TSU Tigers' 2009 Tentative Football Schedule Released

Courtesy: Tennessee State Sports Information

Tennessee State University will play an eleven-game football schedule for the 2009 season that features four home games and three “Classic” match-ups. The Tigers’ non-conference opponents consist of four traditional rivals, three from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (Alabama A&M, Jackson State, Southern) and one from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (Florida A&M). TSU’s seven-game Ohio Valley Conference schedule will consist of all OVC teams except Jacksonville State.

The 2009 season opens at home on Labor Day Week-end, September 5th, against Alabama A&M in the John Merritt Classic. The following week, TSU battles Jackson State at the Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis, TN (9/12). Closing out September, the Tigers travel on succeeding week-ends to face Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA (9/19) and Florida A&M in Atlanta, GA (9/26) at the Atlanta Football Classic.

TSU opens Ohio Valley Conference play on October 3rd at home against Southeast Missouri, then travels to Richmond, Kentucky to battle 2008 OVC Champion Eastern Kentucky. The month of October sees TSU host Murray State (10/17) followed by an open date before traveling to Cookeville, TN facing Tennessee Tech (10/31). Three games in November begin with Homecoming (11/03) against Tennessee Martin followed by road games at Austin Peay State (11/14) and Eastern Illinois (11/21).

2009 Tiger Football Schedule - 01/08/09

First-year Valley coach dealing with tough 0-14 start

The schedule was successful, raising about $550,000 in guaranteed payouts, almost twice as much as the previous record. But--at the cost of a 0-13 record for the Delta Devils and first year Coach Sean Woods.

The losses for Mississippi Valley State's first-year coach Sean Woods have come with such regularity, even he's having trouble keeping count. "I never thought my coaching career would start at 0-13," Woods said Monday during a presentation to the Greenwood Rotary Club. Actually, the Delta Devils' season-opening string of defeats ran to 14 Saturday, when Valley dropped its preseason SWAC opener to Arkansas Pine-Bluff.

Woods, who starred as a player at one of the nation's premier basketball powerhouses, the University of Kentucky, isn't used to such futility. "When you lose that many games in a row ... you forget how to win," Woods said. Woods, 38, inherited two major obstacles when he took over in July as the head coach, replacing James Green, who had moved on to Jacksonville State.

The cupboard of talent was fairly bare, with only three players returning from last year's SWAC championship squad, and not much time to replenish it. And he was handed a killer non-conference schedule - the third toughest in the nation, according to Woods. Except for the season-opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga, all of the other dozen non-conference games were played on the road.

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NEXT: The Delta Devils will host Alabama A&M at 7:30 p.m., Saturday

FAMU will play Miami this season

Three years after their last meeting and three decades since FAMU's stunning victory over the University of Miami, both teams will meet this season at Pro Players Stadium. The Oct. 10 match-up will be the fifth game on the Rattlers' 2009 football schedule, which was announced Wednesday. The Rattlers open the season on Sept. 5 against Delaware State, one of four games they will play at Bragg Stadium. The annual classics against Tennessee State and Bethune-Cookman University are scheduled for Sept. 26 and Nov. 21, respectively.

A specific date for homecoming hasn't been decided, although a Nov. 7 date with North Carolina A&T is most likely. The other option is Oct. 24 against Norfolk State, said sports information director Alvin Hollins. The date will be determined after FSU releases its schedule in order to avoid a potential crunch for hotel rooms. FSU can't announce its schedule until the Atlantic Coast Conference releases it.

"It's frustrating for our fans," Hollins said. The Miami game is the first of a two-year contract between the two schools. The deal, which athletic director Bill Hayes said guarantees FAMU more than $500,000, calls for the teams to meet in consecutive seasons. The back-to-back games are a first since the 1979 and 1980 seasons. FAMU opened that agreement by beating the Hurricanes in Tallahassee, but this time both games will be played in Miami.

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2009 Florida A&M FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 5 vs. Delaware State
Sept. 12 at Winston-Salem State
Sept. 19 vs. Howard*
Sept. 26 vs. Tennessee State
Oct. 10 at Miami
Oct. 17 at S.C. State.
Oct. 24 vs. Norfolk State*
Oct. 31 at Morgan State
Nov. 7 vs. N.C. A&T
Nov. 14 at Hampton
Nov. 21 BCU
Nov. 28 - NCAA FCS Playoffs -1st Round
Dec 5 - NCAA FCS Playoffs - TBD
Dec 12- NCAA FCS Playoffs - TBD

*—Conference games; @—Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic at Georgia Dome in Atlanta; #—Possible homecoming dates; $—Florida Classic at Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

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Bellamy chose SCSU over Coastal Carolina

With National Signing Day exactly four weeks away, South Carolina State has picked up its first verbal commitment for the incoming freshman class. Senior offensive lineman Tristan Bellamy of Strom Thurmond announced Monday his intentions of signing with the reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions, according to head coach Lee Sawyer. The 6-3, 285-pound Bellamy chose S.C. State over Coastal Carolina, Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern.

“They did a good job in convincing him that he can come in and play very early and they felt like he could be a big time player for him,” Sawyer said. “And one of my former players (defensive lineman Matt Key) is playing down there and he did a good job in recruiting him.” Bellamy lettered two seasons at guard and center for the Rebels. As a senior, he led the way for a Strom Thurmond team which went undefeated during the regular season and averaged 335.6 yards per contest For his efforts, Bellamy was selected to participate in the North-South All-Star Classic where he was member of the victorious North team.

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Morgan State Takes Down Maryland Terps 66-65

COLLEGE PARK, MD — The Maryland Terrapins fell to in-state foe Morgan State on Wednesday night, 66-65. The game featured strong performances from Morgan State’s Reggie Holmes (25 points) and Maryland senior Dave Neal (18 points). Morgan State Head Coach Todd Bozeman called the win “significant” for his team, not only because it was “against an ACC school,” but also because “it is in-state.” The first half was a fairly equal performance for both teams, ending with a Maryland lead at 36-33. The second half, however, featured gigantic runs from both teams: 18-2 from the Terps, followed closely by 21-5 from Morgan State, leading to the final score of 66-65.

The Terps suffered particularly in two parts of their game: turnovers and three point shooting. Maryland committed 21 turnovers and only hit 1 of 14 three point shots. While they shot well from the free throw line (12-15), Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams said that his team "didn’t take advantage of what [they]’re really good at,” because he wanted to see more free throw opportunities. Maryland star Greivis Vasquez did continue his hot hand at the free throw line, extending his streak of consecutive made shots to 29.

The announced crowd at the Comcast Center was 15,138. The stands appeared quite empty, and much to the chagrin of the Maryland faithful; there was a large (and loud) contingent of fans rooting on the Bears.

Maryland-Morgan State Video Highlights
Quotes
Notes
Photo Gallery
Final Stats

Williams' Postgame News Conference Video

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Nomadic life costly for Jackson State

Starting season with 14 road games results in 2-12 mark

In so many ways, it all adds up. Close to $500,000 for the athletic department. The experience of trips to places like Tempe, Ariz., Providence, R.I., and Champaign, Ill. Playing in front of 16,000-plus at Kansas' historic Phog Allen Fieldhouse. In other ways, it doesn't add up to much at all. Spending two straight months on the road. Winning twice in 14 tries.

Jackson State basketball coach Tevester Anderson rolled all of the figures around in his head while standing courtside at Alabama A&M's Elmore Gym on Monday morning and said something he's probably thought dozens of times. "It's something I wouldn't want to do again," Anderson said of his team's ambitious pre-SWAC schedule, which included more guarantees than a first-time politician.

"We've played some tough teams and it's helped us evaluate ourselves. It has been fun at times. At other times, it's taken a toll on us." For one day, at least, the hard knocks helped. The preseason SWAC favorites beat A&M 62-53 Monday night to even their conference record at 1-1 and move their overall record to 2-12. When he looked at the schedule, A&M coach Vann Pettaway wondered if Anderson, in his sixth year with the Tigers, had gotten sideways with the Jackson State administration.

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FAMU football reels in BCS transfers

Florida A&M's Joe Taylor is methodically adding impact players to the Rattlers roster to make a run for the FCS title in 2009. FAMU finished '08 at 9-3 and second place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Florida A&M football coach Joe Taylor has searched schools as far away as Kentucky and West Virginia to bring a few players closer to home, primarily to beef up the Rattlers’ offensive line. In all, Taylor has signed three offensive linemen transfers from BCS schools with possibly two others expected on defense if they can pass Taylor’s screening. Those players are junior defensive back Marques Barnes from University of South Carolina and defensive end Jamil Paris from Kentucky.

Taylor also confirmed that former Madison County Cowboy Jay Culpepper will transfer from FSU. The 6-4, 268-pound offensive lineman will be used as a long snapper, Taylor said. The other two linemen are Chris Little from Georgia and Braden Curry from Marshall University. Curry of Hollywood and Paris of Vero Beach were both top recruits coming out of their respective Florida high schools. Neither Paris’ nor Barnes’ move is completed, but even if they don’t make Taylor’s standards, he said the new additions will bring some depth to the offensive line.

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