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TAILGATING INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDELINES
- Entrance will open at 9 a.m. and closed to incoming vehicles at 5 p.m.
- Extreme caution must be taken when driving through area.
- Tailgating assignments consist of 3 parking spots.  Each group will get 1 assigned area.
- Each assigned tailgate area will be allowed a maximum of one vehicle.
- Areas will be assigned in sequence based on order of arrival.  It is important to fill the tailgate areas in sequence in order to maximize space in an orderly, safe fashion.
- The tailgate area will close once all the areas have been filled or at 5 p.m.
- All participants are expected to respect fellow tailgaters.
- All participants are expected to follow local, State, and Federal Laws.
- Participants who are currently enrolled NSU students are expected to abide by NSU Student Rules and Regulations. 
- No tent stakes may be used on parking lot asphalt

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) are set to play host to the defending Division II National Champions when the team welcomes the No. 1-ranked Pittsburg State Gorillas (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) in the 2012 season opener.

Kickoff time is 6 p.m. (CT) Aug. 30 at Doc Wadley Stadium (12,000) in Tahlequah, Okla. The game can be heard live on KTLQ 1350 AM in Tahlequah with Scott Pettus and Sean Rowly providing commentary. The game will also be streamed live on America One (b2tv.com, subscription based).
 
Pregame Notes
BLACK JERSEYS  .  .  .  NSU will don an alternate black uniform on special occasions throughout the 2012 campaign . . . the jerseys will be worn tonight against the Gorillas to celebrate the first game for the RiverHawks in the MIAA.
 
MAKING A SPLASH  .  .  .  The RiverHawks are entering their first season as members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Assocation, and the theme for the inaugural year in its new home is “Making a Splash in the MIAA” . . . NSU was an independent last season after spending 16 years in the Lone Star Conference . . . the MIAA is one of the strongest football conferences in the country, as it boasts the defending national champions in Pittsburg State and four teams that advanced to the Division II Championship a year ago . . . this season marks the 100-year anniversary of the MIAA.
 
BRUTAL OPENING SCHEDULE AWAITS NSU  .  .  .  Northeastern State has one of the most treacherous slates in the country to open the 2012 campaign . . . of NSU's first seven opponents, five were either ranked or receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association Preseason Poll . . . the RiverHawks will open the season with top-ranked and defending national champion Pittsburg State (Aug. 30) . . . NSU will also travel to No. 20 Washburn (Sept. 15) and No. 3 Northwest Missouri State (Sept. 29), before playing host to No. 18 Missouri Western State (Oct. 6) and RV Central Missouri (Oct. 20) . . . an unprecedented four members of the MIAA received bids to the 24-team NCAA Championship last season, and Northeastern State is scheduled to face all four of those teams . . . the four opponents are Pittsburg State, Washburn, Northwest Missouri State, and Missouri Western State.
 
NSU SELECTED NINTH IN PRESEASON COACHES POLLS  .  .  .  The Northeastern State University football team was selected ninth in the preseason Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association coaches poll, it was announced at the 2012 MIAA Football Media Day at the Downtown Marriott in Kansas City . . . the RiverHawks were also picked 10th in the preseason media poll for their inaugural season as members of the MIAA . . . defending Division II national champion Pittsburg State was selected as the preseason favorite in both polls, while Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western were the other two programs to receive first-place votes in both polls (full polls on page 4).
 
PRESS CONFERENCES  IN 2012 .  .  .  NSU Head Coach Kenny Evans and select players will conduct press conferences on the Thursday before each home game this season . . . all media are encouraged to attend . . . press conferences will be held in the Annex Building on the NSU campus in Broken Arrow, Okla. . . . press conference dates will be Aug. 23 (prior to Pitt State game), Sept. 20 (Emporia State), Oct. 4 (Missouri Western State), Oct. 18 (Central Missouri), and Nov. 1 (Lincoln).
 
THE HEAD COACHES  .  .  .  NSU's KENNY EVANS (Northeastern State, '82) is in his fifth season as the RiverHawks head coach . . . he collected his first career collegiate coaching victory on Oct. 18, 2008, with a 45-20 triumph over Southwest Baptist . . . he recorded a 3-19 record in his first two years at the school, but he has begun to turn around the program with a combined 13-10 mark over the last two years . . . he led NSU to a 6-5 mark in 2010 and a 7-5 record last season, giving the RiverHawks their first back-to-back winning seasons since 1998-00 . . . Evans currently owns a career 16-29 record at NSU, his first stop as a head coach.
            He has coached or recruited nine All-Americans, 11 conference players of the year, more than a dozen players who have made it into the National Football League, as well as numerous all-conference selections at seven different colleges . . . before taking the job at NSU, Evans coached linebackers at Louisiana Tech for Derek Dooley in 2008 . . . he was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2005 by the Football Foundation while coaching at the University of North Texas on the staff of Darrell Dickey.
            The Warner, Okla., native and Northeastern State graduate began his coaching career at Miami (Okla.) High School in 1981 before joining the college ranks as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma for Barry Switzer and the Sooners . . . afterwards, he followed long-time Sooner offensive coordinator Galen Hall to the University of Florida where he coached wide receivers for the Gators for one year . . . he has also made stops at Southeastern Oklahoma and Missouri Southern as coordinators.
 
            Pitt State's TIM BECK (Pittsburg State, '88) enters his third season as Pittsburg State University's head football coach and his 26th year on the Gorillas' staff . . . Beck led Pitt State to the school's fourth all-time national championship and a 13-1 record in his second season leading the Gorillas . . . he earned NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year honors from Liberty Mutual, the Don Hansen Football Committee and FieldTurf™, as well as MIAA Coach of the Year accolades.
            Beck served for 16 years as the Gorillas' offensive coordinator and 22 seasons as a member of the Pitt State coaching staff before becoming his alma mater's 14th Head Football Coach at a press conference on Dec. 9, 2009 . . . in his inaugural season, Beck guided a youthful Pitt State squad to a 6-6 overall record, including a 13-9 victory over Concordia-St. Paul in the 2010 Mineral Water Bowl at Excelsior Springs, Mo.
 
LEADING THE INDEPENDENTS  .  .  .  The RiverHawks took a year off from playing in a conference during the 2011 campaign, when the team competed as an independent during the transition from the Lone Star Conference to its new home in the MIAA . . . Northeastern State led all Division II independents last season in passing offense (291.4 yards per game), punt returns (16.3 per return) and sacks allowed (1.08 per game) . . . NSU was also second in total offense (440.8 ypg) and pass efficiency defense (115.5) last season.
 
GOING BOWLING IN 2011  .  .  .  Northeastern State made its first appearance in a bowl game since making the transition to Division II last season . . . the RiverHawks posted a 7-4 mark in the regular season and was awarded a bid to the Mineral Water Bowl, one of only two Division II bowl games . . . Northeastern State fell 28-14 to Minnesota State University in Excelsior Springs, Mo.
 
NSU HELPS WELCOME UTSA TO COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL  .  .  .  Northeastern State traveled to San Antonio, Texas, on Sept. 3, 2011, for a meeting with the UTSA Roadrunners . . . the special occasion marked the first football contest in UTSA history, which was won by the Roadrunners, 31-3 . . . the game attracted 56,743 fans, which was the largest crowd to ever watch an NSU football game and the largest crowd in NCAA to ever watch a program's first collegiate football game.
 
2011 HOME ATTENDANCE  TOP 30 IN THE NATION .  .  .  Northeastern State averaged 5,441 fans at its home games last season . . . that mark ranked No. 29 in the nation amongst all Division II institutions . . . the RiverHawks welcomed a total of 27,206 fans to its five home games in 2011, which ranked No. 30 in the nation . . . NSU recorded a 4-1 mark at Doc Wadley Stadium last season, with its only blemish coming in the home finale against No. 2 Midwestern State (37-34).
 
NSU WINS SIX STRAIGHT .  .  .  The RiverHawks won six-straight games during the 2011 campaign, starting with a 52-7 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle on Sept. 24 and ending with a 35-7 triumph over Central Oklahoma on Nov. 5 . . . the streak was the third-longest in program history since the team converted to Division II in 1998, and it was also the longest win streak since 2000.
 
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