GAME 10
Arkansas State (4-5, 2-3) at Florida Atlantic (4-4, 3-1)
November 10, 2007 - Lockhart Stadium (20,500)
Boca Raton, Fla. - 3:00 p.m. (CT)
Radio: Arkansas State Radio Network (KWHF 95.9 FM, flagship)
Television: XOS Webcasting (ASUIndians.com)
-Click here for PDF version of ASU game notes vs. FAU-
ON TAP: Arkansas State plays two of its final three regular-season games on the road, including its sixth Sun Belt Conference game this Saturday at Florida Atlantic. Every Arkansas State game can be heard live on 95.9 FM in the Jonesboro area and the live radio broadcast can be accessed through the Arkansas State athletic web site (ASUIndians.com).
THE PRINCIPALS: Arkansas State snapped a two-game skid last week with a 27-24 home victory over Florida International, improving to 4-1 at Indian Stadium this season. The Indians will play North Texas on Thursday, Nov. 15, in its final home and Sun Belt Conference game of the season, but first travel to Boca Raton this weekend to face a Florida Atlantic team that is coming off an open week.
HEAD COACH STEVE ROBERTS: Arkansas State head coach Steve Roberts is in his sixth year at Arkansas State after leading the Indians to the 2005 Sun Belt Conference Championship and its most single-season wins over Division I-A opponents in 2006. During his first five seasons as the Indians' head coach, he guided ASU to 26 wins for its most over a five-year span at the school since winning 33 from 1986-1990. Roberts was named the 2005 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year. Under Roberts, the Indians have had 44 All-Sun Belt Conference selections, a Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and a SBC Offensive Player of the Year.
ROBERTS CLIMBING VICTORIES LADDER: In his first six seasons as the Indians head coach, Steve Roberts already has the fifth most victories among ASU's 26 all-time head coaches with 30 wins. Larry Lacewell (1979-89) holds the record for victories with 69 and is followed by Bennie Ellender (1963-70) with 52 wins, Bill Davidson (1971-78) with 51 and Forrest England (1946-53) with 49.
SCOUTING THE OWLS: Florida Atlantic is 4-4 on the year, but has dropped three of its last four games including a 33-30 overtime setback to Louisiana-Monroe at Lockhart Stadium its last time out. The Owls won their first three Sun Belt Conference games before the Warhawks handed them their first league loss on Oct. 27 that also dropped them into third place in the conference standings. Picked to finish sixth in the conference according to the league's preseason coaches poll, Florida Atlantic defeated Middle Tennessee, North Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette in its first three SBC games. The Owls other victory came 42-39 over Minnesota on Sep. 15. Led by sophomore quarterback Rusty Smith, the Owls rank third in the Sun Belt in passing offense and total offense. Smith leads the league in passing yards with 271.6 per game and has also thrown 17 touchdown passes to just five interceptions. Defensively, the Owls have the Sun Belt's top two leading tacklers in senior linebacker Cergile Sincere and junior linebacker Frantz Joseph. Sincere is averaging 10.2 tackles per game, while Joseph is averaging 10.1. The Owls roster also includes Tavious Polo, a redshirt freshman defensive back that leads the conference in interceptions with 7. The FAU defense is ranked fourth in total defense in the SBC.
THE ARKANSAS STATE - FLORIDA ATLANTIC SERIES: Arkansas State and Florida Atlantic have met just twice all-time, splitting the two games played in 2005 and 2006 as Sun Belt Conference opponents. The Indians defeated the Owls 3-0 in overtime in the 2005 meeting at Indian Stadium. However, the Owls came back last season to take a 29-0 win at Lockhart Stadium and even the series at 1-1.
LAST TIME vs. FLORIDA ATLANTIC: FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (10/28/06) ? Turnovers helped to bring Arkansas State's five-game Sun Belt Conference win streak to a halt as the Indians were shut out, 29-0, by Florida Atlantic at Lockhart Stadium. Turnovers plagued the Indians throughout the game with quarterbacks Corey Leonard and Travis Hewitt throwing five combined interceptions. Most were tipped by FAU defenders and fell into the arms of Owl players. In addition, ASU fumbled twice and lost one. It was the lowest offensive output last season for the Tribe with 104 yards of total offense, including six yards rushing and 98 yards passing. The game got off to a rocky start for ASU when Florida Atlantic had a 21-play drive that chewed up nearly eight minutes off the clock and resulted in a 21-yard field goal. On the Owls' opening drive of the second quarter, B.J. Manley rushed for the 35-yard touchdown to put FAU up 10-0. Following a fumble by ASU's Corey Leonard, FAU's Warley Leroy put up another field goal, a 41-yarder, with 9:40 remaining in the second quarter to make it, 13-0. ASU punter Brett Shrable recovered a high snap and tossed the football out of the end zone in the third quarter for a safety, a three-yard pass reception from Clayton to Aaron Sanchez with 3:37 left in the game, and another interception by Small for a 22-yard scoring return with 2:31 left rounded out the day's scoring. A couple of bright moments for the Indians included receiver Levi Dejohnette who reached the 1,000-yard milestone for his career with his four catches for 73 yards on the day. He also moved up to ninth on ASU's all-time chart for career receptions. Defensively, linebacker Koby McKinnon led with nine total tackles followed by Ben Owens with seven.
ASU vs. SUN BELT CONFERENCE: Arkansas State is 51-50-1 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference. Since the league's inaugural football season in 2001, the Indians are 22-23 against all opponents that have been a member of the league. Against current members of the conference, ASU is 17-19 since 2001. The Indians hold their most all-time victories against Louisiana-Lafayette with 17, while its most victories against a Sun Belt opponent since 2001 is Louisiana-Monroe with four. The Indians have defeated every team in the Sun Belt Conference since the football league was formed in 2001.
LAST TIME OUT: JONESBORO (10/27/07) ? Arkansas State Kicker Josh Arauco's 32-yard field goal with two seconds remaining capped a wild fourth quarter, giving Arkansas State a 27-24 victory over Florida International in a Sun Belt Conference clash at Indian Stadium.
In addition to Arauco's field goal, ASU and FIU combined to score three touchdowns in the final 4:45, including two by Indian tailback Reggie Arnold, who finished the day with 120 yards rushing on 20 carries. Arnold scored on a 16-yard run with 4:45 remaining to give the Tribe a 17-16 advantage, then padded the lead with 2:24 to play on a 31-yard scoring run that made it 24-16, ASU.
FIU answered with a 65-yard drive that tied the game at 24 when Younger hit wide receiver Greg Ellison on a 29-yard touchdown pass, then scrambled and found tight end Moses Hinton open in the end zone for the two-point conversion.
Toney's 60-yard kickoff return gave ASU the ball at the FIU 29, and six plays later, Arauco booted the field goal for the win.
ROBERTS AND INDIAN STADIUM: Arkansas State head coach Steve Roberts has led the Indians to a 21-7 record at Indian Stadium over the last six years for a .750 winning percentage. Not only that, the Indians are 12-2 at Indian Stadium over the last three seasons.
LEONARD NAMED O'BRIEN AWARD SEMIFINALIST: Sophomore Corey Leonard is one of 15 players nationwide to be named a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award. In addition, Leonard is one of just four players named to the list that is not a junior or senior. Leonard is ranked 36th in the nation in total offense and has been named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week three times this season.
TWICE AS NICE: While senior safety Tyrell Johnson recently broke the Sun Belt Conference record for career tackles, his teammate and fellow safety Khayyam Burns also broke the old record of 300 tackles last week. Burns tied his career high for tackles with 11 against FIU last game, giving him 302 career tackles.
SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS: Arkansas State has consistently performed well this season on special teams, actually ranking among the top three teams in the Sun Belt Conference for kickoff returns (1st), punt return average (3rd), punting (3rd), PAT kicking (T-1st) and kickoff coverage (3rd). In fact, ASU is the only team in the league ranked among the top three teams in all the above categories. The Indians have not allowed a kick return for a touchdown since 1998 and FIU's punt return for a touchdown last game was the first allowed by ASU since the 2003 campaign.
NICE DEFENSE: Arkansas State, ranked first in the Sun Belt Conference in total defense, held Florida International to just 250 yards of total offense last game. That is the fewest yards allowed by ASU this season. The second fewest yards allowed by ASU is 270 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette.
HEWITT STEPS UP: In his first start of the season (vs. FIU), junior quarterback Travis Hewitt set career best numbers for completions (19), passing yards (174) and rushing yards (24). His previous best for passing yards was 83 and for rushing yards 22.
arauco ties personal best: With two field goals last game, Josh Aruaco now has 12 on the season to tie his total for all of last season. His 12 field goals ties the fifth most in school history for a single season and leaves him ranked tied for 42nd in the nation in field goals made (1.3 per game). His 24 career field goals leaves him two shy of tying the most in school history for a career.
DEFENSE SHINING: The Indians are backing up their defensive performance from last season when they ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference in total defense, ranking first in the league this season. However, while ASU finished last season ranked 34th in the nation in total defense, it is currently ranked 50th this year.
back-to-back-to-back: ASU must win at least two of its last three regular-season games to finish with a .500 or better record for the third consecutive year. If ASU wins at least two of its last three games, it will have posted at least six wins in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1985-87. ASU won six games three times in head coach Steve Roberts' first five years. At the same time, the Indians must win their final two Sun Belt Conference games to finish with a winning league record for the third consecutive year as well.
TONEY PLAYS TOUGH: Senior corner Darren Toney had a career game against FIU last time out, recording a career-high eight tackles and a career-high two interceptions (one returned for a 17-yard touchdown). Toney also returned three kicks for 129 yards, the second most return yards of his career and the ninth most in school history for a single game.
pick it off: ASU recorded two interceptions last game to tie its season high, also set against Texas and Tennessee, and has now intercepted at least one pass in each of the last three games after going three straight games without an interception. ASU, which has nine interceptions on the season, ranked ninth in the nation last season with 19 picks.
multiple weapons: ASU completed at least one pass to a season-high nine receivers last game and has now completed a pass to at least eight different players in four games this season. ASU has completed a pass to at least seven players in seven of its nine games.
DEJOHNETTE APPROACHING CAREER-BEST NUMBERS: Nine games into the season, senior wide receiver Levi Dejohnette already has more receptions (43) and yards (528) than he posted as freshman or junior. His 43 receptions ties his single-season best, set his sophomore season, and he is just 26 yards shy of his career-best totals set during his junior year (2005) as well.
THOMPKINS BREAKS ASU KICK RETURN RECORD: Sophomore Brandon Thompkins has 35 kicks for 771yards this year to break the single-season record at ASU. Thompkins replaces Robert Kilow, who picked up 724 yards during the 2000 season, as the single-season leader in the stat. Thompkins' 771 kickoff return yards are also the third most in Sun Belt Conference history for a single season, just 55 yards shy of the second most in SBC history and 217 yards shy of the most in league history.
PICKING UP THE PACE: While junior linebacker Ben Owens did not record more than eight tackles in any of ASU's first four games, he has posted double-figure tackles in three of the last five.
TEAM DEFENSE: Arkansas State has four players ranked among the top 12 in the Sun Belt Conference for tackles, including linebacker Koby McKinnon at No. 3. Joining McKinnon as ASU players ranked in the top 10 in the SBC for tackles are linebacker Ben Owens and safeties Tyrell Johnson and Khayyam Burns.
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST: Arkansas State posted a school-record 681 yards of total offense against Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 13, recording 406 rushing yards and 275 passing yards. The game is one of two this season in which the Indians have posted over 500 yards of offense (516 vs. SMU).
AMONG THE BEST IN THE BELT: Arkansas State is ranked among the top three teams in the Sun Belt Conference in 14 statistical categories and in the top half of the league in 17 categories.
MOVING THE CHAINS: ASU racked up a season-high 33 first downs against Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 13, a total good enough to rank as the second most in school history for a single game. ASU also posted the fifth most first downs in school history earlier this year with 29 vs. SMU.
REIBE named draddy trophy semifinalist: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) has announced the 67 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) semifinalists, including ASU senior offensive lineman Matt Reibe (El Dorado, Ark.), for the 2007 Draddy Trophy. One of college football's most sought after and competitive awards, the Draddy Trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership. Each semifinalist on the list must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
AUTOMATIC ARAUCO: Sophomore kicker Josh Arauco has made 25-of-25 extra point attempts this season and has made 29 in a row dating back to last season, which ranks as the sixth longest streak in ASU history. Arauco had a streak of eight consecutive field goals made earlier this season that ranked as the second longest in school history and tied the school record last year with 10 in a row.
SUN BELT HIGHS: ASU set or tied Sun Belt Conference single game highs this season that still stand in nine statistical categories against UL Lafayette, including:
52 points, 7 touchdowns (tie), 681 yards total offense, 406 rushing yards, 62 rushing attempts, 5 passing touchdowns (tie), 7 PAT's, 33 first downs and 20 first downs by rush.
NEW LEAGUE LEADER: Preseason Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year Tyrell Johnson recorded seven tackles against Memphis on Sep. 27 to give him 302 for his career and break the Sun Belt Conference record, previously held by ASU's Steven Tookes. Tookes, who played for the Indians from 2001-04, finished his career with 300 tackles. Johnson now has 327 career tackles to his credit.
THOMPKINS OVER 1,000: Brandon Thompkins has returned 35 kickoffs for 771 yards this season, the most in ASU history, to give him 1,319 yards for his career and move him into fourth place all-time for career yards in the stat.
GAINING GROUND: With 840 rushing yards this season, sophomore running back Reggie Arnold now has 1,916 career rushing yards to leave him just 266 yards shy of joining the top 10 career rushing leaders in ASU history. Arnold has rushed for at least 100 yards in four games this season and has reached the mark nine times for his career for the seventh most in school history.
RUSHING REGGIE: Reggie Arnold rushed for a career-high 225 yards against Louisiana-Lafayette this season, a total good enough to rank as the third most in ASU history for a single game and the most ever by an ASU player at Indian Stadium.
LEONARD BREAKS RECORD: Corey Leonard broke the school record for touchdown passes in a single game with five against Louisiana-Lafayette. Nine games into the season, Leonard has 13 touchdown passes to leave him just two shy of the school record for a single season.
QUICK CLIMB: Corey Leonard is making a quick climb up the all-time passing records at Arkansas State. Leonard is already ranked seventh all-time for career completions (238), eighth for passing yards (2,998) and seventh in passing touchdowns (21). With 1,681 passing yards over his first eight games, Leonard has already passed his total for all of last season (1,321).
DUAL THREAT: Corey Leonard is ranked 36th in the nation and third in the Sun Belt Conference in total offense with 257 yards per game. He posted a career-high 359 yards of total offense against Louisiana-Lafayette and has recorded more total yards of offense in five of his first eight games played than he had in a game for all of last season. Leonard combined to throw and rush for 329 yards against Memphis, 318 yards against SMU and 296 yards against both Texas and Louisiana-Monroe.
BREAK IT UP: Senior safety Tyrell Johnson has recorded three interceptions and four pass break-ups this season. He now has 10 career interceptions and 15 break-ups for his career. Nine games into the 2007 season, Johnson needs just one more pass break-up to tie his career best of five for an entire season (2004).
FINISHING IN THE RED ZONE: ASU reversed its fortune in the red zone the last six weeks in a big way. Since posting just two scores in six red zone trips against Texas in its season opener, the Indians have scored on 25 of its 31 trips in the red zone over the last eight games for an .806 scoring percentage.
400TH VICTORY: With its victory over Louisiana-Lafayette this year, ASU became the fifth Sun Belt Conference school with 400 all-time wins. ASU is in its 93rd season of football and holds an all-time record of 401-425-37 since its inaugural 1911 season. The Indians have played in seven bowl games, including the 2005 New Orleans Bowl.
CALL IT A COMEBACK: ASU posted its biggest comeback victory in school history Sept. 27 against Memphis, erasing a 31-6 halftime deficit by scoring 29 unanswered second-half points to claim the 35-31 win. ASU's next closest rallies came from 21 points down (vs. Lamar, 1989, and Southern Illinois, 1992).
FAN SUPPORT: The crowd of 27,774 on hand for the Memphis game (Sept. 27) was the third largest in Indian Stadium history. Seven of the top 14 crowds in Indian Stadium history have been played since 2002, head coach Steve Roberts first year at ASU.
ASU PLAYS IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD: The crowd of 102,368 in attendance at Neyland Stadium for the Tennessee-ASU game Sept. 22 was the largest to ever watch an Indians' football game. The previous largest crowd was 91,611 when the Indians played at Louisiana State in 2004.
HOME OPENERS: ASU improved to 5-1 in home openers played at Indian Stadium under sixth-year head coach Steve Roberts with its victory over SMU on Sept. 15. The Indians are now 23-11 all-time in home openers at Indian Stadium, which opened in 1974.
ROBERTS IN CLOSE GAMES: Sixth-year skipper Steve Roberts has seen numerous close games during his tenure with the Indians, holding a 17-7 record in games decided by eight points or less (33 percent of all his games). Roberts' teams have been especially successful recently in games decided by just one score, holding a 15-4 record in its last 19 games that ended under those circumstances. Following is his record in close games:
Margin Roberts record
1 point 1-0
2 points 1-0
3 points 5-3
4 points 4-1
5 points 0-1
6 points 2-0
7 points 3-1
8 points 1-1
SBC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: The Indians have had four players named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week at least once this season. Most recently, Corey Leonard was named the offensive player of the week for the third time this season on Oct. 14. ASU has now had a player named the league's offensive, defensive or special teams player of the week a combined six times. Tyrell Johnson (Sr., S) was named the defensive player of the week Sept. 3, while Brandon Thompkins (So., WR/KR) and Kevin Jones (Jr., WR/PR) were both named the special teams player of the week earlier this year.
TONEY CONTINUES CLIMB: Senior Darren Toney moved into sole possession this season of second place at ASU for the most kickoff returns in a career (69). Toney needs just five more returns for first place. Toney now has 1,450 career kickoff return yards as well, leaving him 54 shy of the second most return yards in ASU history.
STRINGING IT TOGETHER: ASU has had two scoring drives that went at least 93 yards, including a 97-yard drive against SMU, and nine that covered at least three quarters of the football field. ASU had seven drives that covered at least 75 yards, including a long of 84 yards, for all of last season.
FIVE-YEAR IMPROVEMENT: During sixth-year head coach Steve Roberts' first five seasons at Arkansas State the football program saw its win total increase by almost 100 percent over the previous five years. ASU posted 26 wins over Roberts' first five years, 11 more than it recorded the five years prior to Roberts. In fact, ASU's 26 wins over those five years are the most for a five-year span since it collected 33 victories from 1986-90.
a good HOMECOMING: Arkansas State won its fifth consecutive homecoming game with its 52-21 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, bringing its record to 53-26-1 all-time in homecoming games.
TEAM CAPTAINS: ASU's senior class will alternate throughout the year as team captains. The team will vote on permanent captains at the end of the year.
SBC Preseason awards: The 2007 preseason accolades continued to pile up for Arkansas State football players Tyrell Johnson (Sr., S), Matt Mandich (Jr., OL) and Koby McKinnon (Sr., LB) as all three were named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Team and Johnson was tabbed the league's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, announced at the conference's annual media days.
ASU Predicted to Finish Third in 2007 SBC Race: The Arkansas State football team was picked to finish third in the 2007 Sun Belt Conference race according to the league's preseason poll of its eight head coaches, announced by the conference office.
ASU received one first-place vote and 43 points, finishing just one point behind second-place Middle Tennessee in the voting. Defending New Orleans Bowl champion Troy received five of the eight first place votes and 59 points to finish first in the poll.
TV TIME: ASU's six regular-season televised games for 2007 are the most in school history, just ahead of the 2005 season when the Indians were on television four times during the regular season.
17 AND UNDER: Arkansas State holds a 14-2 record under head coach Steve Roberts when holding its opponents to 17 points or less. However, ASU is 11-30 over the last five seasons when allowing 17 or more points. The Indians have won their last 11 consecutive games when holding their opponent to 17 or fewer points and has won 26 straight games when holding their opponents to 10 or fewer points.
ASU ADDS DEEP SNAPPER ADAM GASTON: Included among the 105 players reporting for ASU's fall camp was one additional scholarship player in deep snapper Adam Gaston. The 5-9, 215-pound Gaston was a three-year varsity letterman for the Oak Grove High School (Hattiesburg, Miss.) football team, where he earned first team all-district honors as a senior. He helped lead Oak Grove to a 34-7 record in three years.
He was ranked among the top 10 high school long snappers in the nation according to several websites, including prokicker.com's No. 1 spot for its Ray Guy/ProKicker.com National Camp rankings. He was also ranked among the top 12 underclassmen deep snappers in the nation at the 4th annual National Kicking Competition hosted by Chris Sailer Kicking in Las Vegas in January of 2006. Gaston was a member of the Oak Grove High School swimming team.
ASU Football Radio Broadcasts to be Carried by KABF 88.3 FM in Little Rock: Arkansas State football fans in and around Central Arkansas will have no problems following the Tribe this season, as ASU Athletics and East Arkansas Broadcasters have announced that all ASU Football games this year will be carried on KABF 88.3 FM in Little Rock.
KABF is operated by the Arkansas Broadcasting Foundation and has a 100,000-watt signal. The station's signal reaches more than 70 miles on any side of the Capitol City, reaching Brinkley to the east, Fordyce to the south, Clarksville to the west and the Twin Lakes area to the north.
ARNOLD ON DOAK WALKER AWARD WATCH LIST: Reggie Arnold has been listed among the 51 candidates for the 2007 Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation's top college running back. Arnold was named All-Sun Belt Conference, Sporting News Third Team Freshman All-America and Football Writers Association of America Scripps Freshman All-America after rushing for 1,076 yards and four touchdowns in 2006. The 2006 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year was twice named the league's Offensive Player of the Week and finished last year ranked third in the nation among all freshmen for rushing yards. Arnold has also been named Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference by 2007 football publications such as Athlon's, Phil Steele's and Lindy's.
McKINNON ON BUTKUS AWARD WATCH LIST: Koby McKinnon (Junction City, Ark.) has been named to the 2007 Butkus Award Watch List, announced Tuesday morning by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Inc. (DACO). McKinnon, a 2007 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection, is one of 66 candidates for this year's award that also includes three players from the Sun Belt Conference. McKinnon has been named Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference by several football publications, including Athlon's, Sporting News, Phil Steele's, Lindy's and Street & Smith's magazines.
JOHNSON ON BRONKO NAGURSKI WATCH LIST: Safety Tyrell Johnson (Sr. Rison, Ark.) is one of just 49 players from across the nation to appear on the watch list for the 2007 Bronko Nagurski Trophy. The award is given annually to the best defensive player in college football by the Charlotte Touchdown Club. Johnson was the only Sun Belt Conference player to appear on the watch list, which is compiled by the FWAA All-America committee, with input from schools and conferences from across the country.
O'NEAL DRAFTED & MAKES ROSTER: Former Arkansas State standout fullback Oren O'Neal (Stuttgart, Ark.) was selected by the Oakland Raiders with the first pick in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft on April 29, and has made the Raiders roster for the 2007 season. The Raiders made O'Neal the 175th overall pick and the third fullback taken in the draft. O'Neal became the 40th ASU player to ever be selected in the NFL draft and the first since Corey Williams was taken in the sixth round of the 2004 draft by the Green Bay Packers. Over 90 all-time Arkansas State players have signed pro contracts with a NFL franchise.
TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD: The Arkansas State football team has won the Sun Belt Conference Team Academic Award three of the past four years, including 2006-07.
AFCA AWARD: Prior to the start of the 2007 season, the American Football Coaches Association announced that the Arkansas State University football team was one of just 34 Division I-A football programs that graduated 70 percent or more of its student-athletes from their freshman classes of 2001-02.
THE WOLF NEW FLAGSHIP FOR ASU RADIO: The Arkansas State University Athletic Department, along with East Arkansas Broadcasters, announced July 6, 2007, that radio station KWHF 95.9 FM “The Wolf” will become the flagship station for ASU football for the 2007 season.
ROBERTS PARTICIPATES IN YOUTH FOOTBALL CLINIC: Arkansas State Head Football Coach Steve Roberts joined the head football coaches from all the Sun Belt Conference schools on July 22 in hosting a free youth football clinic as part of a recent $750,000 contribution by NCAA Football to Youth Football Initiatives in the city of New Orleans. The Sun Belt and Conference USA are working with NCAA Football and the New Orleans Recreation Department to provide two clinics. Roberts and fellow Sun Belt coaches participated July 22 at the Wilson Athletic Center at Tulane University, while Conference USA coaches will host July 30.
TURNING IT AROUND ON THE ROAD: Arkansas State won three road games in the same season, 2006, for the first time since 1989. The last time ASU posted a winning road record was 1987 (3-2-1) and the last time ASU won four or more road games was 1986. With back-to-back road victories over Florida International and Memphis, ASU won two consecutive road games in the same season for the first time since 1988.
A TIME TO BOND: When Head Coach Steve Roberts came to ASU, he brought a tradition with him which caught on in a hurry with the players. The night before each game, team members and coaches get together for milk and cookies. During this time, each player sits by and visits with at least three other players he has not visited with throughout the week in order to learn more about his teammates.
