STATESBORO, Ga. ? After a week and-a-half away from competition, the Georgia Southern men's golf team returns to action, Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 8-9, at the Jerry Pate National Invitational in Birmingham, Ala.

Twelve teams will converge at the Old Overton Country Club with Alabama hosting the tournament for the 21st year.  The field includes six teams ranked in the top 25 in the Golf World/Nike Coaches Poll: No. 2 Alabama, No. 5 Florida, No. 16 UNLV, No. 19 East Tennessee State, No. 23 Texas and No. 25 Georgia State.

The field also includes UAB, Auburn, Brigham Young, North Carolina and Texas Tech.

The format includes 36 holes: two rounds on Monday and the final round of 18 on Tuesday.  Monday's first group of golfers will tee off at 7:30 a.m. CT including Georgia Southern, which is paired up with UAB and Texas Tech.