ALBANY FOOTBALL NOTES

EASTERN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE:   Albany and eleven other Division II schools from New England and New York have joined together to form the Eastern Football Conference. The EFC, which debuts this season, will be split into two six-team divisions. Divisional winners will play for the championship on Saturday, November 22, at a site to be determined. The Great Danes' division includes C.W. Post, Stony Brook, Pace, Southern Connecticut State and Sacred Heart. Massachusetts schools make up the other division. American International, Assumption, Bentley, Stonehill, Massachusetts-Lowell and Merrimack are in that group.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS:   Senior offensive tackle Loren Baker and junior defensive end Matt Caliandro have been selected to the 1997 College Football Preview Preseason All-America Team. Baker, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound lineman, blocked for a unit which averaged 330 yards per game last year. Caliandro, at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, made 71 tackles with 3.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and one interception. Senior quarterback Joe Savino and Caliandro were named to the publication's national scholar-athlete team.

ALBANY'S TOP DAWG: UA's Bob Ford ranks 10th among active NCAA Division II head coaches with 146 career victories. Ford, who began the Albany program as a club team in 1970, has a 137-98 record in 24 varsity seasons. Ford is tied for third among active coaches with 28 years of service, beginning his career at St. Lawrence. Jim Malosky (Minnesota-Duluth) is ranked first with 39 years as a Division II head coach, while Bud Elliott (Eastern New Mexico) is second with 29. Ron Harms (Texas A&M-Kingsville) and Ford share third place.

STAFF ASSIGNMENTS: The Albany football staff has four new assistant coaches. Don Mion, who played at the University at Albany and Colonie (N.Y.) Central High School, coaches the defensive line. Mion, who played on Albany's undefeated 1974 squad, was the head coach at Shaker High School in Latham, New York for the last 11 years. Declan Walsh, Chad Martinovich and John Vitullo are also first-year assistants. Walsh's brother, Ed, was an Albany graduate assistant earlier this decade.

ROLLING SEVEN:   The Great Danes recorded seven victories for the first time since 1985 with last year's 7-3 mark. Albany reached the seven-win plateau two other times in the last 18 seasons. The '85 team finished with a 9-2 record and won the ECAC North crown, while the 1981 squad went 7-3.

UNDER CENTER:   Quarterback Joe Savino, the school's all time passing leader with 4,638 yards, owns or shares 14 Albany records as he enters his final collegiate campaign. A 5-foot-9, 182-pound signal-caller, Savino is also No. 1 on UA's charts in completions (343), attempts (690) and touchdown passes (34). A native of Norwood, N.J., Savino needs 491 yards to climb into the top spot in total offense. Patrick Ryder (1986-89) leads the way with 5,398 total yards. Savino, the 1994 ECAC Upstate New York Division III Rookie of the Year, is responsible for 10 of the 12 200-yard passing games in Albany history. He has thrown three or more scoring passes in five career games.

A PLAYER FOR ALL REASONS:   Senior split end Dan Gmelin showed his all-around abilities last year with 1,032 all-pur pose yards; the sixth highest total in school annals. Gmelin was named to the Football Gazette non-scholarship All-America team as a punt returner and received honorable mention recognition as a wideout. He caught 46 passes for 720 yards and three touchdowns, and averaged a school record 15.3 yards per punt return. Gmelin ranks third in receptions (79) and fifth in receiving yardage (1,173) among the Great Danes' most productive receivers.

ECAC ALL-STARS:   Four returning Albany players were selected to the 1996 ECAC Intercollegiate Football Conference Division II All-Star Team. The list includes QB Joe Savino, OT Loren Baker, DE Matt Caliandro and TE Seth Thomas.

ROOKIE RUNNER:   Tailback Greg Garrett established a single season record by a freshman with 696 yards on 181 carries. Ed Lemon held the previous mark with 546 yards in 1990. Garrett also set a frosh single-game record with 150 yards on 22 carries at St. Lawrence in September. He also ran for 125 and two TDs against Mercyhurst.

DEFENSIVE ADJUSTMENTS:   The Great Danes were tougher on their opponents in 1996, and allowed 18.1 points per game compared to a 27.6 average the previous season. UA defenders forced 26 turnovers and were plus-15 in turnover margin. Albany was ranked 14th among the nation's Division II leaders in pass efficiency defense with an 89.3 rating, and yielded just eight touchdown passes.

SCHEDULE CHANGE:   The Great Danes are playing an 11-game schedule for the first time, and open on September 6 at Central Connecticut State. Albany did play 11 contests in both 1977 and 1985, but was involved in post-season play on both occasions. New opponents on UA's 1997 schedule include Massachusetts-Lowell, Sacred Heart, Merrimack and Stonehill.

RADIO COVERAGE:   University at Albany football broadcasts will be aired by WROW Radio 590 AM. Rodger Wyland, the evening sports anchor at WNYT-TV (NBC-13), will call the action with Charlie Voelker providing the color commentary. WROW's pre-game show airs 15 minutes prior to broadcast.