Bluefield University football plays in the AAC this season

Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·2 min read

Aug. 5—BLUEFIELD — More than 100 Bluefield University players were on hand at Mitchell Stadium to begin preparation for the 2022 season as Rams football hit the practice field for the first time on Wednesday evening.

Head Coach Dewey Lusk enters his sixth season at Bluefield University and the veteran coach is thrilled to assemble the team and get ready for the upcoming campaign.

"It's really great to get the kids back. There's a special vibe you just feel it amongst the group, an energy and it is good to get them back together," Lusk said.

"They are excited, they are fired up, they are ready to play. It has been quiet around campus all summer, but it has definitely gotten a lot louder since they arrived and I'm excited to start practice."

Bluefield University finished the 2021 season winning its final five games and a 6-5 record. Lusk is looking to maintain that momentum as the Rams head into a new season.

"Hopefully you pick up right where you left off last spring and last fall. We have got nine starters back on offense, and nine back on defense, and our kickers are back. You want to pick up right where we left off and you want your upperclassmen and leaders to help you with the younger kids, to bring the younger kids along," Lusk said.

"Hopefully, if we can bring those younger kids along fast enough that they will be able to help us early in the season and as you well know, that early part of our schedule is a juggernaut. We have got some talent in this new recruited group, and I know these veterans are ready to go and get at it."

The Rams open the season Aug. 27 at Thomas More University, then visit Georgetown (Ky.) College before the home opener against Emory & Henry on Sept. 10.

For the first time the Appalachian Athletic Conference is sponsoring football. The Rams are a member of the AAC but played football in the Mid-South Conference. With the AAC sponsoring football and men's volleyball beginning this school year, all BU athletic teams have a single home.

Football teams in the AAC include Bluefield, Union (Ky.) College, St. Andrews University (N.C.), Reinhardt University (Ga.), Kentucky Christian University, and Point University (Ga.).