WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J- Monmouth University's football team will open the 2009 season on Saturday, Sept. 5 with a road contest against Colgate University.  The game will be regionally broadcasted on Time Warner Sports as well as on the radio with new Monmouth Athletics partners The Shore Sports Network (shoresportsnetwork.com).

HERE IS A LOOK AT THIS WEEKEND'S MATCHUP ...
   The Monmouth Hawks open the 2009 campaign with a showdown on the road against Colgate University of the Patriot League. As it has been since the inception of the program, the Blue and White will be led by three-time NEC Coach of the Year Kevin Callahan. 
 Monmouth finished the 2008 season with a 7-4 record overall and a 6-1 mark in league play, finishing second to Albany. After losing several standouts from last year's squad, Monmouth looks for its sixth league crown and a trip to postseason play with a corps of both experience veterans and newcomers.
 Preseason All-American and Payton Award hopeful David Sinisi leads an offense that returns five starters from last season. The senior running back and offensive lineman Shawn Wright were named to the NEC All-Conference Preseason Team. On the other side of the football, David Kennedy and seven other veterans look to anchor the defense.
 The Raiders are coming off of a 9-3 campaign, including a perfect 5-0 record in Patriot League play. Colgate looks to continue their dominance of the competition at home, holding visiting teams to a 1-4 record at Andy Kerr stadium last season. After clinching the Patriot League title, the Raiders fell to Villanova in the first round of the FCS Playoffs.
 Colgate was picked second in the Patriot League coaches poll. The Raiders return their top passer in Second Team All-Patriot League selection Greg Sullivan, and their top receiver in senior Pat Simonds.

THE COACHING MATCHUP ...
     Kevin Callahan is in his 17th season at Monmouth as the Hawks' head coach. Callahan owns an 96-66 career coaching record, all with Monmouth. The only coach in Monmouth history has led the Blue & White to five Northeast Conference championships, in 1996, 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2006. He earned NEC Coach of the Year accolades in 1998, 2003 and 2006. Prior to arriving in West Long Branch, Callahan served as defensive coordinator at Colgate for eight seasons and at Wagner for three years. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Albany (1977-79) and Syracuse (1980) before becoming a Seahawk assistant in 1981.
    Colgate is led by 14th-year head coach Dick Biddle. Biddle has been head coach since the 1996 season, previous to that he was at Colgate for four seasons at various assistant coach positions. He has led the Raiders to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs six different times, most recently in 2008, when the raiders went 9-3.
    Biddle also spent time at Division I teams like Navy (two seasons), Minnesota (five seasons, three of which he was the defensive coordinator) and a two year stint at Virginia Tech. Previous to his time with the Hokies, he was an assistant coach at Colgate for six seasons, taking over the defensive coordinator position for the last two. He got his coaching start at Allegheny College, where he spent four seasons coaching mainly the defensive line and linebackers. Biddle is a 1971 graduate of Duke University where he was an All-ACC linebacker for two seasons. He also earned All-America honors as a senior, the year he served as team captain.

TELEVISED GAME
    Tonight's game will be televised regionally on Time Warner Sports.  Chris Watson will handle the play by play duties with Dale Drypolcher on color and Danny Liedka reporting from the sidelines.  Contact your local cable provider for channel information.

INSIDE THE MU-COLGATE SERIES ...
     Today marks just the second time in history that the Hawks and Raiders have met on the gridiron.  Monmouth stunned Colgate during the first matchup between the squads on September 23, 2006. The Monmouth defense shined, holding the Colgate attack scoreless until the fourth quarter and allowing only 12 points the entire game.
 An eventful 17 play, 91 yard drive that included a 27-yard Brian Boland run, a botched punt play that led to a first down run by punter Sean Dennis and a three yard touchdown run by tailback David Sinisi put Monmouth on top 7-0. Sinisi found the endzone again with 1:38 left in the third quarter, and the Hawks went into the fourth with a 14-point lead. Colgate threatened in the last stanza with a Wenger 1-yard run, which was followed by a 72-yard fumble recovery nearly three minutes later. The Hawks special teams saved the day by blocking an extra point attempt as well as a two point attempt. Kicker Fred Weingart hit a 26-yard field goal to put Monmouth on top for good 17-12.

MONMOUTH AGAINST THE PATRIOT LEAGUE...
     Monmouth University is 4-3 all-time against members of the Patriot League, with it's most recent win coming against Colgate in 2006. The Blue & White also has notched a win over Fordham, defeating the Rams 23-9 in the 2006 season opener. MU's other two wins were against Georgetown. The Blue & White are 0-1 against Lafayette and 0-2 against Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks were the only PL team that MU faced in 2005, with Monmouth suffering their worst defeat of the season in Bethlehem, Pa., 54-26.


DIRECTIONS TO ANDY KERR STADIUM
   Directions to ANDY KERR Stadium can be found by clicking on the following link Colgate University Directions

 
MORE WAYS THAN EVER TO FOLLOW MU FOOTBALL ... 
 2009 is an exciting time for fans of Monmouth as there are more ways than ever to keep up to snuff with all things Hawk football...

• SHORE SPORTS NETWORK: Monmouth University Athletics is proud to announce that all Monmouth football games will be broadcast on the Shore Sports Network, FOXSPORTS 1310 AM & WOBM 1160 AM.  The broadcast will also be streamed at http://shoresportsnetwork.com/. MU alums Matt Harmon (Play by Play) and Ed Occhipinti (Color) will handle the broadcasts.  Occhipinti will also give his insight twice a week on the MU football Blog at Monmouthfootball.blogspot.com. 
• HAWK VISION: This season marks the third year that fans will be able to watch all the Hawk home games on their computer live as it happens.  For 6.95/month or 59.99 a year, fans will be able to watch all the MU home games as well as be able to access exclusive content.
• www.GoMUHawks.com: The official MU website contains feature stories, up to date stats, rosters and news on the Hawks.
• THE HAWKS REPORT on WMCX: Every Monday during the year a different coach will be on to talk all things Monmouth athletics, including complete recaps of the week before's action on WMCX 88.9 FM, or www.wmcx.com.
• Tony Graham's APP Blog: The beat writer for Monmouth University previews every game along with feature stories on his blog that can be found by visiting the Asbury Park Press' website at www.app.com.