2000 Football Schedule Announced (Feb. 7)
2/7/2000 12:00:00 PM | Football
Feb. 7, 2000
Toledo, OH - The University of Toledo unveiled its 2000 football schedule today, and included among the Rockets' six home games are contests against Marshall and Bowling Green.
The Bowling Green game is scheduled for Nov. 18, but negotiations are underway to move the game to Wednesday, Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving, so that the game could be televised by ESPN2. It would be the first time in history that the Toledo-BG game would be broadcast on national TV.
Toledo will host Marshall (Oct. 14) for the first time since the Thundering Herd returned to the Mid-American Conference in 1997. Toledo has played in Huntington in each of the past three seasons, in the MAC Championship Game in 1997 and 1998, and in a regular-season contest last year. Marshall has won the MAC Championship Game for the past three seasons. Last year, the Herd went 13-0 and finished the season ranked No. 10 in the nation.
The most challenging game on the Rockets' schedule likely will come on Sept. 2 when Toledo travels to Penn State. The Nittany Lions finished the 1999 season with a 10-3 record and were ranked No. 11 in the country. The Rockets will also travel to Navy on Oct. 28.
Non-conference home games include the home opener vs. Weber State of the Big Sky Conference on Sept. 9, and a visit from Eastern Illinois of the Ohio Valley Conference on Sept. 16. Central Michigan (Sept. 30) and Ball State (Nov. 11) are the other two conference home games.
A big change for Toledo and all the MAC schools next year will be the way the conference games are counted toward qualifying for the MAC Championship Game. In accordance with NCAA bylaws, each team will play every other team in its division. In the case of Toledo, only games against MAC West Division teams will count toward determining the MAC West Division Champion. The champions of the West and East divisions will play for the MAC Championship at a date and site to be determined. (More information on the change in the MAC Championship format is included on page two).
Toledo is coming off a 6-5 year in 1999, its sixth consecutive winning season. The Rockets, who won their last three games of the season by a combined score of 121-48, return 20 of 24 starters from a year ago, including first-team All-MAC tailback Chester Taylor.
The Rockets are 31-8-1 in their last 40 regular-season MAC games, and own a 23-6-0 mark in the Glass Bowl over the past five seasons.
MAC Championship Format
1. Winners of the East and West divisions will play in a championship game at a site and date to be determined. Winner of the MAC Championship Game will represent the MAC at the Motor City Bowl.
2. Division winners will be determined by their records within their division only. Each team will play every other team in its own division. Complete tiebreaker formula to be announced by the MAC conference office at a later date.
3. Teams will play either two or three "crossover" games against teams in the other division. These games will not count in determining the division champions.
To find more information on the University of Toledo men's basketball program, check out our official website at www.utrockets.com
University of Toledo 2000 Football Schedule
Sat. Sept. 2 at Penn State
Sat. Sept. 9 WEBER STATE
Sat. Sept. 16 EASTERN ILLINOIS
Sat. Sept. 23 at Western Michigan*
Sat. Sept. 30 CENTRAL MICHIGAN* (PD)
Sat. Oct. 7 at Eastern Michigan*
Sat. Oct. 14 MARSHALL (HC)
Sat. Oct. 28 at Navy
Sat. Nov. 4 at Northern Illinois*
Sat. Nov. 11 BALL STATE*
Sat. Nov. 18 BOWLING GREEN
(Probable move to Wed., Nov. 22 on ESPN2, time TBA)
MAC Championship Game# (Site and time TBA)
HOME GAMES IN BOLD CAPS
(HC) Homecoming
(PD) Parents' Day
All times listed are site times
* Mid-American Conference West Division Game
# West Division champion vs. East Division champion
Schedule as of Feb. 7, 2000. Schedule is subject to change
