FOOTBALL
OBU, SAU to play in El Dorado
Defending Great American Conference champion Ouachita Baptist will face Southern Arkansas in the Murphy USA Classic Game at 2 p.m. Oct. 17 at Memorial Stadium in El Dorado.
It will be the second trip to El Dorado for the Tigers, who beat Arkansas-Monticello 38-20 in 2011.
"The last time we played in the Murphy USA Classic was such a great experience for our team," Coach Todd Knight said during a news conference Tuesday. "They do such a great job in El Dorado of creating a great atmosphere to play in. The stadium is first-rate, and we have such a large group of alumni there that it makes for a great environment for our kids."
OBU Athletic Director David Sharp noted the history between the schools and the impact the conference has made in restoring rivalries from the old Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference.
"We've really done a good job of rekindling those old rivalries," Sharp said. "They never really went away, but the GAC has helped re-establish those over the last four years."
Southern Arkansas will make its second consecutive appearance, and fifth overall, in the game and will be the designated home team.
"We are very excited in getting to play the defending GAC champions in Ouachita Baptist," SAU Coach Bill Keopple said. "We have a lot of respect for them and their program. We have had a lot of really good battles over the years and expect to have another one in this game."
OBU leads the all-time series 36-34-1. The schools are 2-2 since joining the GAC.
SOCCER
UALR, ASU picked 8th, 9th in SBC
UALR and Arkansas State were selected eighth and ninth, respectively, in the Sun Belt Conference women's preseason poll.
The poll, selected by the league's coaches, was released Tuesday by the conference office.
UALR earned 32 points while ASU had 16 points.
South Alabama was picked to win the Sun Belt, earning eight first-place votes and 98 points overall. Troy was picked second. Texas State earned a first-place vote and was picked third. Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Appalachian State were picked fourth through sixth. Louisiana-Lafayette, which was picked seventh, earned a first-place vote. Louisiana-Monroe was selected tenth.
No UALR or ASU player was selected to the preseason all-conference team.
OBU favorite to win GAC
The Ouachita Baptist women's team was picked to win the Great American Conference championship by the league's coaches, the conference office announced Tuesday.
The Tigers won the program's first GAC title last season. Senior Haley Hatcher, the two-time GAC offensive player of the year, returns along with junior Tessa Woodcock, a first-team all-conference selection and the 2014 GAC Tournament MVP.
Southwestern Oklahoma State was picked second in the poll. Harding was third followed by defending regular-season champion Southern Nazarene, Oklahoma Baptist, East Central (Okla.) and Northwestern Oklahoma State.
Sports on 08/12/2015