For the first time in KSU’s football history, they will open up the season up at home in Fifth Third Bank Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3 against East Tennessee State University as part of a two-year head-to-head deal.
ETSU is located in Johnson City, Tennessee, just over four and a half hours away from KSU. There are 14,500 students and professors total at ETSU.
Its football team was first founded in 1920 but went inactive for financial reasons following the 2003 season. The Buccaneers were reinstated in 2015 and joined the Southern Conference, ending the season just 2-9.
The Owls had their inaugural kick-off game vs. the Buccaneers at Kermit Tipton Stadium in Johnson City last year and absolutely dominated them, winning 56-16. KSU looks to repeat that performance Saturday.
The team returns 19 starters from 2015, including first-team All-Big South sophomore DB Taylor Henkle, who led the Owls in 65 tackles and tied for the conference lead in interceptions with four. KSU also returns redshirt senior quarterback Trey White, who last year threw for a total of 1,059 yards and eight touchdowns and ran for 964 yards and nine touchdowns. In the previous meeting with the Bucs, White threw for 96 yards and a touchdown, then added 95 yards on the ground and a touchdown, earning him the title of Player of the Game.
Tickets to home football games are free to enrolled KSU students. To get them, however, students must first enter the lottery system.
A 60-hour window opens before each game, allowing students to register with their student ID through OwlLife. Priority goes to seniors, based on credit hours, followed by juniors, sophomores and freshman at the bottom.
If you really wanted to see the game and didn’t get a ticket through the lottery, you could always just buy a general admission ticket for $25. Alternatively, you could hang out in the standby line with your student ID and hope to get an extra ticket — but that’s risky.
Parking is for the Green Lot, and passes are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis on each campus. Grab your pass in the lobby of the Convocation Center on the Kennesaw campus or in the Marietta campus student center Student Affairs Suite on the second floor.
Of course, there’s always a chance you end up with a parking pass but no game ticket, or vice versa.
If none of these work out for you, you can always catch the game on Peachtree TV and on ESPN Radio 1230 The Fan 2. Fans can also keep up with the game via Twitter @KennesawStFB.
