Game will highlight special day that includes Dobyns-Bennett HOF induction for ETSU’s legendary football head coach John Robert Bell

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (Oct. 22, 2014) – The ETSU football team will be on the road again Thursday night as the Buccaneers will play their third of four public Blue-Gold scrimmage games, this time at J. Fred Johnson Stadium on the campus of Dobyns-Bennett High School.

The day will have a definitive ETSU feel, as legendary ETSU football head coach John Robert Bell will be inducted into the Dobyns-Bennett Alumni Association’s Hall of Fame at a luncheon earlier in the day. The start of the Blue-Gold scrimmage will follow at 6 p.m. that evening, and admission is free to the public. Fans are also encouraged to arrive early and tailgate if they wish.

“We are really excited to be coming to Kingsport,” said ETSU head coach Carl Torbush, whose team will also have a public on-campus scrimmage at 3 p.m. on Nov. 1 during Homecoming. “This is about showing the entire region that our team is East Tennessee’s team. We are playing for our entire region and building something everyone can be proud of.

“To be coming to Kingsport on the same day that Coach Bell is inducted into the Dobyns-Bennett Hall of Fame is perfect timing. Coach Bell coached some of the most successful teams in our program’s history, and what he did with the 1969 team will always be remembered.”

The 1969 team certainly has a special place in the hearts and minds of ETSU fans. That season, the Bucs went undefeated, finishing the year at 10-0-1, and defeated Terry Bradshaw and his Louisiana Tech team 34-14 in the Grantland Rice Bowl.

Even today, Bell is remembered on campus as anyone who enters the west side of the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center must cross a road named for the former coach – John Robert Bell Drive. ETSU athletics will have a contingent of administrative staff in attendance for Thursday’s luncheon.

The Kingsport scrimmage is one of only two remaining opportunities for fans to see the Buccaneers this fall. The team will participate in a final Blue-Gold Game during Homecoming Saturday at 3 p.m. on the practice fields next to the Center for Physical Activity.

For more on ETSU football throughout the 2014-15 school year, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football link.