March 23, 2010

Golden Eagle football team to play at TCU in September

Already scheduled to open the 2010 football season at the University of Arkansas, Tennessee Tech will play a second game against a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent when it faces TCU the following week.

Tech opens 2010 season with games at FBS foes Arkansas and TCU

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Already scheduled to open the 2010 football season at the University of Arkansas, Tennessee Tech will play a second game against a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent when it faces TCU the following week.

A member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), the Golden Eagles will face a Horned Frog team that finished 12-1 last year.

The game against TCU will be played Saturday, Sept. 11 in Amon Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.

TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson was a Tech assistant coach during the 1983 and 1984 seasons.

Golden Eagle Head Coach Watson Brown and Director of Athletics Mark Wilson jointly announced the addition of the Tech’s second FBS game to the schedule.

“Talk about a challenge, we now open the season with games at Arkansas and TCU, but we’re excited about this opportunity for our young men to play these types of opponents,” Brown said. “It’s a learning experience for our young men every time we play against that level of competition. It gives our players a chance to face the very best competition we can.

“These games are also extremely important financially for our football program and the Tennessee Tech Athletic Department,” Brown added.

TCU wrapped up a perfect regular season with a 12-0 mark last year and captured the Mountain West Conference championship with an 8-0 ledger. The Horned Frogs were raked No. 3 nationally and earned a BCS appearance against No. 6 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, losing 17-10.

In Brown’s first three seasons at Tech, his teams have played against opponents in the Southeastern (Auburn and Georgia), Mid-America (Western Michigan), Big East (Louisville) and Big 12 (Kansas State) conferences.

After visits to Arkansas and TCU in 2010, the Golden Eagles are slated to play at Iowa in 2011.

“Playing up a level against FBS opponents has become a tradition for Golden Eagle football and we’re excited about another opportunity to add to that tradition,” Wilson said.

“Whether it’s Auburn, Georgia, Arkansas, Iowa or TCU, playing this high caliber of opponent provides the team with a tremendous challenge, provides the players with a memorable experience, and it is also an important aspect of our financial picture.”

The games this year at Arkansas and TCU will mark the 14^th consecutive year with at least one FBS opponent, it will be the 21st year overall that the Golden Eagles have jumped up a level. Tech’s first FBS foe was Kansas State in 1984.

Tech played at both Kansas State and the University of Georgia in 2009. The contest at UGA drew more than 92,000 fans to rank as the second-largest crowd to ever watch an OVC team play.

The Golden Eagles closed the 2009 season with a 6-5 overall record and claimed second place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 5-3 league record. Tech was a perfect 3-0 against the OVC schools in Tennessee to capture the league’s annual Sgt. York Trophy.