CAA Football Announces 2012 Schedule
RICHMOND, Va. (March 23, 2012) -- The 2012 CAA Football schedule was officially released Friday, and is made up of 77 games over a span of 12 weeks. CAA Football, which welcomes Georgia State as a new football-playing member this season, will be a one-division 11-team league in 2012 and each squad's slate will feature eight conference contests.
The 2012 season of CAA Football will feature a total of 44 conference games and kicks off in the season's third weekend. The first of two conference contests Sept. 15 will feature a pair of the league's most recent champions as Towson (2011) hosts William and Mary (2010). The second of the league's opening games will pit Rhode Island and head coach Joe Trainer against Villanova and head coach Andy Talley at Villanova. Trainer served as a defensive assistant on Talley's Wildcat staff from 1997-2004.
Eleven of the league's 33 non-conference tilts will feature opponents from the Bowl Subdivision classification, including four teams which participated in bowl games last season -- Villanova/Temple (Aug. 31), Richmond/Virginia (Sept. 1), James Madison/West Virginia (Sept. 15 at FedEx Field) and Towson/LSU (Sept. 29).
Additional FBS contests for CAA Football programs include Georgia State travelling to Tennessee then a week later hosting FBS-transitional foe UT-San Antonio. Maine (Boston College) and William and Mary (Maryland) will square off against Atlantic Coast Conference members. New Hampshire will travel to Minnesota while Rhode Island will face Bowling Green. Towson, in addition to facing LSU, will open its season at Kent State.
CAA Football continued its string of success against schools from the Bowl Subdivision last season thanks a 23-21 season-opening win for Richmond over Duke. CAA Football squads have posted nine wins over FBS opponents in the last five seasons, including four victories in 2009.
CAA Football's record against non-conference FCS opponents has never been better than it was last season. The league finished 19-2 (.905) against non-conference FCS foes in the regular season and logged an overall mark of 22-7 (.759) against non-conference FCS opponents including postseason games. The conference carries a 99-19 (.839) regular season mark against non-conference FCS foes dating back to 2007 and has never lost more than five regular-season matchups against the FCS in a single-season over that span.
Game times and television broadcast announcements will be made public throughout the summer and as the season draws closer in the fall. The CAA and CAA Football recently entered into a five-year broadcast agreement with NBC Sports Group which will boost the league's national television presence beginning in the upcoming season. The league will have five conference contests televised nationally on NBC Sports Network, while 13 of its conference games will be televised by The Comcast Sports Group's regional outlets.
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