[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-hosts-billingsley-high-school-football-game-learning-home-field-woes\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-hosts-billingsley-high-school-football-game-learning-home-field-woes\/","headline":"Faulkner hosts Billingsley High School football game after learning of home field woes","name":"Faulkner hosts Billingsley High School football game after learning of home field woes","description":"Faulkner University recently hosted Billingsley High School after their football team was told they would be unable to use their home field this season due to safety concerns. Seeing his old high school teammates burst through the football banner onto…","datePublished":"2017-10-19","dateModified":"2019-09-19","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/#Person","name":"Rebecca Burylo","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Faulkner University","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","width":480,"height":128}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/22366401_1476775869109697_902744894984126057_n.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/22366401_1476775869109697_902744894984126057_n.jpg","height":"225","width":"300"},"url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-hosts-billingsley-high-school-football-game-learning-home-field-woes\/","about":["Alumni","Current Students","News","Online","Undergraduate"],"wordCount":447,"articleBody":"Faulkner University recently hosted Billingsley High School after their football team was told they would be unable to use their home field this season due to safety concerns.Seeing his old high school teammates burst through the football banner onto Faulkner University\u2019s Billy D. Hilyer Stadium filled college sophomore, Jaime Barnett with pride and excitement.Barnett, now in his second year at Faulkner, was playing ball not too long ago at\u00a0Billingsley\u00a0High School, a small rural school in Autauga County.\u00a0The high school’s\u00a0football team learned that their field was condemned for the season just a few weeks before their first game this year and would be unable to play on their home turf. Thanks to Faulkner,\u00a0\u00a0Billingsley\u00a0had a chance to play one of their home games on a collegiate field.\u201cI was really excited to see a bunch of my old friends have a good time tonight,\u201d said Barnett, who is studying family and youth ministry at Faulkner. \u201cI know they are enjoying playing on a college field and are just filled with excitement right now.\u201dThe seating at\u00a0Billingsley\u2019s Mims Field, built in the 1960s, was deemed unsafe for fans and the team of about 24 boys was forced to look elsewhere to play their home matchups. They were devastated.That is when they received a surprise call from Faulkner\u2019s athletic department offering the use of their Billy D. Hilyer Stadium.The night of their\u00a0victory match\u00a0against Robert C. Hatch High School, Faulkner\u2019s Marching Eagles Band came out in full force to support the school. In addition, many Faulkner faculty, staff and students came out to fill the stands alongside cheering Billingsly Bear family and friends.Faulkner\u2019s President Mike Williams learned about\u00a0Billingsley\u2019s situation from the news and suggested the invitation.\u201cWhen I heard about the\u00a0Billingsley\u00a0High School stadium, I just knew we had to reach out to them and help in some way,\u201d Williams said.\u201cHigh school football transcends the game and is an important part of the fabric of a community.\u201dFor\u00a0Billingsley, community is everything. In a small town, where\u00a0Billingsley\u00a0High School is a small school, everyone pitches in to help, said\u00a0Billingsley\u00a0Principal Gregory Pittman.\u201cWe were trying to figure out where we were going to play in our area and needed help. That\u2019s when schools in our area came calling and President Williams did the same thing,\u201d Pittman said.\u201cOur students are just so excited to play here and Faulkner University has been gracious in every way. We just loved every minute and it has been such a blessing. It\u2019s certainly an all around win for us.\u201d"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Faulkner hosts Billingsley High School football game after learning of home field woes","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-hosts-billingsley-high-school-football-game-learning-home-field-woes\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]