Blakeney to visit QB club for next meeting

Published 9:44 pm Saturday, October 18, 2008

The Selma Quarterback Club will welcome Troy University football coach Larry Blakeney on Monday at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center.

“Blakeney comes every three or four years,” said Selma Quarterback Club quarterback W. Forrest Hatfield. “He always does a good job. He’s an entertaining speaker.”

But he will not be the club’s only attraction. Monday is also the club’s ladies’ night.

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“You can bring your lady if you got one,” Hatfield said. “If you don’t have one, you can find one.”

Blakeney has overseen the Trojans’ rise through the football ranks from an NCAA Division II team to its current status as a Football Bowl Series team and Sun Belt Conference member.

When the Trojans jumped to Division I-A status in 2001, Blakeney became only the second coach in NCAA history to lead a program from Division II to Division I-A, joining the University of Central Florida’s Gene McDowell.

In his 18 years at the helm of the Troy program, Blakeney is 139-70-1.

Under his leadership, the Trojans captured their first Sun Belt Conference title 2006. They also earned their first bowl game victory with a 41-17 win over Rice in the New Orleans Bowl