Jags Football Program on Fast Track to D1

The University of South Alabama's fledgling football program continues to add wellknown teams to its future schedules. On April 30, the University announced it had signed 3-game contracts with both Mississippi State and Kent State.

The Jags will play at Mississippi State during the 2012 and 2016 seasons, while MSU will come to Mobile to play the Jags during the 2014 campaign. The Jags will travel to Ohio and take on Kent State in 2011 and 2014, while Kent State will come to Mobile to play the Jags during the 2013 season.

USA previously announced that it had signed contracts to play Tennessee in Knoxville in 2013, a 4-game home-and-home series against Navy beginning in 2013 in Annapolis, and a 3-game contract with North Carolina State, with the Wolfpack set to take on USA in Mobile in 2015. This is quite the feat for a program that has yet to play its first game.

"This speaks to where we're going with this program," head coach Joey Jones said. "We realize it's going to take a few years to get where we want to be, but these are the types of teams we want to play." During the 2014 season, the Jaguars will have nonconference contests lined up with Mississippi State, Kent State, and Navy, with the MSU and Navy games being home games.

USA will begin playing a full slate of conference games during the 2012 season, but there is a possibility that the program could schedule a game or two with Sun Belt members prior to the 2012 season. The Jaguars begin this season as an unclassified football program, in accordance with NCAA rules. During the Jaguars 2010 and 2011 seasons though, the program will be classified under FCS (D-1AA) status, with the program beginning its transition to FBS (D-1A) status in 2012. In 2013, the Jaguars will be eligible for the Sun Belt Conference championship and a bowl berth.

"We're taking the fastest route to Division 1 status that anybody ever has," Jones said. "South Florida did it in six years. We're doing it in four." Because USA football is an "unclassified" program, it limits the types of teams they can play during the 2009 season. "We're not classified early on, so therefore teams like Mississippi State and N.C. State don't want to play us because those games won't count on their records, per NCAA regulations," said Jones.

"The second, third, and following years though are a different story." The Jags open their inaugural campaign Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. against Hargrave Military Academy at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Some may not know of Hargrave and many of the other preparatory schools on this year's schedule, but these teams offer the Jaguars a comparable matchup early in the process and are a good starting point for a new football program.

Hargrave has what Jonescalls "one of the best freshmen classes in the country."During the 2009 NFL Draft held in April, 12 Hargrave alumni were either drafted or signed as free agents soon after. Hargrave, as well as the other prep schools, provide student athletes with a place to play early in their career, mature, and become qualified per NCAA regulations, and then move on to other opportunities. In preparation for the season that begins this September, this past February's signing class has begun arriving on campus.

Some of the new players are on campus now, and the rest will arrive on campus at the start of the second term of the summer semester. In total, this year's football team will have 42 scholarship players, with the rest of the team being made up of walk-ons. Included in those scholarship players are several junior college transfers that will need to help lead the team. "Offensively, we have some older guys, some junior college lineman that need to give us leadership," said Jones. "Defensively, we have more freshmen that will play. Obviously, not all of our freshmen will start, but many will see a lot of playing time and they have to be ready to play. We talked about this with the players the other day, about that it starts right now. We have to get ready."