2009 Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Guide

2009 Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Guide
1
Introduction
Media Information ............................................................................... 2
OVC Style Guide ................................................................................ 3
Conference History ........................................................................ 4-5
OVC Honors/Awards ........................................................................ 6
OVC Commissioner ............................................................................ 7
OVC Staff ....................................................................................... 8-9
OVCSports.TV ................................................................................. 10
FCS Conference Alignment .............................................................. 11
Division I Football Information ..................................................... 12-13
2009 Season Preview/Notes ..................................................... 14-15
2009 Composite Schedule/2010 Schedule ...................................... 16
2009 Team Information/Outlooks
Austin Peay ................................................................................ 17-22
Eastern Illinois ............................................................................. 23-28
Eastern Kentucky ....................................................................... 29-34
Jacksonville State ....................................................................... 35-40
Murray State ............................................................................... 41-46
Southeast Missouri .................................................................... 47-52
Tennessee State ........................................................................ 53-58
Tennessee Tech ........................................................................ 59-64
UT Martin ..................................................................................... 65-70
2008 in Review
2008 All-OVC Teams ....................................................................... 71
Final 2008 OVC Standings/Statistics ......................................... 72-23
OVC Teams and Players in Final National Statistics ....................... 74
2008 OVC Players of the Week/Final FCS Top 25 polls .................. 75
OVC Records/History
Year-by-Year OVC Final Standings .......................................... 76-77
Year-by-Year OVC Champions ....................................................... 78
Year-by-Year All-OVC Teams .................................................. 79-83
All-Time OVC Player and Coach of the Year Winners .............. 84-85
OVC First-Team All-Americans ....................................................... 86
Record Book - Individuals .......................................................... 87-90
Record Book - Team .................................................................. 91-92
Year-by-Year Statistical Leaders ............................................. 93-95
All-Time OVC Players of the Week .......................................... 96-101
OVC Postseason History ....................................................... 102-103
Final FCS/I-AA Yearly Polls .................................................... 104-105
Conference Series Game-by-Game ...................................... 106-107
OVC Schools vs. FBS Teams ........................................................ 108
Largest Crowds in OVC History .................................................... 109
Sgt. York Trophy ............................................................................ 110
NCAA Overtime Rules/OVC Overtime History ............................... 111
OVC Players in the NFL Draft ........................................................ 112
OVC Players in the NFL ................................................................. 113
Current OVC Alumni in the NFL ..................................................... 114
Directory of OVC Media Relations Directors ......................................... 115
Composite Schedule Grid ....................................................................... 116
This 2009 Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Guide was written,
designed and edited by Kyle Schwartz, Assistant Commissioner for Media
Relations. Assistance provided by and a special thanks to the sports
information directors at the nine OVC football playing institutions for
providing content and assistance.
The guide is available at OVCSports.com as a PDF download. Upon request
it is also available on CD. The CD also contains the PDF media guides of all
nine OVC football schools as well as a Logo/Headshot Library of the
Conference office and member institutions. To request a copy, contact
Kyle Schwartz in the OVC office.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MEMBERSHIP
Austin Peay State University - Clarksville, Tenn.
Member since 1962
Eastern Illinois University - Charleston, Ill.
Member since 1996
Eastern Kentucky University - Richmond, Ky.
Member since 1948
Jacksonville State University - Jacksonville, Ala.
Member since 2003
Morehead State University - Morehead, Ky.
Member since 1948
Murray State University - Murray, Ky.
Member since 1948
Southeast Missouri State University - Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Member since 1991
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville - Edwardsville, Ill.
Member since 2008
Tennessee State University - Nashville, Tenn.
Member since 1986
Tennessee Technological University - Cookeville, Tenn.
Member since 1949
University of Tennessee at Martin - Martin, Tenn.
Member since 1992
OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE
215 Centerview Drive, Suite 115
Brentwood, TN  37027
Phone - [phone]
FAX - [phone]
www.OVCSports.com
STAFF
Beth DeBauche, Commissioner
E-mail:  [e-mail]
Brad Walker, Associate Commissioner for Operations/COO
E-mail: [e-mail]
Jennifer Gibbs, Assistant Commissioner for Championships/SWA
E-mail: [e-mail]
Kyle Schwartz, Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations
E-mail: [e-mail]
Brian Pulley, Assistant Commissioner for External Affairs
E-mail: [e-mail]
TBA, Assistant Commissioner for Institutional Services
E-mail: [e-mail]
Heather Brown, Director of Media Relations
E-mail: [e-mail]
Rob Haucke, Director of OVC Sport Properties
E-mail: [e-mail]
Jim Jackson, Coordinator of Football Officiating
E-mail: [e-mail]
CREDITS

2009 Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Guide
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SCHOOL WEBSITES
Ohio Valley Conference ....... www.OVCSports.com
Austin Peay .......................... www.LetsGoPeay.com
Eastern Illinois ..................... www.EIUpanthers.com
Eastern Kentucky ................... www.EKUSports.com
Jacksonville State .. www.JSUGamecockSports.com
Murray State ............................ www.GoRacers.com
Southeast Missouri ............ www.GoSoutheast.com
Tennessee State ................... www.TSUTigers.com
Tennessee Tech .................... www.TTUSports.com
UT Martin ............................... www.UTMSports.com
OVC GAMES ON THE RADIO/INTERNET
Austin Peay
   On the Radio ............................. WVRY-FM 105.1
   On the Internet ................... www.letsgopeay.com
   Talent ............................. David Loos, Van Stokes
Eastern Illinois
   On the Radio ........................ Hit Mix 88.9 (WEIU)
   On the Internet ..................... www.weiuhitmix.net
   Talent ........................ Mike Bradd, Jack Ashmore
Eastern Kentucky
   On the Radio ............................. WCYO-FM 100.7
   On the Internet ......................... www.wcyofm.com
   Talent ........... Greg Stotelmyer, Greg McClellan
Jacksonville State
   On the Radio ................................. WLJS-FM 91.9
   On the Internet ........................... www.jsu.edu/92j
   Talent ................................... Mike Parris, Ed Lett
Murray State
   On the Radio ............................. WFGE-FM 103.7
   On the Internet ..................... www.GoRacers.com
   Talent .............................................. Neal Bradley
Southeast Missouri
   On the Radio .............................. K-103 FM 102.9
   On the Internet ......................... www.k103fm.com
   Talent ..... Erik Sean, Rick Wieser, Todd Bonacki
Tennessee State
   On the Radio .............................. WVOL AM 1470
   On the Internet ..................... www.wvol1470.com
   Talent ................. Barry Gresham, Albert Dawson
Tennessee Tech
   On the Radio ..................... WGIC FM Magic 98.5
   On the Internet ................... www.TTUSports.com
   Talent ................................................ Roger Ealey
UT Martin
   On the Radio ............................. WCMT-FM 101.3
   On the Internet ................... www.UTMSports.com
   Talent ........................... Tom Britt, Chris Brinkley
Note: All above radio listings are Flagship stations
only and does not include radio network affiliates.
OVC PRESS BOX PHONE NUMBERS
Austin Peay ...................................... [phone]
Eastern Illinois ................................. [phone]
Eastern Kentucky ............................. [phone]
Jacksonville State ................. [phone]/5586
Murray State .................................... [phone]
Southeast Missouri .......................... [phone]
Tennessee State ............................. [phone]
Tennessee Tech .................... [phone]/6031
UT Martin ............................... [phone]/7632
OVCSPORTS.COM
The official website of the Ohio Valley Confer-
ence is OVCSports.com. The website is a di-
rect partnership with JumpTV Sports. The
website contains all the latest news on the
conference including releases, statistics and
standings.
OVC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
The OVC will name an Offensive, Defensive,
Special Teams and Newcomer of the Week
each Sunday afternoon during the regular
season. A full report featuring league stand-
ings, statistics and weekly matchups will be
available on Monday afternoons. The release
will be posted on OVCSports.com and emailed
to local and national media. If you would like to
be added to the distribution list send an email
to [e-mail].
OVC COACHES TELECONFERENCES
During the regular season a weekly telecon-
ference featuring the league’s nine head
coaches will be held every Tuesday morning
at 10 a.m. Central Time. The first teleconfer-
ence will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 1. A
schedule of what times coaches will appear
weekly is below. For information on how to
access the call, please contact Kyle Schwartz
in the OVC Office (615-371-1698 or
[e-mail]).
10:00 - Watson Brown, Tennessee Tech
10:07 - Bob Spoo, Eastern Illinois
10:14 - Jack Crowe, Jacksonville State
10:21 - Tony Samuel, Southeast Missouri
10:28 - James Webster, Tennessee State
10:35 - Rick Christophel, Austin Peay
10:42 - Jason Simpson, UT Martin
10:49 - Matt Griffin, Murray State
10:56 - Dean Hood, Eastern Kentucky
OVCSPORTS.TV
Now in its fourth year, OVCSports.TV is the
league’s enhanced interactive media platform
that is made possible through a partnership
with JumpTV Sports. Fans can view live and
on-demand video of all OVC football games as
well as home non-conference contests and
select away non-conference games. Sub-
scriptions are available on a annual, seasonal,
monthly or per game basis. For more informa-
tion log onto OVCSports.com or OVCSports.TV.
OVC RADIO
OVC Radio is a syndicated radio program air-
ing Monday through Friday throughout Ken-
tucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Illinois and Mis-
souri covering the Ohio Valley Conference.
The daily broadcast is also available for free
at OVCSports.com. The program is produced
by Hoback Entertainment and hosted by Chip
Hoback. If you are interested in having the
daily update on your station, contact Hoback
at [e-mail].
OVC ON TWITTER/FACEBOOK
Media and fans can get the latest updates on
Ohio Valley Conference happenings by using
the social media outlets of Twitter and
Facebook. Followers and fans of the OVC on
each application will get breaking news first
and have the chance to access special con-
tent and receive special deals. The OVC can
be found on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/
ovcsports and on Facebook at http://
www.facebook.com/ovcsports.
FCS PLAYOFFS/OVC TIEBREAKER
The participants in the 2009 NCAA Football
Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) Play-
offs will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 22. In
the event of a tie for the OVC Championship,
the following procedures will be used to break
all ties and to determine the league’s NCAA
playoff representative.
TWO-WAY TIES
1.)
A two-way tie shall exist only if the tied
teams have the same number of losses.
2.)
Should two teams have the same num-
ber of losses, and the two teams played each
other
during the regular season, the winner
of the head-to-head contest shall be the
league’s postseason representative.
3.)
If the two tied teams have the same
number of losses, but did not play each other
during the regular season, the following pro-
cedure shall be utilized to break the tie:
a.) A comparison of each team’s head-
to-head record against the team occupying
the highest position in the regular-season
standings that each team has played. If one
team won its game against that team, the
winning team shall be declared the represen-
tative.
b.) Should the procedure outlined in
Item a. fail to break the tie, the process will
continue to the next-place team and beyond
until the tie is broken.
c.) When arriving at another group of
tied teams, composite records between the
tying teams shall be utilized to determine if one
of the tied teams has won more games against
the group of tied teams.
4.)
If the procedures described previ-
ously fail to break the tie, the representative
shall be determined by a coin flip.
MULTIPLE TIES
1.)
A multiple tie (three or more teams)
shall exist only if the tied teams have the same
number of losses.
2.)
If all of the teams involved in the mul-
tiple tie played each other during the regular
season, then the composite records among
the tied teams shall be compared to break the
tie.
3.)
If the process outlined in Step 2 re-
duces the tie to a tie among two teams, the
two-team tiebreaker formula shall then be
utilized.
4.)
If not all of the tied teams played each
other during the regular season, or if step 2
does not break or reduce the tie, the following
procedure shall be utilized:
a.) A comparison of each of the tied
teams’ head-to-head record against the team
occupying the highest position in the regular-
season standings that each team has played.
If one team won its game against that team, the
winning team shall be declared the represen-
tative.
b.) Should the procedure outlined in
Item a. fail to break the tie, the process will
continue to the next-place team and beyond
until the tie is broken.
c.) When arriving at another group of
tied teams, composite records between the
tying teams shall be utilized to determine if one
of the tied teams has won more games against
the group of tied teams.
5.)
If the procedures described previ-
ously fail to break the tie, the representative
shall be determined by a blind drawing.
MEDIA INFORMATION

2009 Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Guide
3
Above are the primary logos for the Ohio Valley Conference member institutions. All logos
are trademarks of their respective universities.
This reference is intended only for media-related, non-commercial use. For more information
or to request access to logos, contact Kyle Schwartz, Assistant Commissioner for Media
Relations, at the Ohio Valley Conference at [phone] or [e-mail].
OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE STYLE GUIDE
Official Institution Name
Preferred Athletics
Unacceptable Usages
PMS Colors
“Nickname”
Reference
Austin Peay State University
Austin Peay, APSU
Austin Peay State, AP
200 Red
“Governors” or “Govs” (men’s teams)
Lady Governors
“Lady Govs” (women’s teams)
Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois, EIU
---
2945 Blue, 422 Gray
“Panthers”
White
Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky, EKU
---
209 Maroon, 429 Gray
“Colonels”, “Lady Colonels” (W-Basketball only)
White
Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville State, JSU
Jacksonville, Jack State
186 Red, 122 Gold
“Gamecocks”
Jax State
Morehead State University
Morehead State, MSU
Morehead
286 Blue, 116 Yellow
“Eagles”
Murray State University
Murray State, MSU
Murray, Lady Racers
123 Gold, 289 Blue
“Racers”, “Thoroughbreds” (baseball only)
Southeast Missouri State University
Southeast Missouri State, SEMO
---
186 Red, 05 Cool Grey
“Redhawks”
Southeast Missouri, Southeast
Black
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
SIU Edwardsville, SIUE
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville
485 Red, 462 Dark Brown
“Cougars”
SIU-E
7505 Brown, 465 Gold
7504 Light Brown
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State, TSU
---
Reflex Blue
“Tigers”, “Lady Tigers”, “Tigerbelles” (W-Track only)
Tennessee  Technological  University
Tennessee Tech, TTU, Tech
Tenn. Tech, TT
266 Purple, 109 Gold
“Golden Eagles”
The University of Tennessee at Martin
UT Martin, UTM
Tennessee-Martin
289 Blue, 151 Orange
“Skyhawks”
UT-Martin
Ohio Valley Conference
Ohio Valley, OVC
Valley
194 Maroon, 874 Gold
Black

2009 Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Guide
4
E
ntering its 62nd
 
year, the Ohio ValleyConference continues to build
on the success that has made it the nation’s eighth-oldest NCAA
Division I conference. For only the second time in a decade, the
Conference expanded by adding Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
as the league’s 11th member in 2008. The move expanded the OVC’s
geographical footprint to the St. Louis market and marked the first change
in membership since expanding to the state of Alabama (Jacksonville State,
Samford) in 2003.
The 2009-10 school year saw a change in leadership as Beth
DeBauche was named the seventh full-time Commissioner in league history
on July 28. She is currently one of just five females to be the head of a
Division I conference, and one of just eight to lead a Division I conference
all-time. The last three commissioners of the OVC have moved onto jobs
as the commissioner of the Big Ten, Big 12 and the Mid-American
Conferences.
The OVC’s proud past dates back to 1948, but seeds for the new
league were actually planted in 1941. It was then that Roy Stewart, the
athletics director at Murray State, Charles (Turkey) Hughes, the athletics
director at Eastern Kentucky, and Kelly Thompson, the public relations
director at Western Kentucky, first broached the idea of forming a new
conference. Discussions were put on hold by World War II, but reemerged
Feb. 27-28, 1948 at the Kentucky Hotel in Louisville as the three original
institutions combined with Morehead State, Louisville and Evansville to form
the OVC.
In the 1950s, the OVC became a pioneer on a much more significant
scale socially. During times of racial segregation, league member Morehead
State became one of the first non-traditionally black mid-southern institu-
tions to accept a black student. In 1958, Marshall Banks earned athletically-
related aid at Morehead, which signed a second black athlete, Howard
Murphy, a year later. In 1961, Murphy earned all-conference recognition
as a halfback in football. With racial barriers broken, the rest of the
institutions in the league began to provide educational and athletic oppor-
tunities to African-Americans.
Through the past 61 years, 14 teams have won or shared the league’s
football title. The list is led by Eastern Kentucky, winner of 20 outright or
shared football crowns, including both the 2007 and 2008 championships,
as they compiled a 15-1 league record over that time period. Only one other
Football Championship Subdivision school (UMass) has won more Confer-
ence titles than the Colonels. Among OVC teams, former member Middle
Tennessee is next with 11 titles, followed by Tennessee Tech with nine,
and Murray State and former member Western Kentucky with eight apiece.
Eastern Illinois has claimed four football crowns (including winning the title
outright in 2005 and sharing the crown with UT Martin in 2006) while
Jacksonville State, Morehead State, Tennessee State and former members
Evansville and East Tennessee State have captured two apiece. Austin
Peay, UT Martin (which captured its first crown in 2006) and former member
Youngstown State have one title apiece.
Murray State and Evansville tied for the initial football championship,
and the Racers participated in the first-ever bowl game by an OVC team,
tying Sul Ross State 21-21 in the 1948 Tangerine Bowl. From 1948 to 1975,
OVC teams played in 15 bowl games, winning eight of them. Eastern
Kentucky and Western Kentucky were also participants in the NCAA
Division II playoffs in the early and mid-1970s prior to the NCAA’s
reclassification of football programs into Division I-AA. The term “I-AA”
lasted until the end of the 2006 season when it was changed to Division
I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The first Division I-AA/FCS football playoff was held in 1978 with only
four teams, which is the only year through present day that the OVC did
not field a playoff representative. In 1979, four of the nation’s top teams
were invited to the playoffs, and two of them - Eastern Kentucky and
Murray State - were from the OVC. Murray dropped its semifinal game to
Lehigh, but the Colonels nipped Nevada-Reno in double overtime and
claimed the national championship a week later with a 30-7 victory over
Lehigh. EKU was coached by former all-America quarterback Roy Kidd,
who was in his 16th year at the helm of his alma mater and who skippered
the Colonels to a second national title three years later. Following the 2002
season, Kidd retired after 39 years at EKU, a one-school tenure unmatched
in all of Division I. Upon retirement, he ranked sixth all-time among Division