Bearkats excited about Reliant Stadium game
10/21/2009 4:15:00 PM | Football
When Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin joined with Lone Star Sports & Entertainment (LSSE) and the Houston Texans in announcing Reliant Stadium as the site of the annual "Battle of the Piney Woods" game beginning in 2010, word spread fast through the Bearkat football team.
"Getting to play a football game at Reliant Stadium is great," offensive lineman Hadji Woods said. One of more than 30 players on the Bearkats' 90-plus man roster who is from the Greater Houston area, the opportunity to play in the ultra-modern NFL facility was exciting news. "Playing in a stadium like Reliant is what every high school player dreams of. It's going to be great."
The Stephen F. Austin - Sam Houston football game on Oct. 23, 2010 will be the first installment of a four-year contract for the game to be played at Reliant through 2013. There also is an option for the game to be picked up for four additional years.
"I think it is huge to be able to play a game down here in one of the greatest facilities in all of the country," Sam Houston head coach Todd Whitten said. Whitten played at SFA and knows both sides of the Lumberjack-Bearkat rivalry. "Both teams recruit very hard down in the Greater Houston area and I think that says it all. We both have a really strong presence down here and I know (SFA coach) J. C. (Harper) and I are very thankful the way this game has come about and how kids can come to the game. I think it is going to be a huge success."
Harper agreed with Whitten.
"The best example I can point to is our starting quarterback Jeremy Moses who is from Baytown Lee, which isn't very far from here," Harper said. "Our best receiver Aaron Rhea is from here. We have had numerous players come from the Houston area that have been great football players. This is a great opportunity for the fans of both schools to step up and show that this game truly is one of the state's greatest rivalry games."
There currently are more than 56,000 members of the Sam Houston Alumni Association living in the Greater Houston area. There also are a number of the current Bearkat students enrolled at the university that are from the region as well.
"We always have good crowds when we play SFA, but this is an opportunity to partner with the Houston Texans and LSSE," Sam Houston director of athletics Bobby Williams said. "We are always right on the edge of Houston and this helps us break through because the game is going to be here year round. It is critical that we get a good attendance. We would like to get more than 20,000 people to come the games and, if we can, it will be a success. We already have the Southland Conference basketball tournament in Katy and now we have football at Reliant Stadium to strengthen our prescense in the city."
Only the lower bowl, which seats 26,000, at Reliant Stadium will be opened for the game. Ticket prices will range from $15 to $35 and will go on sale No. 16 through all TicketMaster outlets.
The announcement came a few days before this season's SHSU-SFA meeting. The Kats travel to Nacogdoches on Saturday for the 84th meeting of the series.
"We're already fired up about playing SFA this weekend," Sugar Land sophomore Chuck Obi said. "Now we've really got something to look forward to. This is great."
