The No. 19/22 William and Mary football team will open the 2014 season when it plays at Virginia Tech this Saturday at 4 p.m.
The contest will be televised nationally by ESPNEWS, while audio and live stats will be available at TribeAthletics.com. Fans can also listen to the live broadcast on the Tribe’s flagship stations 92.3 FM The Tide and 107.9 Bach FM.
Tickets can be purchased at TribeAthletics.com or by calling the ticket office at 757-221-3340.
The Tribe has played well in many of its recent FBS matchups, as it defeated Virginia, 26-14, in the 2009 opener and has owned second half leads at West Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina during the past four seasons. All three of those contests were decided by a touchdown or less.
This weekend’s matchup will feature the nation’s longest tenured FBS and FCS head coaches in Frank Beamer and Jimmye Laycock, both of whom have spent their entire head coaching careers at their respective alma maters. Beamer is the longest tenured FBS head coach and is entering his 28th season at VT, while Laycock is the longest tenured FCS head coach and is entering his 35th season at W&M. (note: Villanova’s Andy Talley and Montana State’s Rob Ash are also entering their 35th seasons as head coaches, but not all have come at the D-I level). Beamer is the winningest active D-I coach with 266 career wins, while Laycock is the fifth-winningest active D-I coach with 222 victories. Interestingly, both coaches’ first full-time collegiate coaching positions came at The Citadel in 1973.
Saturday’s game between W&M and VT will mark the 63rd meeting between the two programs, as the Hokies lead the series, 40-18-4. W&M rattled off 12 consecutive wins against VT from 1940-53, but the Hokies have claimed the last 10 meetings. The Tribe’s last win versus Virginia Tech came in 1976 – a 27-15 triumph in Blacksburg.
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Chris Graham
