Three weeks of fall camp came to a close Saturday morning for the Western Kentucky University football team. In addition to now turning their attention to next Saturday’s season opener, the Hilltoppers also selected their team captains for the 2010 season.

Junior defensive lineman Jared Clendenin, sophomore tight end Jack Doyle and junior placekicker Casey Tinius were selected by their teammates to captain the 2010 squad.

“Last night was one of the most important nights for us picking out team captains,” said Hilltopper head coach Willie Taggart. “I told those three guys there is no award that can be better than being named a captain by their teammates. All three of those guys are well deserving, and they will all be great representatives for this football team.”

After 23 practices, the Hilltoppers now get into game-week mode as they open the 2010 season at No. 8 Nebraska next Saturday (Sept. 4). After spring practice, summer workouts and now camp to get acquainted with a new system, Taggart said he is pleased with the progress WKU has made to this point.

“I can honestly say we’ve gotten better as a football team. I really like where our guys are at right now,” said Taggart. “Guys have really bought in to what I’ve been talking about when it comes to having energy and juice. I think one of the reasons we’ve been able to have consistent practices here lately is because guys are having fun, running around and having some energy. At the beginning of camp I said I wanted these guys to work hard but also have fun playing football, and I feel like we accomplished both those things throughout camp.”

WKU will not only start classes on Monday, but will also begin it’s standard game preparation. Kickoff for Saturday’s season opener is slated for 6 p.m. (CDT) in Lincoln, Neb. The game will be televised on a pay-per-view basis by Fox Sports Net.

The 2010 season marks the first for WKU under the direction of Taggart, who was named head coach on November 23. Taggart previously served as running backs coach at Stanford from 2007-09 and helped Toby Gerhart finish second in balloting for the Heisman Trophy and win the Doak Walker award given to the nation’s top running back. Taggart worked as an assistant coach at WKU from 1999-2006 and served as co-offensive coordinator for WKU’s 2002 I-AA National Championship team. A standout player at quarterback who set 11 school records for the Hilltoppers from 1995-98, Taggart is one of only four players in WKU’s 91-year football history to have his jersey retired.

Season and single-game tickets for the upcoming 2010 WKU football season are on sale now. Prices are $15 for reserved bleacher seats, and general admission adult seats are $12 while general admission youth tickets (anyone 12 and under) are $6. Groups of 10 or more may purchase reserved or general admission tickets for $6 each.

2010 Season Tickets Location and Prices:

Red Towel-$108

Topper-$108

Spirit-$60

Reserved Season-$30

General Admission-$30

For more information, to order season or single-game tickets, or to order tickets for available away games please call 1-800-5-BIG RED or visit wkusports.com.