Southeast football

Today classes begin for Southeast Missouri State University, and soon the university's football program will kick off its season.

The Redhawks, coming off their first OVC championship and claiming the program's first playoff berth, will open the season at home Sept. 3 when Southern Illinois visits Houck Stadium.

Recently the Redhawks were unofficially rank 28th in the Sports Network/Fathead.com poll, the same poll which ranked Southeast 13th at the end of last season. The other major Football Championship Subdivision preseason poll is set to be released today.

Southeast comes into this season with high expectations and ready to compete under head coach Tony Samuel. Samuel -- who received the Eddie Robinson Award after last season, an award recognizing the FCS national coach of the year -- was re-signed in February to a five-year contract.

Players, coaches and fans will notice a new look to the football facilities this year. The university has spent $2 million for renovations at both Houck Stadium and Rosengarten Athletic Complex since last season. At Houck a state-of-the-art video scoreboard and FieldTurf surface has been installed as well as new lighting. The stadium has also been repainted. Rosengarten Athletic Complex's makeover includes a renovated locker room, coaches offices, meeting rooms and athletics training area.

Individual game tickets are on sale and can be purchased online at gosoutheast.com, by phone at 651-2113 or 1-866-736-6845 and at the university's athletic ticket office at 1221 Broadway. Season tickets are also available at various pricing levels and can be purchased by phone or at the Broadway ticket office.

We look forward to another outstanding season of Redhawks football.

Go Southeast!