Skrosky Era of Elon Football Begins Saturday at Duke

ELON, N.C. – The 2014 Elon football season will start with new head coach Rich Skrosky at the helm of the Phoenix program on Saturday, August 30 at 6 p.m. as the maroon and gold travels to Durham, N.C., to take on the Duke Blue Devils.

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and can be heard over the radio airwaves on WPCM 95.1 FM and 920 AM as well as at elonphoenix.com.

AT FIRST GLANCE:
• Elon is opening on the road for the fifth consecutive season. All five games have come against FBS opponents (Duke in 2010, Vanderbilt in 2011, North Carolina in 2012 and Georgia Tech in 2013).
• Head coach Rich Skrosky begins his first year at the helm of the Phoenix program. Skrosky was on the Elon staff from 2006-10, serving the final four as the offensive coordinator, before spending the last three years as the offensive coordinator at Ball State University.
• Duke assistant defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jim Collins is a 1974 graduate of Elon. Collins played defensive back for the maroon and gold.

A NEW HOME: After spending the past 11 seasons as a member of the Southern Conference, Elon has joined the Colonial Athletic Association and CAA Football. The Phoenix officially transitioned to CAA Football on July 1, 2014.

The CAA geographic footprint provides an attractive match with Elon’s student and alumni populations. Elon draws a large proportion of its enrollment from mid-Atlantic and New England states where many CAA teams are located. About 1,850 current students came to Elon from areas close to CAA member schools. Alumni populations in CAA cities are equally strong, with about 5,300 Elon alumni living within 50 miles of CAA member schools.

ELON VS. DUKE: Elon is 0-7-1 all-time against Duke. The two sides last met in 2010 with Elon falling 41-27 in Durham. The series dates to 1920. The lone tie was a 0-0 game in 1921.

WELCOME HOME: New Elon head coach Rich Skrosky is no stranger to the Phoenix program. Skrosky spent the 2006-10 season with the maroon and gold, including the final two as offensive coordinator.

In Skrosky’s previous tenure with Elon, the Phoenix program compiled a mark of 35-22 and reached the FCS Playoffs in 2009. The team spent 40 consecutive weeks ranked in The Sports Network’s top-25 poll.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: The Phoenix named four captains for the 2014 season, two from each side of the ball. The offense is represented by senior quarterback Mike Quinn and senior offensive lineman Austin Sowell. Senior linebacker Odell Benton and junior defensive back Miles Williams are the defensive captains.

TOUGH SLATE: Elon’s 2014 schedule will be yet another slate that will challenge the Phoenix. Of the 11 FCS teams on the schedule, four earned berths in the 2013 FCS Playoffs – Coastal Carolina (quarterfinalist), Maine (second round), New Hampshire (semifinalist) and Towson (runner-up). All four finished the season ranked in the top 11. Elon’s 11 FCS foes combined to post a record of 88-52 (.629) a year ago. The Phoenix will also take on Duke, an FBS opponent which ended 2013 with a 10-4 record and a final ranking of 22nd in the USA Today/Coaches poll.

NOT FAR FROM HOME: The 2014 Elon roster sports 34 players from the state of North Carolina. The Phoenix also has players from 16 other states. Elon’s roster is comprised of players from New Jersey (8), Florida (7), Virginia (7), Georgia (5), Massachusetts (4), South Carolina (4), Maryland (3), New York (3), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (2), Arizona (1), Connecticut (1), Indiana (1), Iowa (1), Missouri (1) and Tennessee (1).