ELON ANNOUNCES FUTURE FOOTBALL OPPONENTS

ELON, N.C. � Elon University today announced non-conference opponents � featuring the College of William & Mary and the University of Richmond � for upcoming Phoenix football schedules, including four foes for its 2007 slate and four opponents on its 2008 schedule. Elon also has one non-league contest slated so far for both the 2009 and 2010 campaigns.

³I want to publicly thank (retiring Elon director of athletics) Dr. Alan White for his efforts to solidify future out-of-conference opponents during these last few months,² said Phoenix head football coach Pete Lembo.
³Football scheduling is a very complicated and an often frustrating matter, so I am pleased that we have made so much progress in a short period of time.²

The 2007 Elon football schedule will include road games at Towson University on Sept. 8 and Wake Forest University along with home contests against Liberty University on Sept. 22 and Stony Brook University on Nov. 17.

³Stony Brook has made a commitment to funding their program at the highest level in I-AA,² said Lembo. ³Like us, they have a new stadium and a new coaching staff. The Seawolves had success in the Northeast Conference and I expect that they will quickly become competitive against full scholarship programs.²

The Phoenix will visit Wake Forest on either Thursday, Aug. 30 or Saturday, Sept. 1 in 2007. All dates are tentative and subject to change.

³Playing an ACC opponent and a nationally recognized academic institution will provide great exposure for our University,² said Lembo. ³We are currently in negotiations with other I-A opponents for future seasons and hope to continue to build a very challenging out-of-conference schedule on a yearly basis.²

The 2008 Phoenix non-league slate will consist of trips to Stony Brook on Sept. 6, William & Mary on Sept. 20 and Liberty on Nov. 22 in addition to a visit to Rhodes Stadium by Richmond on Aug. 30.

³We played at Liberty in 2004 when I was coaching at Lehigh and it was a great game day atmosphere,² said Lembo. ³Now, both programs have new staffs and are in a rebuilding mode, so I anticipate competitive contests in 2007 and 2008 with the Flames.²

Looking ahead to 2009, William & Mary will visit Rhodes Stadium on Sept. 19.
The Phoenix will visit Richmond on Sept. 18, 2010.

³William & Mary and Richmond are outstanding opponents for us because they are highly competitive academic institutions in our region that Elon students are very familiar with,² said Lembo. ³In addition, we plan to recruit central and eastern Virginia thoroughly in the years to come, and these games provide excellent visibility in those areas. Lastly, both programs have had recent success in the I-AA playoffs and we hope to aspire to that level.²

� ELON �



Matt Eviston
Elon University
Sports Information
2500 Campus Box
Elon, N.C. 27244
(336) 278-6711 Phone
www.elon.edu