wright Stadium to play its first home game as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Tigers will face Howard University at 7 p.m.

"It's going to be done," SSU Vice President for Student Affairs Irvin Clark said of the stadium's completion. "Folks are going to have a lot to be proud of. I must be honest with you, it's a project that's long overdue."

The game is being billed as the "Coming Home/Hall of Fame Game" by SSU's athletics department. It won't be SSU's "Homecoming Game" - that will be Oct. 29 against Hampton - but it undoubtedly will have a homecoming-like atmosphere.

Savannah State has spent $10.2 million to upgrade its athletics facilities, including $6 million on T.A. Wright Stadium, which opened in 1967. SSU students voted in 2009 to pay an extra $150 per student each semester to fund a $21.95-million construction project that includes:

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SSU getting closer to finishing major stadium renovations

Savannah, GA - It may be the summer time, but there is a lot of action going on at Savannah State to get ready for their upcoming football season and it's not the football team. If you've driven by Savannah State's campus recently, you've seen a lot happening to T.A. Wright Stadium which has been under construction for almost a year.

Part of a $17 million project that also includes a new student center, the football stadium is getting a much needed facelift; new turf is being laid, a new track put down, expanding the seating on both sides to hold 8,000, new locker rooms for home and away teams, an expanded press box and two new buildings for restrooms and concessions.

Leading the way on the project from construction company RW Allen is a former SSU football player, so a lot of pride is going into the project from all involved.



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Savannah State's Davenport conducts first spring football practice

Senior RB Justin Babbs receives medical redshirt from NCAA

With the sounds of constructing a new T.A. Wright Stadium echoing across the street, Savannah State University’s football team on Wednesday conducted its first spring practice under new head coach Steve Davenport.

SSU worked out for two hours on its practice field near Tiger Arena. It was the first of 13 practices the Tigers will conduct in a four-week period, ending with their annual Orange and Blue game April 14. Players wore helmets, jerseys and shorts. Their first practice in full pads will be Saturday at 10 a.m. Their next practice is Friday at 3:30 p.m.

Davenport, who was hired Jan. 7 after four seasons as the running backs coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, said it was a strange but great feeling overseeing his assistants as they instructed players.

Spike Lee tells SSU students to seek education and passion

It wasn’t Spike Lee’s first time talking to college students in Savannah — he spoke to Savannah College of Art and Design students in 2005. But the opportunity to speak at Savannah State University — the city’s historically black university — he said, was one he could not pass up. Especially considering that Lee is a product of a historically black school, Atlanta’s Morehouse College.

“There was a time when (blacks) couldn’t go to any other school,” Lee said to applause. “We couldn’t go to the University of Georgia.”

For well over an hour Tuesday night the acclaimed filmmaker told SSU students to fight ignorance with education and find their passions. Using anecdotes from his own experiences, the bespectacled Lee told the hundreds gathered in Tiger Arena what he believes is the key to a positive, happy life.

Click here to view Spotted® photos of his lecture at SSU

SSU football begins spring practice today

Savannah State University football coach Steve Davenport will pay close attention to running back Justin Babb and offensive lineman Demetrius Edwards when the Tigers begin spring practice today.

The NCAA granted Babb and Edwards medical hardships, also called medical redshirts, giving the seniors an extra year of athletic eligibility. A medical hardship may be obtained from the NCAA to replace a season lost to injury if an athlete plays in 30 percent or less of his or her team’s games.

Babb, SSU’s leading rusher in 2009 and 2008, suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in the Tigers’ third game last season against Bethune-Cookman. Edwards suffered a season-ending knee injury against Bethune-Cookman.

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Stadium Renovations Impact Savannah State 2010 Football Schedule

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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