SAU Sports Information
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – For the second time since 2013, the Southern Arkansas football team will play on a national stage as their Week 9 matchup (October 28) at Henderson State will be streamed live on ESPN3 as part of the 2017 NCAA Division II Football Showcase as it was announced by the NCAA on Wednesday.
“This is a great opportunity for our football program and University to receive some national exposure once more,” remarked SAU Director of Athletics Steve Browning. “The anticipation of the upcoming football season, our 100th season of football at SAU, is already high and consistently growing as we near the first game, and an announcement like this only heightens the excitement.”
This year’s football showcase is a part of an ongoing three-year agreement between the NCAA and the World Wide Leader in Sports to highlight Division II athletic events and SAU’s game at Henderson State is one of 18 predetermined matchups that will take place over the first nine weeks of the regular season. The final two weeks of the season will be flex games on the football showcase schedule that will highlight crucial matchups. Those matchups will be finalized at a later date.
“The collaboration with ESPN provides a continued opportunity to showcase Division II’s balanced student-athlete experience,” said Terri Steeb Gronau, vice president of Division II. “The student-athletes who will be featured in these games have made incredible achievements on and off the field, and we’re excited to share their abilities with a broad national audience on ESPN3.”
SAU’s game with Henderson State will be the 79th meeting all-time with Henderson holding a 44-33-1 advantage in the all-time record. Last year, the two teams met in the eighth-annual Murphy USA Classic in El Dorado, and it was an opportunistic Mulerider football team that came away with a 50-24 win over the Reddies. That win was SAU’s first against Henderson since 2005.
This year, the Muleriders look to end a four-game winless streak at Henderson State that dates back to 2006 while also looking to avenge a heart-breaking loss at the final horn in their last visit to Carpenter-Haygood Stadium in 2015.
Ten (10) teams in the 2017 package appeared in the Division II playoffs, and nine finished the 2016 season ranked in the top 25 of the American Football Coaches Association Division II poll. All 18 games currently scheduled are conference matchups.
“The quality of Division II football continues to rise,” said Steve Mullins, incoming chair of the Division II Football Committee and director of athletics at Arkansas Tech. “We are proud to provide our fans and communities the opportunity to watch some of the most exciting teams across the nation.”
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multiscreen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the ESPN app. The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
The Division II football showcase kicks off with two games on Saturday, Sept. 2, on ESPN3.
Full schedule
Saturday, Sept. 2 — Notre Dame (Ohio) at Shepherd
Saturday, Sept. 2 — East Central at Oklahoma Baptist
Saturday, Sept. 9 — Bowie State at Winston-Salem State
Saturday, Sept. 9 — Albany State (Georgia) at Tuskegee
Saturday, Sept. 16 — Grand Valley State at Michigan Tech
Saturday, Sept. 16 — Tusculum at Limestone
Saturday, Sept. 23 — Mars Hill at Catawba
Saturday, Sept. 23 — Ferris State at Ashland
Saturday, Sept. 30 — West Florida at Florida Tech
Saturday, Sept. 30 — Colorado Mesa at Colorado State-Pueblo
Saturday, Oct. 7 — Southwest Baptist at Truman
Saturday, Oct. 7 — California (Pennsylvania) at Indiana (Pennsylvania)
Saturday, Oct. 14 — Findlay at Hillsdale
Saturday, Oct. 14 — Indiana (Pennsylvania) at Slippery Rock
Saturday, Oct. 21 — Grand Valley State at Ferris State
Saturday, Oct. 21 — Tarleton State at Texas A&M-Kingsville
Saturday, Oct. 28 — Southern Arkansas at Henderson State
Saturday, Oct. 28 — Azusa Pacific at Central Washington
Saturday, Nov. 4 — To be determined
Saturday, Nov. 11 — To be determined