MOBILE, Ala. - The University of South Alabama football team concluded its inaugural season with a perfect 7-0 mark while outscoring the opposition 321-41. Accomplishing a similar feat in the program’s second year won’t be an easy task.

The Jaguars will face 10 four-year institutions, including four already at or transitioning to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA), as part of their 2010 schedule announced by USA Director of Athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann Monday.

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The slate next fall includes seven home games scheduled to be played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, while road trips will take the Jags to California, Florida and Texas.

“We believe the 2010 football schedule is one which is appropriate for the maturing process of the program and will provide tremendous college football contests, both home and away, for our Jaguar fans,” said Erdmann.

The season will begin with a Sept. 4 contest against Pikeville (Ky.), an NAIA member. The Bears, who finished 3-8 a year ago, had nine individuals recognized on the all-Mid-South Conference East Division teams announced at the end of the season. After an open week, Nicholls State will visit Mobile for a match-up with the Jags on Sept. 18. The Colonels - who compete at the NCAA FCS level - finished 3-8, 2-5 in the Southland Conference in the fall.

The Jaguars’ first-ever road game will take place on Sept. 25 against Edward Waters (Fla.) in Jacksonville, an NAIA institution. Last season the Tigers, who returned to the field in 2001 after a 34-year hiatus, posted a 1-10 mark, though head coach Kevin J. Clark has been named conference coach of the year twice in the last three seasons.

October will begin with back-to-back home games against a pair of NCAA Division II schools from the Great Lakes Football Conference, Kentucky Wesleyan and Missouri Tech. KWC, which had 23 players named to the all-league teams after going 2-2 in conference action, will face the Jags on Oct. 2, while Tech will be USA’s foe on Parents’ Weekend Oct. 9. The Miners won four games last season, including recording a 2-1 mark in conference play.

Arguably USA’s toughest stretch in 2010 begins when it visits Lamar on Oct. 16 in the first of two straight road contests. The Cardinals will be playing for the first time since 1989 when they take the field in the fall, beginning the transition to the FCS level for the former member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Jaguars will then visit UC Davis, which posted a 6-5 finish en route to winning the Great West Conference in 2009, Oct. 23. The Aggies, who fell 34-16 to undefeated Boise State and 17-10 to FCS title game participant Montana, had a league-high 10 first-team all-conference selections while Bob Biggs was voted the GWC Coach of the Year.

“We would’ve liked to have played a road game this year, so we’re excited about the opportunity to be able to do that next season,” stated Jag head coach Joey Jones. “It’s exciting not just playing in someone else’s stadium, but in getting used to the travel process.”

The month will end with an Oct. 30 meeting at Ladd-Peebles Stadium with Georgia State, another first-year program that will eventually play at the FCS level. The Panthers will be led by Bill Curry, who has previously guided the programs at Alabama, Georgia Tech and Kentucky.

The season will wrap up with two more contests against NCAA Division II opponents in the opening weeks of November.

Henderson (Ark.) State, which dropped a 27-24 decision at eventual Southland Conference co-champion McNeese State last fall, will take on USA on Homecoming Weekend Nov. 6. The campaign will conclude for the second year in a row on a Thursday night, as the Jaguars will face Arkansas-Monticello on Nov. 11. The Boll Weevils finished 4-4 in the Gulf South Conference last season, one game ahead of HSU.

“Our coaches and players want to move up the ladder from a competitive standpoint,” Jones commented. “This schedule is a good one as we continue to transition to the NCAA Division I level. It will be a challenge for the kids, but it is one big step in that process.”

All game times will be announced at a later date.

Season tickets are already on sale for the 2010 campaign - through Dec. 31, the cost for a season ticket is $85. A maximum of six faculty/staff season tickets can be purchased for either $70, while a family package that includes four season tickets in Section L at Ladd-Peebles Stadium will cost $240. Recent alumni who have graduated in the last three years can obtain season tickets for $60 each.

2010 will be the Jags’ second - and final - campaign as an unclassified program. USA will begin the two-year transition to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly NCAA I-A) in 2011, and will compete in the Sun Belt Conference and be eligible for a bowl bid for the first time in 2013.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

USA Media Relations
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