Feb. 17, 2012

2012 Dukes Football Schedule

PITTSBURGH - Duquesne, coming off a 2011 Northeast Conference co-championship, announced its 2012 football schedule today.

The Dukes, who will return nine starters from a team that finished with five consecutive wins to go 9-2 in 2011 (7-1 in the NEC), will open at Old Dominion on Sept. 1. It will be the second time in three years that the Dukes will play a Colonial Athletic Association team on the road (DU lost at No. 11/12 Delaware in 2010).

The Monarchs went 10-3 and 6-2 in the CAA (2nd place) in advancing to the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. ODU finished the season ranked tenth nationally in just the third year of the program's existence. ODU, the winningest start-up program in FCS history with a three-year record of 27-8, has sold out all 21 home games since reinstating football in 2009.

Duquesne opens at home against Pioneer Football League member Dayton on Sept. 8. This will be the fifth consecutive season the Dukes and Flyers, who have posted 34 winning seasons in the past 35 years, will meet. DU has won four of the past five - including a 22-13 win at Dayton last season - to take a 5-4 lead in the series.

DU will travel to Indiana to face another Pioneer League opponent in Valparaiso on Sept. 15.

The Dukes, who are beginning their fifth season as an associate member of the NEC, begin defense of their co-championship at Bryant on Sept. 22.

DU's NEC home opener is against Saint Francis, Pa. on Sept. 29. The SFU game will be part of Duquesne's Homecoming Weekend.

The Dukes follow an off week with a trip to Central Connecticut State on Oct. 13 before returning home for back-to-back games with Sacred Heart (Oct. 20) and Monmouth (Oct. 27).

The month of November opens with the short trip to Moon Township to face cross-town rival Robert Morris on Nov. 3.

Duquesne hosts 2011 co-champion Albany, which earned last year's NEC's FCS Playoff berth by virtue of its 38-10 win over DU last year, on Senior Day (Nov. 10).

DU closes out the regular season at Wagner on Nov. 17.

DU, under seventh-year head coach Jerry Schmitt, opens spring practice on March 14. The 15 practice sessions will culminate with the annual spring game slated for Saturday, April 14 on Rooney Field.

For ticket information regarding the 2012 season, fans are encouraged to call 412-232-DUKE (3853).

2012 SCHEDULE QUICK NOTES

OPENING ON THE ROAD: DU opens at Old Dominion on Sept. 1. ODU, a fourth-year program, played before an average crowd of 19,818 for its seven home games last season. The Monarchs finished 10-3 including a 55-48 loss to Georgia Southern in the FCS Playoffs.

YOU AGAIN?: This will be the fifth consecutive season Duquesne will face Dayton in non-conference play. The two schools compete annually in a number of other sports as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. DU has won four of the past five meetings to take a 5-4 series lead over the Flyers who compete in the Pioneer Football League.

FIVE AT HOME: The Dukes will play five times at home and six times on the road.

OFF TO INDIANA: Valparaiso which, like Dayton, is member of the Pioneer League is on the schedule for the second-straight year.

NON-CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN: DU's three non-conference games will be against a representative of the Colonial Athletic Association (Old Dominion) and a pair of Pioneer League schools (Dayton & Valparaiso).