TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) are set to welcome the Lindenwood Lions (1-0, 1-0 MIAA) for the 2016 home opener. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at Doc Wadley Stadium (8,300) in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

The game can be heard live on KEOK 102.1 FM in Tahlequah with Scott Pettus (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.

GAME NOTES
THE MATCHUP  .  .  .  NSU and LWU have met in the season finale in each of the last two seasons, which also represent the only two meetings between the two teams in their respective program histories . . . Lindenwood took down Northeastern State 35-16 in Tahlequah to close out the 2014 campaign, but the RiverHawks returned the favor by ending the Lions' season with a 17-14 setback in St. Charles last year.
 
Series History (Series Tied 1-1)

Date	Winner	Score
2015	NSU	17-14
2014	LWU	35-16

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 3-20 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 the 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 a Washburn staff that completely turned around the 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 Schurig'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. 
            LWU'S PATRICK ROSS (Puget Sound, '97) is in his 13th season with the Lions . . . he has compiled a 91-49 record during his tenure . . . he is in his 15th season overall as a collegiate head coach . . . Ross owns a career coaching record of 104-55, his teams have appeared in the NAIA Football Championship Series six times, and twice he has earned NAIA National Coach of the Year honors . . . in his first 10 years in St. Charles, he compiled a record of 85-32, won three HAAC championships, advanced to the NAIA national playoffs five times, including a trip to the national championship game in 2009, and played in the 2013 NCAA Division II Mineral Water Bowl . . . he became the all-time leader in wins at Lindenwood in 2007 . . . the Lions have become one of the top scoring teams at any level of college football over the last 10 years . . . Ross has directed the top-five offenses in school history, and nine of the top 10 . . . Lindenwood has averaged 35.8 points since Ross has come to Lindenwood, including over 40 points the last seven years . . . last season was a historic one for the Lindenwood football program as it had its first NFL Draft Pick in program history . . . Desir was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round with the 127th overall pick . . . he was just the eighth player in conference history to be taken in the first four rounds of the draft . . . among the many firsts set by Desir was participating in the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl, was invited to the NFL Combine, and having the first NFL Pro Day at Lindenwood.
 
ON THE UPTICK .  .  . The RiverHawks football program is enjoying Year 3 of the Rob Robinson . . . the program continues to move in the right direction and the 2016 season is sure to show further progress toward bringing Northeastern State back to prominence . . . Robinson's first year saw the team go 0-11, but it took him just one year to rebound as the 2015 team posted a 3-8 record . . . the coaching staff has added plenty of playmakers that will help generate more wins this year.
 
SACK PARTY . . . Northeastern State recorded 26 quarterback sacks last season, which was the most in a single season since the 2005 squad finished with 28 . . . the RiverHawks had four sacks each against Pittsburg State, Missouri Western State and Nebraska-Kearney, while registering three against Central Missouri and Washburn . . . NSU had two sacks each against Fort Hays State, Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Southern State. . . the last time NSU posted multiple four-sack games in a single season was in 2010 . . . Steffon Herd led the team with 5.0 sacks, which was the most in a single campaign since Travis Boswell finished with 7.0 in 2011 . . . Irving Steele and T'Nheous Smith finished in a tie for second on the team with 4.0 sacks each . . . Quincy Dotson has posted 3.5 sacks this year.

DON'T THROW ON US .  .  . Northeastern State defensive coordinator Josh Lattimer has injected an exciting new brand of defense to the RiverHawks program . . . in his two years leading his side of the football, NSU has been one of the MIAA's most dominant team's in terms of shutting down the opponent's pass game . . . in 2014, the RiverHawks finished fourth in the league in pass defense, allowing just 187.1 yards per game through the air . . . the 2015 squad allowed four additional yards per game (191.1) but fared better in the league, finishing second in the conference only to the team that went on to claim the national championship (Northwest Missouri State).
 
COMPETING AGAINST THE BEST .  .  . NSU has boasted one of the strongest strengths of schedule since joining the MIAA in 2012 . . . the league always features a plethora of teams that earn national rankings, and this season is no different . . . of the 11 conference opponents on NSU's schedule for 2016, six earned preseason national rankings or were receiving votes from the American Football Coaches Association . . . the three ranked teams were No. 1 Northwest Missouri, No. 20 Central Missouri and No. 24 Emporia State . . . the three RV teams were Pittsburg State, Fort Hays State and Central Oklahoma. 
 
BRING 'EM BACK .  .  . Last season, Northeastern State returned just 23 players from the 2014 team, while adding 64 newcomers to the roster . . . there were also just nine seniors on the team . . . the 2016 squad has much more stability, with 58 returning players and a whopping 23 seniors . . . the RiverHawks also began the 2016 season with 48 newcomers . . . in total, there are 23 seniors, 13 juniors, 15 sophomores and 55 freshmen.
 
NSU SELECTED 9TH/10TH IN PRESEASON POLLS .  .  . The Northeastern State football team was picked to finish ninth in the 2016 MIAA Coaches Poll . . . the RiverHawks were also selected by the league media to finish 10th this season . . . this tied the highest NSU has been picked in its four previous years as league members, as the green and white was also picked ninth (coaches) and 10th (media) in a then-15 team league in 2012 . . . Northeastern State was chosen 11th (coaches) and 10th (media) in 2013, and the RiverHawks were selected to finish last (12th) in the two preseason polls in both 2014 and 2015 . . . Northeastern State collected 31 points in the coaches' poll and 117 points in the media poll . . . the team was selected to finish 12th last season . . . NSU finished 3-8 overall a year ago and finished in a tie for ninth in the conference.
 
NSU ATHLETICS PUBLICATIONS RECEIVE NATIONAL RECOGNITION .  .  . The Northeastern State Athletics Media Relations Department earned national recognition for its publications designs during the 2015-16 academic year, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) . . . headlining the accolades was the 2015 women's and men's soccer schedule poster, which won the award for Nation's Best Poster in the College Division . . . the College Division consists of every non-NCAA Division I school, including NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and all NAIA and NJCAA institutions . . . the NSU Athletics schedule posters dominated the entire poster category, winning five of the top six positions . . . the 2015-16 women's and men's basketball schedule poster earned runner-up honors, while the 2016 softball/baseball poster was selected third in the nation . . . the 2016 women's tennis poster received fourth place in the division, while the 2015 football poster was honored as sixth-best in the country . . . the NSU Athletics schedule posters are a collaboration between the NSU Athletics Media Relations Department and the NSU Communications and Marketing Department . . . CoSIDA sponsors a variety of media guide/publication and digital design contests and an annual writing contest for its members, with every CoSIDA member at every level having the opportunity to receive recognition for his/her work . . . the judging is done by news media/communications professionals who utilize those publications in their work.

2016 NSU TAILGATING GUIDELINES .  .  . Entrance will open three hours prior to kickoff and will close to incoming vehicles two hours prior kickoff . . . extreme caution must be taken when driving through the area . . . tailgating assignments consist of the equivalent of three parking spots . . . each group will get one 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 . . . 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 . . . vehicles will not be allowed to leave the tailgate area until kickoff.
 
TICKETS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY IN 2016-17 .  .  . All fans wishing to attend an NSU home football or basketball contest this season will be required to show a ticket prior to entering the facilities . . . this is the third-straight year ID's have been required at those events . . . NSU students and faculty/staff are allowed free admittance, but NSU ID's are not accepted as a form of entry . . . tickets can be purchased at NSU's ticketing website, goriverhawkstickets.com . . . NSU students and faculty/staff can access goriverhawkstickets.com and secure their free tickets (either printable or downloaded to your smart phone) through their goNSU accounts . . . for questions regarding ticket options, please contact Brynn Hamner at 918.444.3901.
 
VIDEOBOARD UPGRADE UNVEILED LAST SEASON .  .  . The 2016 campaign is the first full season that the RiverHawks will be utilizing the new videoboard that was debuted on October 3 of last year at Doc Wadley Stadium . . . funded completely through private dollars, the new project is estimated to cost $100,000 . . . the 16' x 9' videoboard with 32' branded top banner and 8' x 9' backlit advertising panels debuted at NSU's Oct. 3 home football game against Northwest Missouri State . . . Duckworth said the project cost was greatly reduced because there is already a current structure in place . . . one of the major difference fans will notice right away will be a larger videoboard that goes from standard definition to high definition . . . with the recent turf installation project completed this past summer, NSU has now invested approximately $500,000 in upgrades to Doc Wadley Stadium last year.
 
RIVERHAWKS CONTINUE TO ENJOY NEW TURF UPGRADE .  .  . Northeastern State Director of Athletics Tony Duckworth selected Hellas Construction to provide and install new Matrix® Turf at Doc Wadley Stadium for the 2015 season . . . the new playing surface replaced the first iteration of field turf that was installed at Gable Field in 2005 . . . the newest edition to the stadium features top-of-the-line turf which is currently utilized most notably by the Dallas Cowboys, Baylor University and the University of California . . . the design features the same NSU logo that currently dons center court inside the NSU Event Center, and the end zones have a black background with "NORTHEASTERN STATE" and "RIVERHAWKS" in large, white lettering outlined in NSU green . . . Hellas defines Matrix® Turf as the finest synthetic turf system available . . . from the advanced fibers, down through the patented REALFILL™ and reinforced backing – each component is part of an authentic, artificial turf system . . . Matrix® Turf has undergone decades of in-depth research and intense testing, resulting in countless innovations that make each Matrix synthetic turf field stronger and more reliable than ever before . . . Matrix® Turf is also held to a higher standard when it comes to testing for strength, safety and overall performance . . . each Matrix® Turf field is designed to provide a superior athletic experience at all levels of competition.
 
GO RIVERHAWKS GEAR .  .  . Northeastern State University Athletics partners with Advanced-Online to bring fans a one-of-a-kind online shopping site, goriverhawksgear.com . . . NSU fans have another avenue for acquiring Northeastern State apparel and accessories . . . the store is loaded with options for fans of all ages, ranging from T-shirts, polos and sweatshirts, to home office supplies, drinkware and kitchen essentials . . . every item is branded with official Northeastern State athletics and university logos, and select RiverHawks gear and accessories are customizable . . . the online store can be accessed by simply visiting www.goriverhawksgear.com . . . the shop can also be viewed by clicking on the shopping cart at the top right of www.goriverhawksgo.com, the static graphic underneath the main picture or the rotating horizontal carousel just above the video player.