Five Saturday home games, which include Mid-American Conference power Akron and cross-town non-conference rival Towson, highlight the 2009 Morgan State football schedule that was released today by the school.

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“We are pleased to announce we will have five home games this season, which is best for our fans,” said Morgan State Director of Athletics Floyd Kerr. “We are building more relationships to upgrade our football scheduling in the future with other FBS (Football Bowl Series) institutions to continue to execute our strategic plan to get the football program to the next level based on our ‘Blueprint to Success’.“

“We have a very challenging schedule with three quality non-conference opponents to go with our always challenging MEAC games,” said Morgan State coach Donald Hill-Eley.

The Bears, which won four straight during the middle of the 2008 that includes an overtime victory against Howard, enjoy an open date (9/3) before traveling for two consecutive road games. The Bears start the campaign during the grand opening for InfoCision Stadium — Summa Field, Sept. 12, against Akron, followed by a matchup against Winston-Salem State in the New York Urban League Classic at Giants Stadium, Sept. 19. MSU will face CAA opponent Towson during the Bears’ home-opener at Hughes Stadium (Sept. 26).

The Bears then take to the road to open MEAC play when they face Bethune-Cookman (Oct. 3), followed by a pair of home games when they matchup against North Carolina A&T (Oct. 10) for MSU’s homecoming and square-off against long-time conference rival Howard (Oct. 17) in an ESPNU televised game.

MSU will travel to Dover to take on Delaware State (10/24), then await Florida A&M (Oct. 31) and Norfolk State (Nov. 7) coming to town before finishing the regular season at South Carolina State (Nov. 14) and Hampton (Nov. 21).

The NCAA Football Championship Series (FCS) Play-offs begin on Nov. 28 during Thanksgiving Weekend.

The Bears, who will play Akron in football for the first time this season, hold a 171-136-7 combined record over the 10 opponents that they have met on the gridiron. Morgan State has winning records over four of them – Delaware State (29-22), Howard (37-24-1), Hampton (35-20-2) and North Carolina A&T (38-33-3). The Bears trail in the series against Bethune-Cookman (7-16), Florida A&M (4-16), Norfolk State (10-11), South Carolina State (5-27-1) and Towson (5-16). MSU is tied in the series with Winston-Salem State (1-1).

Please note that the dates of the schedule are subject to change.

2009 Morgan State Schedule

Sept. 3 OPEN
Sept. 12 at Akron
Sept. 19 vs. Winston-Salem State %
Sept. 26 Towson (Youth Day)
Oct. 3 at Bethune-Cookman*
Oct. 10 N.C. A&T* (Homecoming)
Oct. 15 Howard* (Prince Hall Day/ESPNU-TV)
Oct. 24 at Delaware State*
Oct. 31 Florida A&M* (Varsity “M” Day)
Nov. 7 Norfolk State* (Senior Day/Military Appreciation Day)
Nov. 14 at South Carolina State*
Nov. 21 at Hampton*
Nov. 28 NCAA FCS Play-offs begin

* Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game
% New York Urban League Classic, Giants Stadium

By Morgan State University Sports Information