Rodriguez, Ruffin eager to bring Jax State, Tuskegee to Montgomery for season openers
Rich Rodriguez will make his debut as the head coach at Jacksonville State on Aug. 27 at Crampon Bowl. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Tuskegee University coach Reginald Ruffin and Jacksonville State University coach Rich Rodriguez were the featured speakers at the kickoff luncheon for the FCS Kickoff and the Boeing Red Tails Classic that honors volunteers, sponsors and city and county officials that support the two college games at Cramton Bowl.
“We have a tremendous opportunity here in Montgomery to build on what we’ve been able to accomplish, which started 10 years ago with the college all-star game and then the next year came the Camellia Bowl,” said Camellia Bowl executive director Johnny Williams, who puts on the kickoff games. “We’re going to be honoring the 100th year of Cramton Bowl. Our tag line for the bowl game is ‘History Happens Here’ and there’s a lot of history, not only with the stadium but in our community that we’re able to embrace and use as a vehicle to make friends around the world.”
The FCS Kickoff will be held on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 2:30 p.m., pitting the Jacksonville State Gamecocks against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. The Lumberjacks, members of the Western Athletic Conference, went 7-4 last year under Colby Carthel, losing in the first round of the FCS playoffs. The Gamecocks, members of the ASUN, were 5-6 under John Grass a year ago and now feature Rodriguez, the former head coach at West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona.
“This is a great sports town,” Rodriguez said. “My wife and I were coming back from a little vacation and I stopped by the stadium. This is going to be a great venue. It might be a little hot but I don’t care. We’re going to have a great turnout, our kids are going to be excited about playing.”
The Boeing Red Tails Classic will be held on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m., matching up Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rivals Tuskegee and the Fort Valley State University Wildcats. The Wildcats were 5-5 last year under Maurice Flowers, while the Golden Tigers were 3-8 under Willie Slater and now have Ruffin, the former head coach and four-time SIAC champion at Miles College.
“Coach Williams and the Central Alabama Sports Commission has done a great job in putting these two collegiate football games together here in this great city,” Ruffin said. “We’re excited about being here. I’m a product of this state, I was a high school coach in this state, played in this state and it’s so amazing to be here at a place in Montgomery where you guys have done so much for this state, this city and I’m so excited to be a part of the Red Tails Classic. A Division II school, the winningest HBCU, gets a chance to be on national television. It’s a blessing to our student athletes to get that experience.”
Rodriguez agreed, noting “I will play any night if you put us on TV. This is going to be a great start for us. We want to do well, not only for our fans and our school but for the state of Alabama.”
The Gamecocks are in their final year as an FCS member as they transition to FBS, where they will be members of Conference USA.
“I’ve been everywhere, all around the country, but this is one of the best-coached states for high school in the country,” said Rodriguez, who was scheduled to speak later in the day at a nearby high school coaches convention. “There are really good players, but there are really, really good coaches. My staff knows that and they recruit the state and this is why we’re really excited about this game.
“We’ve got a lot work to be done, but we’ve got a lot of exciting things happening, too.”
Tickets and sponsorship packages for the two games are available at www.montgomerykickoffgames.com. After holding the two kickoff games for FCS and HBCU programs, the Central Alabama Sports Commission will turn its attention to the ninth annual Camellia Bowl, which will be held at Cramton Bowl on Dec. 27 at 11 a.m. More information on that game can be found at www.camelliabowl.com.