SWAC Announces 2009 Thursday Football TV Schedule

BIRMINGHAM – The Southwestern Athletic Conference has announced its four-game Thursday football schedule for the upcoming 2009 season.

All televised Thursday games will be shown live on ESPNU, beginning on Oct. 1 with Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff hosting Alcorn State at Golden Lion Stadium. In 2008, the teams played on Thursday night, with the Braves taking a 13-3 home win on Sept. 18.

On Oct. 22, Prairie View A&M will travel to Baton Rouge to face Southern at A.W. Mumford Stadium. Last season, the Panthers rallied from a double-digit deficit to defeat Southern 24-23 in Houston on Oct. 25.

The Thursday night lights travel to Robinson Stadium in Grambling, LA on Nov. 12 as the defending SWAC and HBCU National Champion Grambling State Tigers will host Texas Southern at 8 p.m. This ‘Battle of Tigers’ will be staged on Thursday night for the second straight year; in 2008 Grambling won at TSU 33-7 on Nov. 20.

Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26 will feature the 86th Turkey Day Classic between Alabama State and Tuskegee at 3 p.m. in Montgomery, AL. Last year the Hornets ended Tuskegee’s 26-game winning streak with a 17-13 win.

Kickoff times for the October 1 and October 22 games, as well as the SWAC Saturday Football TV Schedule, will be announced later this spring.

2009 SWAC Thursday Football TV Schedule on ESPNU (all games live, all times central)

• Thur. Oct. 1 Alcorn State at Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff – TBA

• Thur. Oct. 22 Prairie View A&M at Southern – TBA

• Thur. Nov. 12 Texas Southern at Grambling State – 8 p.m.

• Thur. Nov. 26 Alabama State vs. Tuskegee – 3 p.m.