SEVEN HOME DATES HIGHLIGHT 2010 BRYANT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
March 3, 2010
2010 BRYANT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FEATURES SEVEN HOME DATES
Bulldogs Set To Begin Year Three of Division I
|
| Bryant will open the 2010 season on Saturday, Sept. 3 against Fordham at Bulldog Stadium. |
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University football team will play a school-record seven home games at Bulldog Stadium this fall, highlighting the 2010 Bryant football schedule, as officially announced by the Department of Athletics Wednesday.
Head coach Marty Fine will enter his seventh season at Bryant when he leads the Bulldogs into the season opener on Saturday, Sept. 4 at home against Fordham. Kickoff will be at 3 p.m. as the game will coincide with campus move-in weekend.
Bryant has posted a 23-8 record during its six seasons at home under Fine, including a 3-2 mark in 2009. Following the Fordham game, Bryant will host former Northeast-10 Conference rivals Saint Anselm (Sept. 11) and Merrimack (Sept. 18) before hitting the road for a pair of Northeast Conference matchups. Bryant, which will begin its third year within the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) in 2010, will also be competing as a member of the Northeast Conference for the second year in a row.
Conference play will kickoff on Sept. 25 when the Bulldogs travel to New Britain, Conn. to face defending NEC champion Central Connecticut State. The Bulldogs will visit Wagner (Oct. 2) the following week before returning back home Oct. 9 to take on Sacred Heart for Homecoming & Reunion Weekend.
Following the Sacred Heart game, Bryant will head to West Long Branch, N.J. to take on Monmouth University Oct. 16 before returning back to Smithfield, R.I. to host the University at Albany Oct. 30 for Parents & Family Weekend.
Bryant will head out to Saint Francis (PA) for its final road trip of the year Nov. 6 and will host Robert Morris (Nov. 13) and Duquesne (Nov. 20) to wrap up the 2010 season. The Bulldogs are a perfect 6-0 against the three Pennsylvania Northeast Conference schools.
Starting this fall, the Northeast Conference will gain an automatic bid into the Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. The FCS playoff will expand from 16 to 20 teams starting in 2010 and the NEC will acquire one of the four added berths for a guaranteed opportunity to play in the 2010 FCS Championship.
This fall will be the third of Bryant's four-year transition process from Division II to Division I. Therefore, Bryant will become eligible for postseason play in the fall of 2012.