South Alabama serious about football

NEW ORLEANS — South Alabama athletics director Joe Gottfried had a vision for football in 2001. It finally became reality late last year.

On Dec. 6, it was announced that the Mobile university would add football. Joey Jones was hired as head coach Feb. 26 and on July 3, South Alabama signed a four-year home-and-home deal with Navy, set to begin in 2013.

Gottfried and Jones were in attendance at the Sun Belt Media Days.

“I’ve always had people say to me that we need to have football,” Gottfried said. “We sold around 2,600 tickets in 2001 without any advertising, but the timing back then just wasn’t right and we weren’t in good shape financially.”

South Alabama will start play in 2009 with a junior varsity schedule. Gottfried said the team has contracts with Hargrave Military (Va.), Fork Union (Va.), Pikeville (Ky.) and Kentucky Wesleyan. In 2010-11, the Jaguars will play a Football Championship Series schedule.

The team will play a Sun Belt schedule in 2012, but won’t be eligible for postseason play until 2013.

By that time, Gottfried expects the facilities to be on par with several big schools. Ladd-Peebles Stadium underwent a $9 million dollar renovation three years ago. The stadium, which seats 42,000, will get new skyboxes, new locker rooms and will be painted.

The football facility is expected to be 42,000 square feet with a 9,000 square foot weight room and $220,000 in weight equipment.

“All of the things that the big Division I schools have, we’re going to do it from the get-go,” Jones said.

Gottfried also said $4.3 million dollars has been earmarked for football and that a full-time staff of four sales people are working the phones eight hours a day.

“Our goal for that first year is to sell a minimum 12,000 tickets,” Gottfried said. “We feel like we’ll be able to do it.”

By 2013, Gottfried wants the Jaguars to have a six-game home schedule, with one money game on the road, one non-conference home game against a team
South Alabama would pay to host, and home-and-home series with other Football Bowl Subdivision schools.

He doesn’t anticipate a matchup with Troy happening before 2012, when USA plays a conference schedule.

“We haven’t talked about (playing before then),” Gottfried said. “But it’s not a bad idea.”

The coaching staff includes offensive coordinator Les Koenning, who coached at Texas A&M and Alabama, defensive coordinator Bill Clark, the former head coach at Prattville High, former Troy assistant Brian Turner (recruiting coordinator/defensive line) and former Auburn quarterback Dameyune Craig (running backs).

Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said South Alabama will have an impact on players Troy wants to recruit, but not a big one early.

“I think we’ll be able to get the ones we really want,” Blakeney said. “As we get closer to 2013, they’ll be able to project more of the players they can get. Right now, they’re selling being a part of building a program.

“I think it’s good for football. I don’t know how long it will take for them to compete for a championship, but they’ll be a thorn in the side to plenty of teams early.”

Bowl announcement: The Sun Belt announced two-year agreements beginning this year with the Papajohns.com Bowl, the St. Petersburg Bowl and the PetroSun Independence Bowl. If one of those bowls has a conference that can’t fulfill its obligations with eligible teams, the bowl will select a second Sun Belt team if one is eligible. The SBC champion goes to the New Orleans Bowl.

Last year, Troy (8-4) and UL-Monroe (6-6) were bowl eligible, but stayed at home. The inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl is on Dec. 20, the Independence Bowl on Dec. 28 and the Papajohns.com Bowl on Dec. 29 at Legion Field in Birmingham.

The New Orleans Bowl will move to a Sunday this year after its normal Friday spot. It will be played Dec. 21.

“We think it will be an incentive for the fans to spend a few days in New Orleans,” said Paul Valteau of the New Orleans Bowl.

The Sun Belt has won the last two New Orleans Bowls. Valteau said that TV viewership increased by 23 percent from 2006 to 2007.

SBC passes MAC: Commissioner Wright Waters said that the non-BCS conferences determine power ratings on a 120-point scale. He said the Sun Belt passed the MAC last year and was 2.4 points away from Conference USA.

“That’s probably one game, maybe two, that we didn’t win,” Waters said. “It demonstrates that our league is getting better and better.”