NAU to play at OLE MISS

[dbackjon]

NAU has dropped it's game with Ft. Lewis, and will travel to Ole Miss on November 17th (which it originally had off).

NAU will get $400K for it.

The Northern Arizona football team will play two Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams and an always challenging Big Sky Conference slate that includes home games against Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) runner-up Montana, Eastern Washington, Idaho State and Northern Colorado, Athletics Director Jim Fallis announced Thursday.
“We are excited to put a schedule together that provides our student athletes and fans with the unique opportunity to experience the always tough Big Sky along with a home game with regional rival Southern Utah, while being able to compete against two bowl teams in UA and Ole Miss” said Fallis. “I also commend Coach Souers and his staff in accepting the challenge to play two quality BCS teams and assisting the department in these challenging economic times.”

The Lumberjacks will open the season at Arizona on Sept. 12, starting the season against a team that is coming off a win in the Las Vegas Bowl in 2008. The Lumberjacks will host Southern Utah in the home opener on Sept. 19 before opening Big Sky play against Montana on Sept. 26. The Grizzlies went 14-2 last season and lost in the FCS Championship game to Richmond.

Northern Colorado will complete a three-game homestand on Oct. 3 before NAU embarks on road games at Montana State (Oct. 10) and at Portland State (Oct. 17). The Lumberjacks return home to play Idaho State in the annual Homecoming contest on Oct. 24.

The Lumberjacks will break from Big Sky play on Nov. 7 to travel to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss of the Southeastern Conference. The Rebels went 9-4 last season and defeated Texas Tech in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas on Jan. 2. NAU quarterback Michael Herrick played his first two seasons at Ole Miss before transferring to NAU prior to the 2008 season.
The game with Ole Miss will be the first for NAU against an opponent from the Southeastern Conference.

http://nau.newtier.com/index.php?module ... 8&sid=2887

[dbackjon]

2009 Northern Arizona University Football Schedule
Date, Opponent, Site, Time
Sept. 12, at Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., TBA
Sept. 19, SOUTHERN UTAH, FLAGSTAFF, 3:05 p.m.
Sept. 26, MONTANA, FLAGSTAFF, 3:05 p.m.
Oct. 3, NORTHERN COLORADO (FW), FLAGSTAFF, 3:05 p.m.
Oct. 10, at Montana State, Bozeman, Mont.,1:35 p.m., MDT
Oct. 17, at Portland State, Portland, Ore., TBA
Oct. 24, IDAHO STATE (HC), FLAGSTAFF, 3:05 p.m.
Oct. 31 , at Sacramento State, Sacramento, Calif., 2:00 p.m., PDT
Nov. 7, at Ole Miss, Oxford, Miss., TBA
Nov. 14, at Weber State, Ogden, Utah, TBA
Nov. 21, EASTERN WASHINGTON, FLAGSTAFF, 3:05 p.m

[dbackjon]

Now that the great football scheduling debacle of 2009 is over, Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone spent Wednesday afternoon explaining why it happened - and also how he plans to make sure it never happens again.



UM officials announced late Tuesday night that Northern Arizona, a Big Sky Conference school that plays in the lower Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA), will come to Oxford on Nov. 7 as the Rebels' 12th football opponent this fall. The deal ended months of speculation and deals gone awry. For Ole Miss, it's not an ideal outcome for two reasons.

First, it means that two FCS opponents are on the 2009 schedule. According to NCAA rules, only one win against an FCS team can count toward the six needed for bowl eligibility.

Second, the game is scheduled for Nov. 7, not Sept. 12 like school officials had originally wanted. This forces Ole Miss to play 11 consecutive weeks without an open date, a grueling stretch that includes all eight Southeastern Conference games.

"It was just sort of a perfect storm," Boone said. "Money was part of it. Timing was part of it. It wasn't much fun while it was happening, but we got it done, and we learned some valuable lessons that should help us in the future."

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20 ... 90330/1109

[clenz]

Is 400K going to be enough to cover all the costs with the game? With that kind of travel you can't be netting much from that game.

[dbackjon]

Is 400K going to be enough to cover all the costs with the game? With that kind of travel you can't be netting much from that game.

Shouldn't cost anymore than 100K at most to travel.

[BigApp]

you ever been to Oxford?? It's in the middle of nowhere! The Grove is worth the trip!!! that wouldn't interest you though...

[dgreco]

Glad to see NAU drop Ft. Lewis and pick up Ole Miss. Too bad Ole Miss is on the rise, because it would be nice to see a close game.

[Ivytalk]

dback, will you visit the land of William Faulkner?

[slycat]

Nice switch of games.

[dbackjon]

dback, will you visit the land of William Faulkner?

I would like to.

One thing that pisses me off - I live in Nashville for 4 long, horrendous years. NAU doesn't play anywhere NEAR the South.

Move back to Arizona, and now, they will have played a game within a four hour drive of Nashville TWICE....

[grizzaholic]

Glad to see NAU doing a little schedule changing and getting a few much needed dollars out of it.

[dbackjon]

Glad to see NAU doing a little schedule changing and getting a few much needed dollars out of it.

And thanks to EWU for changing our game with them as well.