It’s a football program that could use an infusion of cash to make some upgrades in its facilities and equipment. It’s a program that’s willing to go on the road to face an opponent from a higher division to get it.

Sound familiar?

In this case it’s not the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Instead, it’s the Mocs’ opponent Saturday in their home opener, Cumberland University.

While the Mocs are taking in two major paydays this season with games against Oklahoma and Florida State — paying UTC a combined $935,000 — the Bulldogs are getting about $30,000 for Saturday’s game. That’s not much compared to what the Mocs are bringing in, but that money will be put to good use, Cumberland coach Dewayne Alexander said.

“We’re still trying to make some improvements to our facilities here, and a game like this will help us do that,” said Alexander, in his third season at the NAIA school in Lebanon, Tenn. “We don’t have the million-dollar donors for athletics or anything like that, so we make improvements when we can.”

With its windfall, UTC upgraded its locker room and purchased a new video-editing system and a new communication system for the coaches to use during games. Alexander said Cumberland has similar goals for the money from Saturday’s game.

“We need new video-editing equipment, we need to improve our weight room and we need to upgrade some of our basic football equipment,” he said.

Aside from the money, the game is important to Alexander for two more reasons, he said. It will be a great experience for his players and it will provide Cumberland, which has about 1,200 students, with a lot of free exposure in a part of the state it recruits heavily.

“We couldn’t buy the exposure we’re getting from this game,” he said. “And I know our students and everyone else on campus is excited about playing Chattanooga.”

According to Alexander, Cumberland was allocated 300 tickets for the game and all of them have been sold. In fact, he said, two buses full of students are making the roughly two-hour drive for the game, along with a lot of parents, alumni and faculty.

“I would say that there will be about 1,000 people or so coming,” he said, which should be a significant percentage of the crowd at Finley Stadium.

Saturday’s game will be a homecoming of sorts for the numerous Chattanooga-area players on Alexander’s squad — among them former Tyner standout and Auburn signee Greg Smith and former Tennessee Temple players Josh Smith and Kevin Smithson.

It was also be a homecoming for Brian Waite, the Bulldogs’ assistant head coach, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. A Chattanooga native, Waite went to City High and played collegiately at Sewanee.

For UTC’s local players, such as senior fullback Brent Hayes, who’s from Chattanooga and played at Central, the chance to play at home is something he’s always appreciated during his career.

“I have a lot of support from my family, and it’s good to have that backbone there close by,” Hayes said. “Having them at every home game and most every away game, it’s pretty nice.”

Last season, Cumberland played at Tennessee Tech and held its own for a while in a 45-21 loss to the Golden Eagles. That game was played in front of more than 12,000 people at Tucker Stadium, and Alexander said he’s hoping that experience will help his returning players be more relaxed when they step on the field against UTC.

“I don’t think we’ll have stage fright,” he said. “I think we’ll adjust to it a little better than we did last year.”

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