Eastern Kentucky University and Valparaiso will meet on the football field Thursday for the first time since 1947.
Conference affiliation has been a hot topic in and around Richmond during the off season. A great deal of discussion surrounded Eastern’s interest in moving up a level to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Officials with the Sun Belt Conference announced this week they've selected Coastal Carolina to fill an open spot in their Division one league.
Eastern Coach Dean Hood believes the Colonels could have moved on from the Ohio Valley Conference years ago. “If Roy Kidd had Mike Benson, we’d be Boise State," said Hood. "We’re behind. Twenty years ago, we should have done this. We’re behind the Boise’s and the Northeast Louisiana’s, and the Marshall’s, and the Western Kentucky’s, and the Middle Tennessee’s, and the Georgia Southern’s, and the Appalachian State’s; all the people that used to be our rival.”
Fans will certainly notice signs of construction in and around the field this fall. Coach Dean Hood says construction means change, and is a sign that bigger and better things are on the way.
Senior Colonel Cornerback Stanley Absanon has been a standout defender. He came to the U.S. from Haiti as a one year old. This past spring during a mission trip, he visited family members still residing. “I really want to bring my whole family to the U.S. so they could experience the U.S. life,” said Absanon.
EKU comes into this season ranked 17th nationally and comes off a 9-4 season last year. Kickoff tonight against Valparaiso is set for 7 p.m.
