Click here to view/download TTU vs. Hampton game notes (PDF)

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagle football team embarks upon its 92nd season Thursday night, hosting the Hampton University Pirates, a team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). It will be Tech's first contest against a MEAC opponent.

Kickoff in Tucker Stadium is set for 7 p.m., while festivities in the Magic 98.5 Tailgate Park begin at 4 p.m. Tickets for the game, as well as 2012 season tickets, are available online at TTUsports.com or by visiting or calling (931-372-3293) the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center.

The Golden Eagles are coming off a 2011 season in which they claimed a share of their 10th Ohio Valley Conference championship, and their first in 36 years. Hampton is also coming off a 7-4 season.
   
The first of six home games in 2012, Thursday's contest will be the first time in three years that coach Watson Brown's squad has played its first game of the season at home, following road openers at Arkansas in 2010 and Iowa in 2011.
   
Brown's teams have won all five previous home-openers, posting wins over Cumberland in 2007, Gardner-Webb in 2008, Pikeville in 2009, Lane in 2010 and Maryville College in 2011.
   
Hampton is picked for a fifth-place finish in the always-tough MEAC behind Norfolk, South Carolina State, Bethune-Cookman and FLorida A&M. The Golden Eagles have been tabbed for fourth place in the OVC, following Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State and Murray State.