43 Years Ago, Delaware and Louisiana Tech Shared ABC Exposure

Delaware and Louisiana Tech will meet for the second time ever, and likely the last time for a while on Saturday. The winds of conference realignment both gave and took away this matchup. Delaware is in its inaugural year in Conference USA, Louisiana Tech heads to the Sun Belt next year. ESPN+ will stream the game, marking a much different broadcast situation from the first time the two schools met in 1982.

Delaware and Louisiana Tech were the best the FCS (then-IAA) had to offer in 1982. Delaware finished the regular season with a 10-1 record and the only loss coming to FBS Temple. Quarterback Rick Scully led the offense with 16 passing touchdowns and 13 rushing touchdowns in Tubby Raymond's fabled Wing-T scheme, while George Schmitt intercepted 13 passes to earn All-America honors.

Louisiana Tech had a similarly strong 1982 season, finishing 9-2. The Bulldogs beat FBS schools Eastern Michigan and Southern Mississippi, while losing a competitive 38-27 game to Texas A&M. On offense, Matt Dunnigan earned All-American honors with 2843 yards and 23 touchdowns, while Mike Sorenson had 10 sacks on defense. Both teams crossed paths in the Division I-AA semifinals after winning their quarterfinal games.

The ABC cameras flocked to Ruston, LA, for this semifinal clash. 40 percent of the country would see a Delaware-Louisiana Tech game that was part of a regional slate that included the Palm Bowl between Texas State and UC-Davis to decide the Division II Championship, and the other Division I-AA semifinal between Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State.

This was before the landmark NCAA vs. Oklahoma Board of Regents case, meaning the NCAA determined the TV schedule each year. The requirement of broadcasting a certain amount of lower-division games came with this responsibility. Hence, why those three games filled an empty December Saturday slate.

The regional audience saw Dan Reeder's 114 yards and rung touchdowns by Kevin Phelan and Rick Scully carry Delaware to a 17-0 win over Louisiana Tech. The Blue Hen defense intercepted Matt Dunigan three times in the shutout. Unfortunately, the game had tough viewing competition on CBS, going up against a nationally-televised Eagles-Giants game.

Delaware's ABC exploits were the pinnacle of their season. The Blue Hens subsequently lost the Division I-AA Championship to Eastern Kentucky. Interestingly enough, both schools made their returns to broadcast TV in 2025. Delaware played Colorado on Fox earlier this year, while Louisiana Tech plays Washington State on The CW next week.

While this week's Louisiana Tech-Delaware game is a testament to the streaming age’s impact on college football, it is a stark contrast from the sports broadcasting landscape during their last meeting.

The Delaware Football Record Book and the Louisiana Tech Football Record Book were indispensable aids to my research.