Oct. 8, 2007

Erie, Pa. - While the Mercyhurst football team still has a lot of unfinished business in the 2007 season with four Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) games remaining, the squad now knows what its schedule will look like in 2008. Mercyhurst will leave the GLIAC following the 2007-08 school year and move into the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with a revamped schedule.

Mercyhurst will play nine regular season PSAC games - seven against PSAC West teams and two cross-over games - and a PSAC Playoff game on Nov. 8, 2008. The playoff games will be hosted by the West and will feature the top finisher in the West against the top finisher in the East, the second-place team in the West against the second-place team in the East, etc.

The Lakers will play seven games in the Erie Region, hosting four regular season games and the playoff game, while making short road trips to Gannon and Edinboro. Mercyhurst will also play games at Cheyney, Bloomsburg and Indiana (Pa.).

Mercyhurst opens the season with its longest trip of the year, playing at Cheyney on Saturday, Sept. 6. A week later, the Lakers will travel to Bloomsburg to complete its cross-over schedule.

Mercyhurst will begin PSAC West play by hosting Clarion Sept. 20 in the first of three consecutive home games. The Lakers will then host Slippery Rock and Lock Haven the next two weeks. Following those games, the Lakers will play in the Battle For the Niagara Cup against Gannon at Gannon University Field on Oct. 11. Mercyhurst has beaten Gannon two straight years, including a 49-28 victory at Gannon University Field this year.

After the annual rivalry game, Mercyhurst will close the season with three teams that are a combined 15-2 this year. The Lakers will play at Indiana (Pa.) on October 18, before playing at Edinboro and hosting California (Pa.) to conclude the regular season. The game against Edinboro will mark the renewal of a regional rivalry as the two teams have not played since Edinboro handed Mercyhurst a 14-6 defeat on Sept. 16, 2000. Edinboro and Gannon are the only teams on the 2008 schedule that Mercyhurst has ever played before.

When Mercyhurst announced its plans to leave the GLIAC for the PSAC, one of the biggest reasons for the move was the decrease in travel costs. The Lakers will travel 1,792 miles for their five GLIAC conference road games this year, but that number will decrease to 871 in 2008.

MERCYHURST FOOTBALL
PSAC SCHEDULE 2008

Sept. 6 at Cheyney
Sept. 13 at Bloomsburg
Sept. 20 vs. Clarion
Sept. 27 vs. Slippery Rock
Oct. 4 vs. Lock Haven
Oct. 11 at Gannon
Oct. 18 at Indiana (Pa.)
Oct. 25 at Edinboro
Nov. 1 vs. California (Pa.)
Nov. 8 at home in PSAC Playoff