#6/#7 UcA BEARS (0-0, 0-0 SLC) vs. incarnate Word cardinals (0-0) dATE: Thursday, Aug. 29 MEdiA: KUCA 91.3 FM, Heartbeat 106.7, TiME: 7:00 p.m. www.ucasports.com SiTE: First Security Field @ Estes Stadium SERiES: First meeting Conway, Ark. coAchES: clinT conque is beginning his 14th season at the helm of the UCA football program. He has an 98-54-0 overall record and is the winningest coach in the long history of 2013 UCA football, dating back to 1908. Conque came to UCA from the offensive StandingS coordinator position at Louisiana Tech in 2000. He passed UCA Sports Hall of Famer Harold Horton as the winningest coach in school history with a victory over Eastern Illinois in 2010. Conque and Horton are the only two School Slc ....% All ....% STR coaches in school history to reach the 70-win UcA 0-0 ......000 0-0 ......000 - mark. Lamar 0-0 ......000 0-0 ......000 - Conque led the Bears to their first-ever NCAA Playoff appearance in 2001. UCA finished 9-3 that season, the most McNeese State 0-0 ......000 0-0 ......000 - wins in a year since the 1992 season. He took them back to the playoffs Nicholls 0-0 ......000 0-0 ......000 - in 2005, winning two straight road games and advancing to the national Northwestern State 0-0 ......000 0-0 ......000 - quarterfinals. Sam Houston State 0-0 ......000 0-0 ......000 - His Bears finished the 2008 season with the best record in the Southland Conference at 6-1 but were ineligible for the league title due to SE Louisiana 0-0 ......000 0-0 ......000 - their transition. Conque was named the SLC Coach of the Year that season. Stephen F. Austin 0-0 ......000 0-0 ......000 - Two years ago, Conque took the Bears to their first-ever Division I Playoff appearance, and won the first road playoff game by a Southland Conference team since 2004, beating Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tenn. ThURSdAy, AUg. 29 He was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award for the second time incarnate Word @ UcA - 7:00 last season. The Bears made the second round of the playoffs again last Northwestern State @ Missouri State - 6:00 season, finishing 9-3, with Conque again a finalist for the national award. Conque, 52, is a Louisiana native who played collegiately at Nicholls SE Missouri @ SE Louisiana - 7:00 State after graduating from Catholic High School in Baton Rouge and playing two years at Southwest Mississippi Junior College. SATURdAy, AUg. 31 Conque was a first-team AP All-American as a outside linebacker at Nicholls @ Oregon - 3:00 Nicholls State. He was inducted into the Nicholls State Athletic Hall of Fame McNeese State @ South Florida - 6:00 in 2006. His previous coaching stops were at Louisiana Tech, Samford Houston Baptist @ Sam Houston State - 6:00 University and McNeese State. Oklahoma Panhandle State @ Lamar - 7:00 Stephen F. Austin @ Weber State - 7:00 lARRy KEnnAn is in his second season as the head coach of the Cardinals. His overall record at Incarnate Word is 2-9. Kennan, who was the quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders SATURdAy, SEpT. 7 when UCA head coach Clint Conque signed with the team in 1983, came UcA @ colorado - 7:00 to UIW from a 13-year stint as executive director of the NFL Coaches SE Louisiana @ TCU - 11:00 Association in Washington, D.C. He was also an NFL assistant for 16 years. Lamar @ Louisiana Tech - 6:00 Kennan was QB coach for the Raiders when they won Super Bowl NIcholls @ Western Michigan - 6:00 XVIII in 1984, and was head coach of the London Monarchs when they Southern @ Northwestern State - 6:00 won a World Football League championship in 1991. Stephen F. Austin @ Texas Tech - 6:00 UAPB @ McNeese State - 7:30 ThE SERiES: Sam Houston State @ Texas A&M - TBA The Bears and Cardinals have never met on the football field UCA FOOTBALL BENCHMARKS 3 National championships 2008, 2012 SLC Champions 2011, 2012 NCAA D-I Playoffs 463 All-Conference selections 100 All-Americans 25 Conference Titles 19 posteason1 appearances 61 NCAA All-Academic picks but will face each other regularly now that UIW has joined the receiving votes in the preseason polls. That includes two-time national Southland Conference. runnerup Sam Houston State. The Bears also face FBS Colorado on the road in Week 2. 2012 REcAp: UCA has finished in the Top 25 in four of its seven seasons at the The Bears went 9-3, winning nine games for the second straight NCAA Division I level. season and for the third time since moving to Division I in 2006. UCA reached the second round of the FCS Playoffs for the second pRESEASon All-Slc: straight season, losing to perennial power Georgia Southern on UCA had 12 student-athletes selected overall and a league-high nine the road. The Bears have yet to host an FCS playoff game in two first-team selections on the preseason All-Southland Conference football seasons. team selected by the coaches. UCA finished first in the Southland Conference last season The Bears, co-champions in the SLC last season, were led by for the second time since 2008. The Bears were a league-best reigning SLC Offensive Player of the Year Wynrick Smothers, a senior 6-1 in 2008 but were ineligible for the league title because of the quarterback from Destrehan, La., and last year’s Freshman of the Year, transition from Division II. UCA (6-1) was co-champion with Sam defensive end Jonathan Woodard of Brentwood, Tenn. Houston State last season, a team the Bears beat 24-20 in Conway Both were on the first-team squad, along with junior wide receiver on Sept. 22 to earn the league’s automatic bid to the playoffs. Dezmin Lewis, junior offensive lineman Cole Caruthers, junior placekicker UCA won four of the seven individual postseason awards given Eddie Camara, senior defensive lineman Matt Hornbuckle, senior by the SLC, including Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year (DE linebacker Justin Heard and senior defensive back Radarius Winston. Jonathan Woodard), Offensive Player of the Year (QB Wynrick Second-team selections were senior offensive lineman Dominque Smothers) and Offensive Lineman of the Year (Corey Howard). Allen, sophomore offensive lineman Kyle Stouffer and senior defensive back Marcus Peters. MiSSing in AcTion: The Bears will have five players suspended to begin the 2013 sea- son, including starting running back Willie Matthews for the opening game SiX pAcK: The Bears won six conference games last season for the third time against UIW. since 2006, the only school in the SLC to do that. UCA was 6-1 in 2008, Matthews will miss one game, while junior offensive lineman C.J. Simon, junior receiver Jacoby Walker, junior offensive lineman Jordan 2011 and 2012. Kersh and redshirt freshman receiver Wyatt Hikins will miss the first two UCA is the only SLC team to have three nine-win seasons during games. All are due to violations of team rules, according to head coach that time period. Clint Conque. SoMEBody’S WATching ME: ThE lEAgUE: Five UCA players were named to preseason Watch Lists at The Bears have been members of the Southland Conference since the FCS level. They include: senior quarterback Wynrick Smothers they moved to Division I FCS in 2006. UCA’s record in SLC games is (Walter Payton Award); senior safety Jestin Love (Buck Buchanan officially 29-13. The Bears also beat two SLC teams (Sam Houston & Award), and sophomore defensive end Jonathan Woodard, senior Stephen F. Austin) in their first year in the league when they did not play tight end Chase Dixon and junior placekicker Eddie Camara a full league schedule. (College Football Performance Awards). The Cardinals are brand new members of the Southland Conference, but will not play a full schedule until 2014. UIW, because of its transition TOP FREShMEn: from NCAA Division II, similar to what UCA did in 2006, will not be fully Coach Conque has indicated that at least four true freshman eligible for an SLC title until 2017. are expected to see action early this season, with as many as 6 to 8 possible throughout the season. Those expected to play early include wide receiver Jatavious nATionAL POLLS: Wilson (Bastrop, La.), defensive lineman Terrence Partee The Bears, who closed the 2012 season ranked 10th in the two (Memphis), offensive lineman Bryan Manley (Stephenville, Texas). national FCS polls, are ranked No. 6 in the Coaches Preseason Poll and and noseguard Jordan Toliver (Duncanville, Texas). No. 7 in The Sports Network poll. Others that could see action are offensive linemen Stockton UCA will play seven teams this season that are either ranked or - UcA SchEdUlE - - UcA qUicK FAcTS - dATE opponEnT SiTE TiME locATion ............ Conway, Ark. Aug. 29 Incarnate Word Conway, Ark. 7:00 popUlATion ....... 60,000 Sept. 7 Colorado Boulder, Colo. 7:00 FoUndEd ............. 1907 Sept. 14 UT-Martin Martin, Tenn. 6:00 EnRollMEnT ...... 11,158 Sept. 21 Missouri State Springfield, Mo. 6:00 nicKnAME ........... Bears Oct. 5 McNeese State*^ Conway, Ark. 3:00 coloRS ............... Purple/Gray Oct. 12 Nebraska-Kearney Conway, Ark. 3:00 Oct. 19 Lamar Beaumont, Texas 6:00 pRESidEnT .......... Tom Courtway Oct. 26 Stephen F. Austin*^ Conway, Ark. 3:00 AThlETic diR. ..... Dr. Brad Teague Nov. 2 Northwestern State*# Natchitoches, La. 7:00 STAdiUM .............. First Security Field at Estes Stadium (9,000) Nov. 9 SE Louisiana*# Conway, Ark. 7:00 SURFAcE ............. GeoTurf (2011) Nov. 16 Nicholls State* Thibodaux, La. 3:00 hEAd coAch ...... Clint Conque (98-54, 14th season) Nov.