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• 2010 Delaware Football Schedule

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware announced its revised 2010 football schedule Tuesday afternoon with changes that came about when two Colonial Athletic Association foes decided to drop their programs last fall.

The original schedule had been set over a year ago but CAA officials had to revise conference schedules twice for its remaining 10 teams due to the elimination of programs at Northeastern and Hofstra, both of whom were slated to appear on Delaware’s 2010 schedule.

In addition to the change in the conference schedule, Delaware also announced tentative games times for its seven home games at Delaware Stadium this fall and an earlier date for the season opener vs. long-time rival West Chester.

Delaware will host non-league games vs. West Chester (Sept. 2), South Dakota State (Sept. 11), and Duquesne (Sept. 18)and CAA encounters against Maine (Oct. 9), Rhode Island (Oct. 16), Towson (Nov. 6), and defending NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision national champion Villanova (Nov. 20). Road games include matchups at CAA foes Richmond (Sept. 25), James Madison (Oct. 2), William & Mary (Oct. 23), and Massachusetts (Nov. 13).

The schedule will be a difficult one again for the Blue Hens, who will face teams that posted a combined record of 73-58 (.557) a year ago with four opponents - Villanova, Richmond, William & Mary, and South Dakota State - having advanced to the 16-team NCAA Tournament. The Blue Hens’ 2009 schedule was rated as the No. 3 toughest by the NCAA.

The Blue Hens will kickoff the 2010 season - the 119th in school history - with three straight home games as Delaware will host long-time rival West Chester on Thursday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m., South Dakota State on Sept. 11 at 1 p.m., and Duquesne on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m.

The West Chester game, originally scheduled for Sept. 4, will be the 51st meeting between the two schools and will mark the fifth straight year that the Hens have opened their home schedule against the Golden Rams, who went 8-3 a year ago and narrowly missed an NCAA Tournament berth. The game will mark the first official football contest to be played on the new artificial FieldTurf surface that was recently installed.

South Dakota State, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference who went 8-4 a year ago and lost to eventual national runner-up Montana 61-48 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and Duquesne, a member of the Northeast Conference who went 3-8 a year ago, are both first time opponents for the Blue Hens.

The CAA schedule will begin with road games at 2008 national champion and 2009 national quarterfinalist Richmond (11-2 last season) Sept. 25 and at James Madison (6-5) Oct. 2 followed by home games vs. Maine (5-6) on Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. and vs. Rhode Island (1-10) on Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. (Parents and Family Weekend).

Delaware travels to 2009 NCAA national semifinalist William & Mary (11-3) on Oct. 23 in Williamsburg, Va., and after a bye week, return home to take on Towson (2-9) on Nov. 6 for Homecoming at 1 p.m.. The regular season will conclude with a road game Nov. 13 at Massachusetts (5-6) and a home game vs. Villanova (14-1) on Nov. 20 at 1 p.m.

All games times are tentative and could be changed based on television schedules.

The Blue Hens, coming off a 6-5 record in 2009, welcome back 28 players with starting experience for ninth-year head coach K.C. Keeler, including the team’s top two rushers, seven of the top eight pass receivers, and six of the top eight tacklers. The Hens will begin spring drills in March with the annual Blue-White Spring scrimmage set for Friday, Apr. 23 at 7 p.m. at Delaware Stadium.