Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Football Featured Twice in Gateway Vs. Ohio Valley Conference Challenge
07/30/2003 | 12:00:00 | Football
July 30, 2003
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - In a cooperative effort to highlight intersectional rivalries between member institutions of each league, the Gateway Football Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference will begin a Challenge Series in 2003, commissioner Patty Viverito has announced. A total of eight regular-season games between the two leagues constitute the challenge, with four of the games featured on television.
"The NCAA has paired Gateway and Ohio Valley teams in the opening round of the Division I-AA playoffs the past two years giving added meaning to the rivalry between these two great leagues," says Viverito. "Extending the challenge to our regular-season games will serve as an exciting preview to postseason match-ups which are likely to continue with the NCAA policy of regional pairings in first-round games."
The eight meetings in 2003 will mark the most common non-conference opponent for either league. The winner of the series will earn regional bragging rights. Each team has four home games, and 11 different teams (of the 17 total combined members) are involved in the series.
The genesis for the challenge came about after the leagues agreed to co-produce two games on Fox Sports Net (FSN) airwaves. The Sept. 6 game between Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri State will be seen live on FSN Midwest and FSN Chicago at 6:30 p.m., while the Sept. 20 game between Illinois State and Eastern Illinois will be seen live on FSN Midwest and FSN Chicago at 1:30 p.m. Both games will also be carried live by Fox Sports Digital Nets.
The Football Network (TFN) will televise the second game in the challenge (Sept. 13 at 6 p.m.) featuring Murray State and Southern Illinois. College Sports Television (CSTV) has also announced plans to air a fourth Gateway-OVC game, featuring defending national champion Western Kentucky and instate rival Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.).
The Gateway Conference has had more success in the all-time series, as league teams own a 67-40-1 record against Ohio Valley Conference members, which includes a 5-4 advantage last year. In the playoffs in 2002, Western Illinois beat Eastern Illinois (48-9), while Western Kentucky downed Murray State (59-20).
