UCA, Brown glad to be on home turf

There will be no road work for the University of Central Arkansas this week.

After playing their first two games of the season away from Conway and then getting an extended break because of circumstances beyond their control, the Bears will finally get a chance to play at Estes Stadium on Saturday night.

"We're excited to be on the stripes," said UCA Coach Nathan Brown, whose team will square off against Missouri State at 7 p.m. "It's going to look different as far as the participation, fan involvement and the overall game-day atmosphere for obvious reasons. But we're excited about it just the same and can't wait to play in front of our fans."

The last time the Bears played on their home turf was on Dec. 7, when Illinois State held on to take a 24-14 victory during the first round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. That's a 271-day gap between games played on UCA's gray and purple striped field.

But covid-19 didn't do the Bears any favors and forced a multitude of changes that contributed to the long stretch.

UCA (1-1) had to veer from its original schedule after the virus caused a mass of postponements and suspensions from conferences throughout the country. The program was eventually able to field a nine-game schedule that had the Bears playing two home games. They have since added a 10th game and a third one at home this week, with Missouri Western State visiting Oct. 31, but for Brown, the Bears' next game couldn't get here fast enough.

"We'll get a chance to sleep in our own beds," he said. "We'll get an opportunity to have a home routine Friday, which is nice. It's a little more relaxed than a travel day.

"But again, just to be out there on those stripes is huge for us. We started the season out with two games in really five days, and then you have a 23-day break. That's just the nature of the 2020 football season, though."

The Bears were thrown another curve last week, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The Bears had their road game at Arkansas State in Jonesboro rescheduled for Oct. 10, leading to the Bears' longer-than-average time break.

However, the excitement surrounding UCA's home opener is apparent, junior linebacker Drew Matthews said.

"It's been a while, and we're ready to get out there in front of our fans instead another team's fans," he mentioned. "The thing with us is that we try to stay ready so we don't have to get ready. Even though we've had this time off, we've been doing the things we've needed to be ready.

"With us being at home, we'll certainly be ready."

The anticipation has been turned up a notch because of who'll be standing on the opposing sidelines. Bobby Petrino, who spent four seasons as head coach at the University of Arkansas before being fired in 2012, is in his first year with Missouri State.

Under normal circumstances, fans' reaction within the stadium to Petrino's return to Arkansas would possibly be noteworthy throughout, but there's nothing normal about anything these days.

The capacity at Estes Stadium will be at 20% in order to align with covid-19 protocols. Earlier in the week, UCA Athletic Director Brad Teague talked about a number of guidelines that will be in place for the game, including specified seating.

"We'll have signage in the stadium that'll keep people distanced," he said. "If you're within your own family unit, you can sit together. Otherwise, we're skipping every two rows so there'll be plenty of distancing in the stadium."

The game will also kick off later than usual. All six of UCA's games last year began no later than 6 p.m., with many taking place in the early afternoon. According to Teague, Saturday's 7 p.m. start was done to allow Missouri State a chance to make the 185-mile trip from Springfield, Mo., to Conway, on the same day. Missouri State, which will return home afterward, is doing the same for UCA when the two teams play Oct. 17.

Those factors aren't something Brown is dwelling on. He's just happy the Bears won't have to travel for a game.

"We know the crowd is not going to look the same as it does a lot of years," he said. "But we'll have that 20 percent capacity in there, and we know that the people in there will be full Bear supporters. There's something special about that.

"We know how special it is to play on the stripes, and we do a good job of defending the stripes year in and year out. That's our plan on Saturday night."