May 12, 2010
Printable 2010 Schedule
Bronx, N.Y. - A schedule that features five home games on Jack Coffey Field, including the annual match-up with fellow Jesuit, Georgetown University, highlights the eleven-game 2010 Fordham University football schedule released today.
The 2010 season will mark Fordham's first with scholarship players, as the school will welcome its first scholarship class this summer. Fordham will remain as an associate member of the Patriot League for football, which currently does not offer athletic scholarships in the sport, and will continue to be included in the League schedule until at least the 2012 season but will not be eligible for the Patriot League championship. Fordham's games against League members will not count towards the standings.
Despite not being eligible for the Patriot League title, Fordham will still be eligible for an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoff at-large bid. The NCAA will increase the number of playoff bids this fall from 16 to 20 (ten automatic bids/ten at-large bids).
Head coach Tom Masella will open his fifth season at Rose Hill on Saturday, September 4th, as the Rams travel to Smithfield, R.I., to face the Bryant University Bulldogs, out of the Northeast Conference. It will be the second straight season the two teams have squared off with the Rams defeating the Bulldogs, 35-7, last year.
Fordham will then open its 2010 hone schedule by hosting the University of Rhode Island, from the Colonial Athletic Association, on Saturday, September 11th. It will be the tenth meeting between the two schools, with Fordham leading the all-time series, 5-4, taking two of the past three match-ups.
The following week the Rams travel into Manhattan to battle Columbia University in the annual battle for the Liberty Cup on September 18th. The two schools have fought for the cup for the past eight years, with the Liberty Cup series being tied at four games each. As two of only three NCAA Division I institutions in New York City to sponsor football, Fordham and Columbia decided to compete for a special trophy in 2002 with the focus to honor alumni from both schools who were lost in the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Fordham returns to Jack Coffey Field the following week for Homecoming 2010. The Rams will face Assumption College, an NCAA Division II school from Worcester, Massachusetts in the annual homecoming contest. It will be the first ever meeting between the Rams and the Greyhounds.
The Rams then hit the road for the first of three straight road games, and the first game against a Patriot League opponent, as Fordham travels up to Worcester, Massachusetts, to take on Holy Cross, the defending Patriot League champions, in the annual battle for the Ram-Crusader Cup with the fellow Jesuit institution on October 2nd. Fordham has retained the trophy for six of the past nine years but the Crusaders have been in possession of the cup for the past two years.
The following week Fordham ventures out to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to face Patriot League adversary, Lehigh University, on October 9th.
Fordham then plays its final non-conference opponent on October 16th as the Rams travel up to New Haven, Connecticut, to face Yale University. It will be the fifth match-up between the Fordham and the Ivy League Eli, the most recent coming in 2008 when the Rams upended Yale, 12-10, on Jack Coffey Field.
After three weeks on the road, the Rams return home to host two Patriot League rivals, the Lafayette College Leopards on October 23rd, for Family Weekend, and Georgetown on October 30th. The Rams and the Hoyas will battle for the 53rd time on the varsity level, the most games played against any opponent for the Rams. Fordham has won the past four meetings and leads the all-time series, 30-19-3.
The Rams will then take to the road one last time in 2010 when they trek to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, on November 6th for a game with Bucknell University. Fordham will be looking to build on the momentum of last year's 21-7 win over the Bison.
After a week off, Fordham closes out the season by hosting the Colgate University Raiders on Jack Coffey Field on November 20th.
Ticket information for the 2010 season is available through the Fordham Athletic Ticket Office by calling 718-817-4300.
