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JaxStateManager
March 5th, 2007, 09:52 AM
Jacksonville State's schedule should be cpmpleted sometime in the next week or two.

From today's Star.

Out.

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JSU football tilt with MSU likely

By Al Muskewitz
Star Sports Writer
03-05-2007

JACKSONVILLE — Mississippi State officials expect their football game with Jacksonville State to go on as scheduled. It's just a matter of finding a date.

That, they expect, could be finalized in the next week to 10 days.

JSU athletic director Jim Fuller hopes to nail it down sooner.

A scheduling conflict has left Mississippi State and Eastern Kentucky both in the Sept. 22 slot of Jax State's schedule. JSU and Mississippi State are anxious to make the game — the second of a two-year deal — and the Gamecocks have burned up phone lines to get it resolved.

“I think within the next 7-10 days, we'll know for sure which date we're going to play,” Mississippi State athletics director Larry Templeton said Sunday. “But it's going to happen, yes.”

One possibility is Nov. 3, which Mississippi State has open, but for the game to go there, JSU needs help from another set of Bulldogs. The Gamecocks would need to move their game at Samford to the week before, a concession Samford seems unwilling to make.

Another option is Eastern Kentucky moving its game with Eastern Illinois to the teams' mutual Nov. 3 open date, thereby keeping the JSU-MSU game on Sept. 22.

Fuller said he has had a conversation with Samford athletics director Bob Roller, and JSU coach Jack Crowe has spoken with new Samford coach Pat Sullivan.

“If Samford wanted to help Jacksonville ... ,” Fuller said, pausing for effect, “they could move their game to the open date we both have, and that would solidify our problem, but I don't think that there's any intention on Samford's part to want to move the game, regardless of Jack's conversation with Sullivan (or) my conversation with Roller.

“So now, I'm looking at two schools within the conference. ... We do, whether we think so or not, have some buddies that don't like us, but one day out of 365, that's not bad. In football. Our ADs are good and try to accommodate when you have problems like this, because they all have the same problem.”

Templeton may be looking at a 7-10 window, but Fuller is working on a tighter personal deadline.

“I'm going to have to just about get something done (today),” Fuller said, “because Larry's going to the SEC meeting (at the SEC Tournament in Atlanta), and he would like to know something by Tuesday. And I'm also on the president's deadline. He said he wanted this done by spring break (March 19), and I said I'll have it done before then.”

If the Gamecocks don't play Mississippi State, they would lose the $250,000 guarantee, be subject to a $100,000 break penalty and then have to find a game to fill the void.

nothingbutjsu
March 5th, 2007, 10:47 AM
Also heard that UNLV may be added to JSU's 07 schedule

UCABEARS75
March 5th, 2007, 10:59 AM
I would hope that as the years go by Jacksonville State and UCA could hook up for some OOC games. I need a good excuse to come to Alabama to watch football, eat some BBQ, and play some golf.

JaxSinfonian
March 5th, 2007, 12:14 PM
Come on down. UCA would be a fine non-conference opponent.

Plus, it would be good for the Bears and their fans to see the stadium where a whole lotta Gulf South Conference history resides. I frequently point this out here (and perhaps I shouldn't), but JSU's been out of that league for 14 years, and still no one can claim as many GSC titles as are listed on the sign over the west end zone at Paul Snow Stadium.

As for the schedule, as long as that MSU game works out I think it's a good one. Alabama State, Chattanooga and the Bulldogs, plus the conference slate, minus Tennessee State (if there ever was a good year to skip the Tigers, I think this is it).

JaxStateManager
March 5th, 2007, 04:59 PM
Haven't heard anything about the UNLV possibility, but I have heard University of Nevada (Reno) as a possible match-up. Also, Tennessee State will be off the schedule for the next two years, being replaced by returning conference member Austin Peay.