An ambitious schedule that includes games against four opponents that received votes in the final NCAA FCS national polls, one against an NCAA Championship participant and an expanded Big South Conference slate highlight the 2009 Stony Brook University football schedule as announced today. The Seawolves will open the 2009 season at Hofstra University on September 5 and will open at home on September 19 against Brown University.

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“Our 2009 football schedule will be the University’s most challenging in our youthful history,” remarked Head Coach Chuck Priore. “We are excited about our second season in the very competitive Big South Conference and a non-league schedule that includes the likes of Hofstra, Colgate, Massachusetts and Ivy champion Brown. The Seawolves 2009 season presents us with challenges, as well as, motivation as we prepare during the remainder of spring practice and through the summer months.”

“Clearly this is a very challenging schedule for our football team,” added Sony Brook Director of Athletics Jim Fiore. “It is an exciting time for our athletic program to have teams of this caliber on our schedule as we continue to evolve and grow our football tradition. The 2009 campaign will be a great opportunity for our student-athletes and staff to compete against high quality opponents while also allowing us to continue to expand our geographic presence.”

Stony Brook will begin the season with two games on the road before playing its first contest in LaValle Stadium. After squaring off against Hofstra in a game that will mark the 13th time the two Long Island schools have met, the Seawolves will travel to Colgate for a September 12 game. The Raiders, whom the Seawolves defeated in 2008, won the Patriot League title and played in the NCAA Championships and finished with a 9-3 record.

After opening at home against Brown, Stony Brook will be back on the road for a game at Massachusetts that will be the second time the two teams have played. The following week Stony Brook will begin its second season of play in the Big South Conference when it hosts Presbyterian College from South Carolina on October 10.

Stony Brook will then embark on its longest trip of the season when it travels to the Great Plains for a game at the University of North Dakota that will be the first meeting between the two schools. The Seawolves will then return to Big South play as they make their first-ever visit to the Virginia Military Institute on October 17. Stony Brook will then host Coastal Carolina on October 24 before finishing the month with a trip to Gardner-Webb on October 31.

After an open date on November 7, Stony Brook will venture back down South for a game at Charleston Southern on November 14 before finishing the season at home on November 21 when it will host defending Big South champion Liberty.

Four teams on the 2009 schedule received votes in the final polls from the 2008 season, including Liberty, which finished 14th, and Colgate which was ranked 16th. Two teams will be first-time opponents for Stony Brook in games that will occur on back-to-back weekends; Presbyterian and North Dakota. The Blue Hose and Fighting Sioux are also the only two opponents on this season’s schedule that SBU did not play in 2008.

2009 Stony Book Football Schedule
Date Day Opponent Place Time
Sept. 5 Saturday at Hofstra Hempstead, N.Y. TBA
Sept. 12 Saturday at Colgate Hamilton, N.Y. TBA
Sept. 19 Saturday BROWN STONY BROOK 6:00 p.m.
Sept. 26 Saturday at Massachusetts Amherst, Mass. TBA
Oct. 3 Saturday PRESBYTERIAN* STONY BROOK 3:00 p.m.
Oct. 10 Saturday at North Dakota Grand Forks, N.D. 2:00 p.m. (1:00 p.m.)
Oct. 17 Saturday at VMI* Lexington, Va. 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 24 Saturday COASTAL CAROLINA* STONY BROOK 6:00 P.M.
Oct. 31 Saturday at Gardner-Webb* Boiling Springs, N.C. 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 7 Open Date
Nov. 14 Saturday at Charleston Southern* Charleston, S.C. 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 21 Saturday LIBERTY* STONY BROOK 1:00 p.m.

* Big South Conference game
Home games in CAPS
All times Eastern and subject to change; () times are local to site

By Stony Brook University Athletic Communications