With Tennessee Tech University hosting its second-ever football playoff game this Saturday, Athletic Director Casey Fox said he sees the game as an opportunity to grow the university’s athletic programs.
Fox said the game is historic, as Tennessee Tech Football does not have a long history. Fox said the game shows the commitment the university has to growing the athletic programs.
“We want our programs beginning, you know, obviously with this in football, for this to become a regular occurrence,” Fox said. “And that’s what our goal and vision are aligned to try to achieve that.”
Fox said frequent playoff appearances would not only show that Tennessee Tech can compete at the conference level but also at the national level. Fox said playing a program like North Dakota in a winner moves on game will measure where Tennessee Tech Football is at.
“North Dakota is a name in the FCS world, and so getting to host somebody from the Missouri Valley [Conference] is always exciting,” Fox said. “You always want to try and challenge yourself, and you know, this will allow us to see kind of where we stand and where, as a program where we need to continue to grow, or if we can get a win and advance.”
Fox said the athletic department is busy this week preparing for the playoff game. Fox said most of the department is not familiar with the process, but he himself has had experience during his time as the athletic director at Montana State. Fox said he encourages people can attend the game despite Thanksgiving.
“We are hopeful that people by Saturday, are sick of their families and want to get outside and want to support Tech,” Fox said. “So you know students are on break, so that will be a challenge. But it is important, because the way that the FCS playoffs are set up, we have to give the NCAA a guarantee to host. And so the more tickets we can sell, the more we can offset that guarantee that we have to give the NCAA each round.”
Fox said students can get into the game for free with their student ID, thanks to President Phil Oldham covering the cost for the first 1,000 tickets. Fox said tickets are only $25. The game will begin at 12pm on Saturday at Tucker Stadium.
