ABILENE – ACU director of athletics
Jared Mosley announced Tuesday that the Wildcats have signed agreements with three NCAA Division I FBS programs for games over the next two seasons.
The Wildcats' only FBS opponent in 2013 will be New Mexico State (Oct. 26 in Las Cruces, N.M.), but ACU will have two FBS games in 2014. The Wildcats will open the 2014 season – their first as a full-fledged member of the Southland Conference in football – on Aug. 30 in Colorado Springs, Colo., against the United States Air Force Academy. Two weeks later, ACU will head to the south to take on the Troy (Ala.) Trojans, the program that produced current Dallas Cowboys' all-pro defender DeMarcus Ware.
In 2015, ACU will head to the West Coast for a Sept. 6 game at Fresno State. ACU will close the 2015 season on Nov. 21 in Greeley, Colo., against Northern Colorado. The Bears will return the trip the following season as they play ACU in Abilene on Sept. 10, 2016.
Wildcats round out coaching staff
ACU head football coach
Ken Collums announced Tuesday that he has added two new assistant coaches to his staff for the 2013 season, one on each side of the ball.
Former Kansas State defensive lineman Andrae Rowe has been hired to coach the defensive line, while former Texas A&M-Kingsville assistant coach
Steven Thrash has been hired to coach tight ends.
Rowe joins the Wildcats after serving three seasons on the staff at Navarro College, coaching the linebackers in 2010 and the defensive line from 2011-12.
Rowe played under legendary Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder from 1997-98 and graduated from KSU?in 1999 with a bachelor of science in social sciences. He earned his Associate of Arts from Fort Scott Community College (Kan.) in 1997.
After graduating from Kansas State, he served as the defensive coordinator at Boca Raton High School in Florida before moving on to serve the defensive line coach at Fort Scott Community College. He then went on to coach at Kansas State where he served as a student assistant working with the defensive line.
Thrash spent the two previous seasons (2011-12)?coaching the wide receivers at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Last season he helped Robert Armstrong tied the school's single-season reception record with 67 catches for 849 yards and 11 scores as he earned all-Lone Star Conference honors. Kingsville receivers caught 25 touchdown passes in 2012 and averaged 12.4 yards per catch.
His first season with the Javelinas (2011) was a very successful one statistically, in many areas. The single-season reception record was set at 67 catches. The receivers as a position group found the end zone 22 total times which was over half the total touchdowns. The wide receivers were also responsible for 54 percent of the total offense that the Javelinas gained in 2012.
Thrash guided two receivers to all-LSC first team honors and the 2012 Kanza Bowl most valuable player.
Wildcats to report on Aug. 7
The ACU football team will get the 2013 season started on Wednesday, Aug. 7, when players report for practice as the Wildcats begin preparations for the program's first season as an NCAA Division I FCS independent.
The 95 players who report – the maximum allowed under NCAA Division I rules – will undergo physicals and a conditioning test on Wednesday before the first practice at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 8. The Wildcats will have one practice daily on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday before the first day of two-a-days on Monday, Aug. 12. The morning practice will get started at 8:30 a.m., followed by the afternoon practice at 4 p.m.
Here is the Wildcats' August schedule leading up to the season-opener on Aug. 31 against Concordia (Ala.) College:
Wednesday, Aug. 7
Players report
Thursday, Aug. 8
Practice (helmets), 4 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 9
Practice (helmets and shoulder pads), 8:30 a.m.
Saturday, Aug. 10
Practice (helmets and shoulder pads), 8:30 a.m.
Media Day, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 11
Practice (helmets and shoulder pads), 4 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 12
Practice (full pads), 8:30 a.m.
Practice (helmets and shoulder pads), 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 13
Practice (helmets and shoulder pads), 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 14
Practice (full pads), 8:30 a.m.
Practice (helmets and shoulder pads), 4 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 15
Practice (helmets and shoulder pads), 4 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 16
Practice (full pads), 8:30 a.m.
Sunday, Aug. 18
Practice (full pads), 4 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 19
Practice (full pads), 8:30 a.m.
Practice (helmets and shoulder pads), 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 20
Practice (full pads), 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 21
Practice (helmets and shoulder pads), 4 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 22
Practice (full pads), 8:30 a.m.
Friday, Aug. 23
Practice (full pads), 8:30 a.m.
Practice (helmets and shoulder pads), 4 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 24
Dress rehearsal, 4 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 26
Practice (full pads), 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 27
Practice (full pads), 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 28
Practice (full pads), 4 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 29
Practice (full pads), 4 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 30
Practice (full pads), 4 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 31
Kickoff vs. Concordia (Ala.) College, 7 p.m.
Former athletics trainer moves into administrative role
Cory Driskill, who served as ACU's head athletics trainer from May 2008-July 2013, has moved into an administrative role at ACU serving as the department's associate director of athletics for operations.
Driskill will be in charge of facilities, ACU's three fund-raising golf tournaments, a fundraising portfolio focused primarly in Abilene and oversight of athletic training and strength and conditioning.
Driskill is a certified and licensed athletic trainer by both the National and Southwest Athletic Trainers Association. He is also certified in first aid, CPR / AED by the American Red Cross.
At ACU, Driskill is responsible for overseeing the sports medicine and strength and conditioning departments, which includes the evaluations, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries as well as the implementation of drug testing and nutrition programs. Driskill also communicates with all team physicians and facilitates a pre-hab program with strength coach
Eric Overland.
Driskill announced that he has hired former Missouri Valley College head athletics trainer
Adam Ybarra to take his spot on the Wildcats' training staff. Ybarra – who earned his undergraduate degree at Kansas State and his master's at the University of Missouri – began his duties Monday.
Tickets to Prairie View A&M game can be purchased on ACU Web site
ACU assistant director of athletics for operations John Houser announced Tuesday that Wildcat fans can purchase tickets to ACU's season-ending game at Prairie View A&M on the ACU Web site.
Tickets to the game – set for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Nov. 16 in Prairie View – will be $15 for ACU fans. Those fans who purchase tickets to the game via the ACU Web site must check in at the ACU gate at the stadium so that those tickets can be scanned.
