March 29, 2012
Bronx, N.Y. -
Printable 2012 Schedule
A schedule that features five home games on Jack Coffey Field, including the annual match-up with fellow Jesuit school Georgetown University, and road games at the University of Cincinnati from the Big East and Villanova University from the Colonial Athletic Association highlights the eleven-game 2012 Fordham University football schedule released today.
The 2012 season will mark Fordham's third with scholarship players and the first for new head coach Joe Moorhead. It was also be the second straight season in which the Rams will play an NCAA BCS school (Fordham traveled to Connecticut and Army last fall).
Fordham will remain as an associate member of the Patriot League for football, which made the decision to offer athletic merit aid for the sport of football beginning with the class entering school in the fall of 2013, but will not be eligible for the Patriot League championship in 2012. 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 one of the ten NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoff at-large bids.
Moorhead will open his first season on the sidelines at Rose Hill on Thursday night, August 30th, as the Rams host the Lock Haven University Bald Eagles on Jack Coffey Field in the first ever meeting between the two schools.
On September 8th the Rams take to the road for their first away game of 2012, traveling to Philadelphia to face the Villanova University Wildcats, a member of the CAA for football at the 2010 NCAA FCS champions. It will be the 29th meeting between Fordham and Villanova, the first since the quarterfinals of the 2002 NCAA Championship.
The following week Fordham returns home for the first of two consecutive games against Ivy League opponents. On September 15th, the Rams host the Big Red of Cornell University on Jack Coffey Field for Homecoming 2012. It will be the eighth time that Fordham and Cornell will meet on the gridiron, the first since 2009 when the Rams defeated the Big Red, 39-27, in Ithaca.
After the Cornell game, the Rams take their shortest road trip of the year, venturing into upper Manhattan to face Columbia University in the annual battle for the Liberty Cup on September 22nd. The two schools have fought for the cup for the past ten years, with Fordham holding a 6-4 advantage in the Liberty Cup series. 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 opens Patriot League action the following week by traveling to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to battle two-time defending Patriot League champions, Lehigh University on September 29th.
The Rams return home on October 6th to host fellow Jesuits, Georgetown University, in a Patriot League matchup. The Rams and the Hoyas will battle for the 55th time on the varsity level, the most games played against any opponent for the Rams. Fordham has won five of the past six meetings and leads the all-time series, 31-20-3.
Following the Georgetown game, the Rams take their longest road trip of the year, journeying out to Cincinnati, Ohio, to face the University of Cincinnati Bearcats on October 13th. It will be the second straight year that the Rams have battled a team from the Big East (Fordham faced UConn in 2011) and will be the first ever meeting between Fordham and Cincinnati, who finished in a tie for first in the Big East last year and appeared in the Autozone Liberty Bowl where the Bearcats defeated Vanderbilt.
After a week off, Fordham returns to action with a trip to Worcester, Mass., for a contest with fellow Jesuit institution, the College of the Holy Cross, in the annual battle for the Ram-Crusader Cup. Fordham has retained the trophy for six of the past eleven years but the Crusaders have been in possession of the cup for the past four years.
The Rams stay on the road the following week for their final road contest of 2012, venturing out to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, to take on Bucknell University on November 3rd. The Rams have won two of the past three meetings with the Bison.
Fordham wraps up the 2012 schedule with a pair of home games, starting with a visit from Lafayette College on November 10th in the 30th meeting between the Rams and the Leopards.
The 2012 regular season wraps up on November 17th as the Rams host Colgate University on Jack Coffey Field in the 23rd meeting between Fordham and the Raiders.
Ticket information for the 2012 season is available through the Fordham Athletic Ticket Office by calling 718-817-4759 or 855-RAM-TIXS (855-726-8499).
