THE GAME . . . The Northeastern State RiverHawks (1-2, 1-2 MIAA) return home for the second time this season on Saturday when they host the Fort Hays State Tigers (2-1, 2-1 MIAA) . . . kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. Sept. 24 at Doc Wadley Stadium/Gable Field (8,300) in Tahlequah, Okla. for NSU's annual Homecoming Game . . . the game can be heard live locally on KEOK 102.1 FM with Bill Huddleston (play-by-play) and Sean Rowley (color) providing commentary . . . a free audio broadcast can be found at goriverhawksgo.com . . . the game will be streamed live on Stretch Internet (http://portal.stretchinternet.com/nsu, subscription based) . . . a football-only season pass is available for $69.95, and a day pass can be purchased for $9.95.

THE MATCHUP . . . NSU and FHSU have met only four previous times, with the series even at 2-2-0. Northeastern State won the first two meetings, 16-14 (1989) and 37-7 (1990). The Tigers have won both contests in MIAA action, securing a 48-13 triumph in 2014 and edging the RiverHawks, 27-13, in Hays a year ago.

THE HEAD COACHES . . . NSU's Rob Robinson (William Jewell, '00) is in his third season as the RiverHawks head coach . . . he was named the 19th head football coach in school history on Dec. 19, 2013 . . . he owns a 4-21 all-time record . . . Robinson spent the previous 12 years under Craig Schurig as a member of the Washburn Ichabod coaching staff, serving as the offensive coordinator for the last four seasons . . . he also directed the running backs from 2007-13 and coached wide receivers from 2002-06 . . . he served as the recruiting coordinator from 2002-10 and was the academic coordinator from 2010-13 . . . Robinson was an integral member of the Washburn staff that competely turned around he Ichabod program . . . Washburn averaged 3.3 wins from 1989-03 and had just one winning season, but the Ichabods averaged 7.9 wins from 2004-13 and posted 10 straight winning campaigns . . . Robinson is the second former coordinator under Schruig's tutelage to become the head coach of another program, joining Fort Hays State's Chris Brown . . . Robinson spent the 2001 season at Pittsburg State as a graduate assistant, coaching the defensive backs with Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . . the Gorillas won the MIAA Championship that year.
FHSU's Chris Brown (Pittsburg State, 1996) is in his sixth season as head coach for the Tigers . . . he owns a 32-27 career record at FHSU, including last season's 8-3 mark where the Tigers finished third in the MIAA . . . he was the defensive coordinator at Washburn from 2002-10 where he also coached defensive backs ... he was named assistant head coach at Washburn in 2010 ... prior to entering the collegiate ranks, Brown coached three seasons at Liberal High School as a secondary coach.