SAN JOSE STATE Football opens 2003 season hosting Grambling on ESPN2


Jafus (Thinker)

Jafus (Thinker)

Well-Known Member
SAN JOSE STATE
--------------

Football opens 2003 season hosting Grambling on ESPN2


SJSU Sports Information
18 Mar 2003

The San Jose State University football team will face the Grambling
State University Tigers in the inaugural Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Literacy Classic. The game is scheduled for Saturday, August 23,
2003, 3:00 p.m. (PDT) in Spartan Stadium and will feature the
world-renowned Grambling Tiger Marching Band at halftime.

The Literacy Classic presently is the nation?s first college foot-
ball game of the season and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
 
Glad to see that ESPN has taken some notice. This might be the catalyst for more SWAC and HBCU football games to be broadcast by the network.


Good show, Grambling. :tup:
 



This is a positive step in the right direction. Name recognition and having a good product makes Grambling a natural choice for these inaugural games. Apparently, ESPN has taken notice.
 
One thing that I can say about Grambling.............They have always played interesting matchups i.e. SMU, Temple, Oregon State ect.

I have always liked their tenacity ever so often in playing high profile games.
 
Hopefully this is the start of something we all need...more exposure of our schools via athletics and television. San Jose is not a major power, but they are a Division 1 program that sees a chance to make some bucks playing a good program. I'd like to see a return game next year in Shreveport and also with televison coverage.

If we pull this off successfully, you're gonna see more scheduling like Fresno State versus Jackson State. Imagine the crowd in Vegas to see UNLV versus Southern. But let's not just stop with us visiting them. As I said in the other paragrah (about playing San Jose in Shreveport), Fresno State and JSU would be a sell out in Jackson as the season opener! I'm talking about 61k people at that mofo. UNLV playing SU in the dome would bring in an attendance in the upper 50's.

I hope this is the start of home and home arrangements against some mid-major Division 1 programs. Plus it expands our recruiting base to a national level. We need to reclaim our students and student athletes from throughout the nation.
 
Sports : Football

http://www.thespartandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/03/19/3e78bd49dcb4e

Spartan head coach Fitz Hill spoke during a press conference about the importance of reading and academics as Grambling State University head coach Doug Williams watched Tuesday at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library. The conference was held to discuss the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literacy Classic football game between the two schools, scheduled for Aug. 23. RYAN BALBUENA, DAILY STAFF

SJSU, Grambling to honor MLK Jr. By Chris Giovannetti, Daily Senior Staff WriterMarch 19, 2003 San Jose State University and Grambling State University are keeping the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. alive - both on and off the football field. In a decision made official on Tuesday, the Spartan and Tiger football teams will open the 2003 season against each other on Aug. 23 at Spartan Stadium in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literacy Classic.

Scheduled to be played on the same day that SJSU and the city of San Jose open the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Joint Library on the northwest corner of the SJSU campus, both programs are using the game as a tool to promote literacy and education in the Bay Area. "The purpose of the game is to leverage sports to the level of literacy and education," said SJSU head coach Fitz Hill, one of only four African American head coaches in Division I-A football. "We want to use sports as a way to lure people into something they might not see."

Grambling head coach Doug Williams was in line with Hill's beliefs of the game."At Grambling we don't bring in kids to say, 'you're going to the NFL.' We bring in kids to get degrees," said Williams, the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXII as a quarterback with the Washington Redskins. "The importance of education and literacy needs to be made aware not only on college campuses but in other places as well."

As part of a deal the Spartan athletic office cut with ESPN, the game will appear nationally on ESPN2 with a 3 p.m. kickoff time."(SJSU head coach) Fitz (Hill) and myself wouldn't have accomplished half of what we did if not for Martin Luther King," Williams said. Literacy and education aside, the game also has the chance of furthering SJSU's cause of staying at the NCAA Division I-A level. By the completion of the 2004 season, all I-A members must average 15,000 fans in at least five home games.

In four home games last season, SJSU averaged 10,360.One of the most storied programs in college football history despite never playing above the I-AA level, the Tigers regularly draw more than 30,000 fans to their road games."At Grambling, we've always played road games. 'Have team, will travel' was the motto of (GSU former head coach Eddie Robinson). If it's a good situation for both teams," Williams said. "We have a huge alumni base in California and always get great support on the road."

A historically black college located in Grambling, La., the Tigers are 31-5 in their last three season, claiming three consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference titles."I'd like to think we're coming here with a chance to win," Williams said.Festivities for the game are scheduled to begin on Aug. 18 with a weeklong series of events promoting literacy and education.The world-famous Tiger marching band will perform at halftime of the game and activities such as a step show and a gospel extravaganza are also planned.

Hill was positive when asked if the SJSU-Grambling game might be the first in an annual series between the two schools."We'd like it to be an annual thing - if we can get support from the city," Hill said. According to SJSU athletic director Chuck Bell, the game materialized because of a scheduling conflict the Spartans had with Utah State University. Originally, the Spartans had Utah State on the schedule as part of a home-and-home agreement with the Bulls.

Utah State, however, moved to the Sun Belt Conference and, needing to revamp its schedule to include another Sun Belt opponent, the Bulls came to Bell about opting out of the game.Seeing the gap in the schedule, Hill jumped on the chance to add Grambling to the 2003 schedule. Besides being a long-time friend of Williams, the Tigers are a highly recognizable team with a large following that was willing to play in San Jose."There was just one problem," said Bell, a former athletic director at Utah State. "

Both schools didn't have an open slot except for the beginning of the season."SJSU and Grambling submitted their schedules to the NCAA, which authorized the game for Aug. 23 - a full week before the national college football season starts.The Spartans also had the University of Nebraska on the schedule for Sept. 27 but the Cornhuskers wanted to opt out of the game, expressing their interest in playing Southern Mississippi University instead.

A game against the Eagles would be televised by ESPN and thus, generate revenue for the Cornhuskers, Nebraska officials said."We told (ESPN) that the game against Nebraska was vitally important for us financially," Bell said.The Spartans stood to make $500,000 from playing in Lincoln, Neb., - a figure which Bell adjusted to between $350,000-$380,000 depending on travel costs.

As part of a deal struck between SJSU, Nebraska and ESPN, the Cornhuskers gave the Spartan athletic office a $350,000 buyout and ESPN agreed to televise the Grambling game nationally."We got the financial benefit without playing Nebraska and grabbed a national TV spot, which means sponsorship opportunities," Bell said. "It was a win-win situation for San Jose State. We were fortunate to be in this spot."

The Sept. 18 game against the University of Nevada-Reno is also scheduled to appear on ESPN. The readjusted schedule gives the Spartans a bye week and more time to prepare for an Oct. 4 date at Rice University.

The rest of the schedule remains the same, except for the addition of Rice, which replaces Louisiana Tech University as part of the conference two-year rotation of a school west of the Rocky Mountains playing four schools east of the Rockies.After Grambling, SJSU travels to Gainesville, Fla., to clash with national powerhouse University of Florida on Aug. 30. The Spartans return home the following Saturday to face Stanford University in Palo Alto before launching the WAC portion of the year against Nevada.
 
MikeBigg,

Hopefully this is the start of something we all need...more exposure of our schools via athletics and television. San Jose is not a major power, but they are a Division 1 program that sees a chance to make some bucks playing a good program. I'd like to see a return game next year in Shreveport and also with televison coverage.

If we pull this off successfully, you're gonna see more scheduling like Fresno State versus Jackson State. Imagine the crowd in Vegas to see UNLV versus Southern. But let's not just stop with us visiting them. As I said in the other paragrah (about playing San Jose in Shreveport), Fresno State and JSU would be a sell out in Jackson as the season opener! I'm talking about 61k people at that mofo. UNLV playing SU in the dome would bring in an attendance in the upper 50's.

I hope this is the start of home and home arrangements against some mid-major Division 1 programs. Plus it expands our recruiting base to a national level. We need to reclaim our students and student athletes from throughout the nation.
Click to expand...

I think i will be difficult for programs in the WAC member institutions to justify the potential loss of a home game (Note: The new NCAA Division I legislation that will require NCAA Division I A programs to play five home games agianst NCAA Division I A labeled competition), by scheduling a road game game against NCAA Division I AA competition. However because of the attendance equirements (Note: The new NCAA Division I legislation that will require NCAA Division I A programs to average 15,000 in attendance over a season), these programs may be interested in a 2 (home) for 1 (away) split. But, I am leary. Hopefully it will work out in our (SWAC) favor.
 



"these programs may be interested in a 2 (home) for 1 (away) split."

This seems to be the new wave. I think it is important to have a hefty buyout clause in the deals.
 
One of the most storied programs in college football history despite never playing above the I-AA level, the Tigers regularly draw more than 30,000 fans to their road games."
Click to expand...

Written like one of my old signatures -- only Grambling!
 
Thats great for the SWAC. Can't make the trip, shiiid thats farther than Vegas. This dude I know went to SOUTHERN for about 1 year maybe then transferred to SJSU and played football there. He didn't play at SOUTHERN though. He!! he still had the experience.
 
http://espn.go.com/ncf/s/2003-04_espn_tvsched.html


All times Eastern
2003-04 ESPN/ESPN2 college football schedule
Date Day Game Site Time Network

Aug. 23 Sat. Grambling @
San Jose State 2003 Literacy Classic
Spartan Stadium
San Jose, Calif. 6 p.m. ESPN2

Aug. 31 Sun. Louisville @
Kentucky Commonwealth Stadium
Lexington, Ky 6:30 p.m. ESPN2

Sep. 1 Mon. East Carolina @
Cincinnati Nippert Stadium
Cincinnati, Ohio Noon ESPN or ESPN2

Sep. 1 Mon. TCU @
Tulane Superdome
New Orleans 8 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2


Sep. 4 Thu. Southern Miss @
UAB Legion Field
Birmingham, Ala. 7 p.m. ESPN2

Sep. 11 Thu. California @
Utah Rice-Eccles Stadium
Salt Lake City, Utah TBD ESPN or ESPN2

Sep. 18 Thu. Texas A&M @
Virginia Tech Lane Stadium
Blacksburg, Va. 7:30 p.m. ESPN

Sep. 25 Thu. Nebraska @
Southern Miss M.M. Roberts Stadium
Hattiesburg, Miss. 7:30 p.m. ESPN

Sep. 30 Tue. Houston @
East Carolina Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
Greenville, N.C. 7:30 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2

Oct. 2 Thu. West Virginia @
Miami Orange Bowl
Miami, Fla. 7:30 p.m. ESPN

Oct. 3 Fri. Oregon @
Utah Rice-Eccles Stadium
Salt Lake City, Utah TBD ESPN or ESPN2

Oct. 9 Thu. Colorado State @
BYU Lavell Edwards Stadium
Provo, Utah TBD ESPN or ESPN2

Oct. 10 Fri. TCU @
South Florida Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, Fla. 8 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2

Oct. 16 Thu. Air Force @
Colorado State Hughes Stadium
Fort Collins, Colo. TBD ESPN or ESPN2

Oct. 22 Wed. Virginia Tech @
West Virginia Mountaineer Field
Morgantown, W.Va. 7:30 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2

Oct. 23 Thu. Maryland @
Georgia Tech Bobby Dodd Stadium
Atlanta, Ga. 7:30 p.m. ESPN

Oct. 31 Fri. Boise State @
BYU Lavell Edwards Stadium
Provo, Utah TBD ESPN2

Nov. 11 Tue. Miami (Fla.) @
Virginia Tech Lane Stadium
Blacksburg, Va. TBD ESPN

Nov. 13 Thu. Virginia @
Maryland Byrd Stadium
College Park, Md. 7:30 p.m. ESPN

Nov. 20 Thu. TCU @
Southern Miss M.M. Roberts Stadium
Hattiesburg, Miss. 7:30 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2

Nov. 21 Fri. Boise State @
Fresno State Bulldog Stadium
Fresno, Ca. TBD ESPN2

Nov. 25 Tue. North Texas @
New Mexico St. Aggie Memorial Stadium
Las Cruces, N.M. 7 p.m. ESPN2

Dec. 6 Sat. Boise State @
Hawaii Aloha Stadium
Honolulu, Hawaii 11:30 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2

Dec. 16 Tue. New Orleans Bowl New Orleans 7 p.m. ESPN2

Dec. 18 Thu. GMAC Bowl Mobile, Ala. 7:30 p.m. ESPN2

Dec. 22 Mon. Mazda Tangerine Bowl Orlando, Fla. 5:30 p.m. ESPN

Dec. 24 Wed. Las Vegas Bowl Las Vegas 4:30 p.m. ESPN

Dec. 25 Thu. ConAgra Foods Hawaii Bowl Honolulu 8 p.m. ESPN

Dec. 26 Fri. Motor City Bowl Pontiac, Mich. 5 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2

Dec. 26 Fri. Insight Bowl Phoenix 8:30 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2

Dec. 29 Mon. Alamo Bowl
Presented by MasterCard San Antonio 9 p.m. ESPN

Dec. 30 Tue. Pacific Life
Holiday Bowl San Diego 8 p.m. ESPN

Dec. 31 Wed. Mainstay Independence Bowl Shreveport, La. 8 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2

Dec. 31 Wed. Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl San Francisco 10:30 p.m. ESPN2

Jan. 1 Thu. Outback Bowl Tampa, Fla. 11 a.m. ESPN

Jan. 2 Fri. Chik-fil-A
Peach Bowl Atlanta 4:30 p.m. ESPN
 
Dude, they are starting to schedule games on Tuesday and Wednesdays now. It has gotten to the point where there will be a college football game everyday of the week.
 
How was Southern Miss able to pimp Nebraska into play in Hattiesburg on a Thursday night? They will have more people in that place than they had for the J-State game.
 
cat daddy,

USM went to Nebraska twice over the last 3-4 years, so Nebraska as to come to Hattiesburg under the 2 for 1 deal. ESPN wanted the game on Thursday night, so USM, Nebraska and whoever else worked it out to play on Thursday.

I think I'ma try to get tickets to this game.
 
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