DATE: January 21, 2004

NEWARK, DE -- The history-making 2003 University of Delaware football squad, which captured the school's first NCAA I-AA national championship last month in Tennessee, will be honored on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at the Bob Carpenter Center as part of a Football National Championship Celebration.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center and will be followed by an autograph session with selected players and head coach K.C. Keeler in the Carpenter Center Lounge. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Concessions and souvenirs items from the national championship will be available for sale. Seating is limited and will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The festivities will include appearances by the Blue Hen Marching Band, the University of Delaware Cheerleaders and mascot YoUDee. The event will be hosted by the Mike Corey, sports director at The River 94.7 and the radio voice of the Fightin' Blue Hens.

All members of the 2003 squad will be honored on stage during the celebration and a video highlight presentation will be shown, recapping the season and featuring outstanding individual accomplishments. Various trophies earned by the Blue Hens during their run to the national championship will also be on display.

Among those addressing the crowd will be Keeler, co-captains Mike Adams and Jason Nerys, All-American quarterback Andy Hall, University of Delaware President Dr. David P. Roselle, and Newark Mayor Hal Godwin.

Parking at the BCC will also be free and the University of Delaware campus bus service will be available for all UD students from various campus locations.

The Blue Hens, led by second-year head coach K.C. Keeler, enjoyed one of the most outstanding seasons in college football history as the Blue Hens captured their sixth national title but first since winning the 1979 NCAA Division II crown. The Hens, who set a school record for wins in a season with a mark of 15-1, swept through the I-AA playoffs, outscoring opponents by a combined score 149-23 in victories over Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Wofford, and by a 40-0 score over Colgate in the national title game at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, TN Dec. 19.

Along the way, the Blue Hens captured their seventh Atlantic 10 Football Conference title, were named winners of the Lambert Cup as the top team in the East for the 18th time, were named Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Team of the Year for the 10th time. The Blue Hens will also receive the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association (DSBA) State Team of the Year award Jan. 30 in Wilmington.