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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ORANGE, Calif. – The clock is ticking… and that’s enough for Chapman University football coach Bob Owens to be glad the introductions are over with. Last August, the Panthers and their then, first-year head coach needed a lot of getting to know each other besides learning a new playbook. But they also had an extra week to prepare for their first game which wasn’t until mid-September. Thursday, as Chapman is expecting between 80 and 90 players to report for the first team practice, Owens and his squad will have exactly 23 days before the opening kickoff of the 2007 season. The Panthers will host Menlo College on Sept. 8 at Wilson Field with a 7 p.m. start. Owens, now in his second season at Chapman, is looking to make this the Panthers’ first winning season since 1999. He’s on the right track, having doubled the team’s win total from two wins in 2005 to a 4-5 record in 2006. Chapman accomplished this with simple goals like winning at home (the Panthers were 3-1 at Wilson Field) and playing solid defense. In fact, the Panthers kept their opponents off the scoreboard like fans haven’t seen since 1998, allowing just 22.8 points per game. The Panthers also return approximately 50 players from last year’s team, including 18 players who started two or more games for Chapman. Following standard NCAA and team meetings, Chapman officially opens camp on Thursday with a 3 p.m. practice at Wilson Field.
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