TECH FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES ITS 2009 SEASON SCHEDULE

         RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech University Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Steve Mullins announced his team’s 2009 season schedule on Wednesday.

Among the highlights on the 10-game schedule are five home games in Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field, a GSC-TV Live Game of the Week at West Alabama and three home games in the month of October, all of which will kick-off at 6 p.m.

The Wonder Boys, the 10th all-time winningest Division II football program with 511 all-time wins, will open its 95th season of football on the road in Tahlequah, Okla., against Northeastern State on Thursday, Aug. 27. It will mark the sixth consecutive season Tech has opened its season against the RiverHawks and the eighth straight season that Tech has faced NSU. The series is tied 19-19-3 all-time and Tech has won six straight games in the series, including collecting a 22-3 win last season at home in its season opener.

“The NSU series is a good one for our team,” Mullins said. “The games have always been competitive and tough, which is good way to open the season.”

Following its season opener at Northeastern State, Tech will open the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, Sept. 5 against Incarnate Word at 6 p.m. Incarnate Word, an NCAA Division II school in San Antonio, Texas, is playing football for the first time in school history in 2009. UIW will be a D-II independent this season, before joining the Lone Star Conference in 2010.

Mullins said that adding Incarnate Word came about because Tech needed an NCAA D-II game at home against a South Region opponent.

“I’ve known their head coach (Mike Santiago) a long time,” the 13th-year Tech coach said. “As you go through your conference and start to get to the playoffs, region games mean more than anything.”

After closing non-conference play against UIW, Tech will return to the road to open Gulf South Conference play on Thursday, Sept. 10 at West Alabama. The UWA game, which will kick-off at 7 p.m. in Livingston, Ala., will be Tech’s only “GSC-TV Live” television game on CSS (Charter Sports Southeast) and Cox Sports (SuddenLink Digital Cable Channel 119 in Russellville). It is the second straight season that the Tech-UWA game will open up the “GSC-TV Live” Game of the Week package. Last season, Tech picked up a 26-24 win in Russellville over the Tigers and the Wonder Boys lead the series, 10-5. It will be Tech’s first trip to Livingston since earning a 42-28 win in 2004.

          “We’re excited once again this season to be able to open up the GSC-TV Live package against West Alabama,” Mullins said.

          Following the UWA game, Tech will have an open date in its schedule on Sept. 19. It is the second consecutive season that Tech’s open date comes following its first conference game.

          After the open date, the Wonder Boys return home to face Arkansas-Monticello on Sept. 26. Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. in Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field and is part of Family Day activities on the Tech campus. Tech leads the all-time series with the Boll Weevils, 40-23-3 after earning a 38-35 win last season in Monticello.

          The Wonder Boys will open the month on October on the road as they travel to face North Alabama and new coach Terry Bowden on Saturday, Oct. 3. Kickoff for the UNA game is slated for 6 p.m. at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Ala. After the UNA game, Tech returns home for two consecutive games beginning on Saturday, Oct. 10 against Southern Arkansas and then will play host to West Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 17 for Tech’s Centennial Homecoming celebration. Both the SAU game and the UWG game will kick-off at 6 p.m. in Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field. 

          Following its two-game homestand, Tech will head to Arkadelphia, Ark., to face Henderson State for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Oct. 24, before closing out the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, Oct. 31 against two-time defending GSC champion Delta State. The game with DSU will mark Senior Day for Tech’s seniors and will kick-off at 6 p.m.

           The Wonder Boys will conclude its regular season on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Harding. Kick-off is set for 2 p.m. at First Security Stadium in Searcy, Ark. Last season, Tech picked up a 56-34 win on Homecoming against the Bison to close out the season with a 5-5 record. The 5-5 record marked the fifth consecutive non-losing mark for the Wonder Boys, which is the best stretch for the program since posting six straight non-losing campaigns from 1967-72.

                             2009 ARKANSAS TECH FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

           Thursday, Aug. 27 – at Northeastern State, 7 p.m.

           Saturday, Sept. 5 – Incarnate Word, 6 p.m.

           Thursday, Sept. 10 – * at West Alabama, 7 p.m. (GSC-TV Live)

           Saturday, Sept. 19 – OPEN

           Saturday, Sept. 26 - * Arkansas-Monticello (Family Day), 6 p.m.

           Saturday, Oct. 3 - * at North Alabama, 6 p.m.

           Saturday, Oct. 10 - * Southern Arkansas, 6 p.m.

           Saturday, Oct. 18 - * West Georgia (Homecoming), 6 p.m.

           Saturday, Oct. 24 - * at Henderson State, 3 p.m.

           Saturday, Oct. 31 - * Delta State (Senior Day), 6 p.m.

           Saturday, Nov. 7 - * at Harding, 2 p.m.

           Saturday, Nov. 14 - NCAA D-II Playoffs – 1st round (campus sites)

           Saturday, Nov. 21 – NCAA D-II Playoffs – 2nd round (campus sites)

           Saturday, Nov. 28 – NCAA D-II Playoffs – quarterfinals (campus sites)

           Saturday, Dec. 5 – NCAA D-II Playoffs – semifinals (campus sites)

           Saturday, Dec. 12 – NCAA D-II National Championship game (Florence, Ala.), TBA

           Home games are in BOLD and are played in Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field
           * - denotes Gulf South Conference games
          (GSC-TV Live) – denotes GSC-TV Live Game of the Week broadcast by CSS (Charter Sports Southeast) and Cox Sports
           All times are Central and are subject to change

           2009 Wonder Boys Football Schedule

         -- Tech Athletics --