by Mike Foster (Sports Editor)
KSU’s football schedule for its inaugural season expanded to eight games on Wednesday. The Owls will host Division II opponent Paine College of Augusta, Ga., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
“In looking for scheduling you want to find teams that are starting up or close to starting up like we are,” said KSU’s head coach, Brian Bohannon. “For our non-conference opponents we kind of looked at it from that aspect for scheduling. They’re not far from us, so I think it’s a great opportunity.”
The Lions will begin varsity football this coming season, after playing four club-level games this past fall with a 3-1 record. They will compete in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) at the NCAA Division II level. Paine is coached by Greg Ruffin, who had assistant positions with Jacksonville State and Texas Southern before taking the head coaching job with the Lions.
“Coach Bohannon is doing a good job over there. We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us,” said Ruffin. “They’re Division I, we’re Division II. Aside from the disparity in scholarships, it’s going to be a very good game.”
Paine is the second non-conference opponent to schedule a game with KSU to this point. KSU announced on Nov. 14 that it would play its first-ever game against East Tennessee State in Johnson City, Tn., on Sept. 3, 2015 at Kermit Tipton Stadium.
KSU now has four home games scheduled. Big South Conference games against Gardner-Webb (Oct. 17) Monmouth (Oct. 31) and Charleston Southern (Nov. 7) round out the conference home dates. KSU will play six conference games in its first year.
In an interview with The Sentinel on Aug. 27, KSU’s Director of Athletics, Vaughn Williams, said the school’s in-state rival Mercer could be a possibility for the team’s first season, though no specific information about scheduling talks between schools can be released.
“We’re looking forward to playing a lot of Mercer,” Williams said in the interview.
KSU has sold over 2,000 season tickets for its inaugural season. Visit ksuowls.com for more ticket information.
