MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama and Troy have competed against each other for years in the Sun Belt Conference, but on Saturday the two schools will meet in football for the first time when the Trojans visit Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
The game is South Alabama’s first Sun Belt Conference football game. Athletics leaders at both schools, along with the league’s commissioner, say the matchup could grow into one of the state’s significant rivalries.
First Conference Game
South Alabama (1-3) is playing a full Sun Belt schedule this season but, as a program in transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision, is not eligible for the conference championship or a bowl game.
The Jaguars have faced only a few opponents more than once in their short football history, among them UTSA and Georgia State. Saturday’s game is the first against Troy.
“Just Another Addition to the Puzzle”
Troy director of athletics Steve Dennis told the Press-Register that geography makes the series a natural one.
“It will be a very exciting thing just because of geography,” Dennis said. “Now that South Alabama has matriculated through the football stages, and we’ve always had a great rivalry in basketball and baseball and we recruit the same areas, football is just another addition to the puzzle, so to speak. It’s a very big piece though when you talk about football in the state of Alabama.”
Benson: Fans Must Embrace It
Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson said the start of South Alabama football created the conditions for a true rivalry.
“Once South Alabama started football, that was the impetus for a true, legitimate rivalry,” Benson said. “When you have two schools in the same state, just a few miles from each other and fans have a chance to travel to the respective schools, that’s what makes a rivalry. The fans have to embrace the rivalry in order for there to be a rivalry.”
“Their proximity allows for it,” he said. “… I think Troy-South Alabama has the same type of rivalry potential as Auburn-Alabama.”
Erdmann: “A Natural and Tremendous Fit”
South Alabama Director of Athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann pointed to the schools’ location in the same state and their alumni bases in each other’s areas.
“Due to several things – due to our proximity, due to the fact we’re located in the same state, due to the fact that we each have alumni in each other’s backyard – I think it’s a natural and tremendous fit for a rivalry that can be grown over the years,” Erdmann said.
Erdmann noted Troy’s longer football history and its rise from Division II through Division I-AA to the FBS, as well as the success of its other sports in the Sun Belt and nationally.
“I think we can work to build this rivalry into something very special,” Erdmann said. “This could be one of those events that our people and their people circle on their calendars when the schedules come out in early spring.”
Earlier Rivalries
In the early years of the Sun Belt, South Alabama’s top in-state rival was UAB, particularly in basketball. That rivalry faded after UAB left the league for Conference USA, although the schools have continued to meet in basketball.
Troy had a long football rivalry with Jacksonville State when both were Division II programs. The series ended as Troy moved up through Division I-AA to Division I-A. Troy has since developed a football rivalry with Middle Tennessee.
Joey Jones, who has led South Alabama since the program began play in 2009, will coach the Jaguars in their Sun Belt debut Saturday.
Update: Troy Players Weigh In Before First Meeting
Several Troy players discussed the first football meeting between the schools in comments to the Montgomery Advertiser.
“We can’t let the new guys just come and take over the Sun Belt,” Troy linebacker De’Von Terry said. “They have to earn their respect. They have to beat somebody, earn some championships. They can’t just come muscle us around.”
Trojans quarterback Corey Robinson said the opener will shape the series. “The first game is going to set the tone for the rivalry,” he said. “We have to go down there and show them that we’re still here. Troy hasn’t fallen off. We have to play a good football game because they’re a good football team.”
“It’s going to be as big as people want it to be,” linebacker Kanorris Davis said. “Everybody wants to win. This is our first time playing each other. It’s a new era. They’re welcoming the Sun Belt. We’re going to welcome them to the Sun Belt.”
Troy began planning a new football building after its staff saw South Alabama’s facilities while the Trojans were in Mobile for the 2010 GMAC Bowl.
The schools also compete for many of the same recruits. “We’re running into them all the time,” said Troy recruiting coordinator Randy Butler, whose primary territory includes Mobile. “The kids that we’re offering down there, they’re offering.”
Before the season, Troy head coach Larry Blakeney had criticized the eligibility advantage South Alabama gained by playing its first two seasons as an unclassified program and said the Jaguars had built their fan base by scheduling opponents they could beat.
South Alabama is still seeking its first win over a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.
