Troy sees program success in transition to FBS

If there is one thing the CMU football team’s GMAC Bowl opponent is not missing, it is history.
The Troy Trojans have quickly risen to success since becoming a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2001, winning the Sun Belt Conference championship this season — their fourth consecutive since 2006.

“Troy is a very talented team as evidenced by their undefeated conference record and their Sun Belt Conference championship,” said CMU coach Butch Jones in a statement following the bowl game announcement. “(They are) a program that consistently wins year in and year out and will be a great challenge for our football program.”

There has been one constant throughout the rise and transition — coach Larry Blakeney, in his 19th season at Troy with a record of 153-76-1.

Blakeney was named coach of the Trojans on Dec. 3, 1990.

The decision was made after Robert Maddox led the program to three consecutive losing seasons. The program, known as Troy State University and a member of NCAA Division II at the time, had won two national championships and three conference titles in the 1980s.

It was used to winning.

So much so, the school made the decision to pursue a Division I membership in 1991.
“It became an opportunity as head coach as I knew they were moving,” Blakeney said. “(After coaching in high school), I wanted to get back into that type of position.”

Blakeney Era

Blakeney’s first season ended much like the previous seasons under Maddox, finishing with a 5-6 record.

Following the season, the school was granted permission to join the Football Championship Subdivision (then Division I-AA) and it used the 1992 season as a transition period. That year, Blakeney began to orchestrate a turnaround through several large recruiting classes, leading the school to a 10-1 record.

In 1993, Blakeney took the program to a playoff semifinal game against Marshall after finishing the regular season undefeated (10-0-1) with a No. 1 ranking.

“The transition from Division II to I-AA was much easier for us,” Blakeney said, citing the team’s ability to still use Division II recruiting rules and acquire players without any restrictions.

Blakeney went a combined 31-6 between 1994 and 1996, including winning the first Southland Football League title and making another trip to the FCS semifinals.

Making the jump

With continued success on the field and a growing student body, Troy State decided to make the final jump to FBS (Division I-A) on June 3, 1998, as the school’s board of trustees voted to apply for membership.

In 1999, the school announced the university would become an official member of the FBS, beginning with the 2001 season. It would go on to post 11-2 and 10-2 records in 1999 and 2000, respectively, including its third conference title in five years.

Troy State continued its winning ways during the transition, going 7-4.

Following a 6-6 season in 2003, the team was invited to join the fledgling Sun Belt Conference for the 2004 season.

“We were looking for a home all along,” Blakeney said. “They needed some teams and they let us in. They have been a great umbrella for us all along.”

Continuing strides

History was made in the Trojans’ Sun Belt debut season as the team played Northern Illinois in the Silicon Valley Classic, the program’s first bowl game.

Senior DeMarcus Ware was named conference Defensive Player of the Year and was drafted in the first round (11th overall pick) of the 2005 National Football League Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. The team has had 10 letterwinners drafted in the NFL since 1999, seven coming in the past two years.

Since then, the school decided to drop “State” from its name and the coaching staff has implemented a new playbook: an offensive-minded approach that has led the Trojans to four consecutive conference titles and three bowl appearances.

“It’s all about recruiting and being able to win at the Division I level,” Blakeney said.