• Location: Valdosta, Ga.
• Founded: 1906
• Enrollment: 12,491
• Nickname: Blazers
• Colors: Black and red
• Conference: Gulf South Conference
• Semifinals: Defeated Minnesota State-Mankato, 35-19

Tidbits

• The success of Valdosta State athletic programs helped earn Valdosta, Ga., the recognition of ESPN’s “TitleTown USA,” which was determined by fan voting across America in 2008.
• More than 1,100 camellias line the Jewel Whitehead Camellia Trail at Valdosta State. It is believed to be the only camellia trail on a university campus.
• Legendary gunfighter Doc Holliday spent part of his childhood in Valdosta, and his father was the city’s third mayor. Valdosta also was the home of James Lord Pierpoint, the composer who wrote “Jingle Bells.”
• Alabamian on the team: Graham Craig (No. 10), a quarterback from Birmingham’s Spain Park High School.
• Largest player: Offensive guard Edmund Kugbila (No. 70), 6-foot-5, 347 pounds.
• Famous alumni: Nancy Grace, host of CNN’s “Nancy Grace” show, attended Valdosta State before graduating from Mercer University; Debra Fordham, writer and producer for the sitcom “Scrubs” and the television series “Army Wives”; Dusty Bonner, quarterback in 2000-01 and two-time Harlon Hill winner.