Lindsey Schoewe
Troy University’s football team is preparing for a new season in hopes of making it to a bowl game this year.
“The nonconference schedule is very difficult with UAB as our opener; this schedule is as tough as we ever had, especially with our new staff,” head football coach Larry Blakeney said in the spring. “It’s hard to predict how a team is going to do at this point, but we have a chance to be a decent football team.”
The first game of the season will be a road game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Aug. 30. The first home football game will be Sept. 6 against the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Duke devils. Troy is in the Sun Belt Conference.
The football team had a record of 6-6 last season, not making it to a bowl game even though it was eligible.
“We are on the road to New Orleans; that has been our focus this offseason,” said red shirt running back Josh Anderson, a freshman this past spring from Atlanta majoring in exercise science.
Along with football, upcoming fall sports include volleyball, cross country and soccer. Other varsity sports include men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, men’s and women’s golf, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and track and field.
The volleyball record books may not reflect a winning season, but the Trojans took down No. 1 seed Western Kentucky last season in the Sun Belt Conference championships. It was Troy’s first win over Western Kentucky in program history.
The Trojans swept WKU in three straight sets (26-24, 27-25, 28-26).
“From day one of training last summer, I continually told everyone that since we had to play them three times, if we could only beat them once to let it be in the conference championship,” said team member Kelley Curran, a sport and fitness management major from Houston who was a junior in the spring.
“It was the best win I have ever been a part of. It felt like the arena was shaking because the crowd was so loud, a couple guys did body paint, a few people had crazy outfits on, and every single person was up on their feet cheering us on to victory.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better atmosphere to play in. I honestly don’t know if that win would have been possible without the full support of the Trojan family behind us.”
Men’s and women’s basketball teams will start their seasons in the winter and follow into the spring semester.
Admission to all sporting events at the university is free for students.
Last summer, Troy launched its Student Affinity Program, which lets students gain points for attending athletic events. They can earn awards ranging from T-shirts to book scholarships to a free semester’s tuition. Details are at TroyTrojans.com/TAP.
For more information regarding athletics in general, visit troytrojans.com.
