FRISCO, Texas - The Nicholls State University football team will head to Southeast Missouri for a nonconference matchup on Sept. 17, as the Southland Conference and Ohio Valley Conference announced Thursday the dates and matchups for its football scheduling alliance for the 2022 season.
In October the two NCAA Division I FCS leagues announced the framework for the collaboration which provides quality Division I nonconference matchups for teams in each league in 2022 and 2023.
The matchups for the 2022 season are:
September 10 – Texas A&M-Commerce at Tennessee Tech
September 17 – Nicholls at SEMO
October 1 – Murray State at Southeastern
October 8 – Northwestern State at Eastern Illinois
October 22 – SEMO at Northwestern State
October 29 – UT Martin at HBU
November 5 – Eastern Illinois at McNeese
November 19 – Tennessee State at Texas A&M-Commerce
Nicholls is 1-0 all-time against SEMO but have not faced the Redhawks since 1975. The Colonels won on the road in '75, 18-17, and post an 10-4 record against the teams currently in the OVC.
Alliance matchups for the 2023 season will be announced at a later date. Additionally, the leagues will work together to cross-promote the alliance during the season, allowing for increased visibility, exposure and branding for each Conference. Both the OVC and Southland have longstanding ESPN broadcast agreements.
"We are really happy to announce more details regarding the previously released Southland-OVC scheduling alliance," said Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett. "We look forward to building some great FCS-specific competition that will build rivalries and assist in determining NCAA postseason opportunities for teams and student-athletes in both leagues."
"With the changing landscape of Division I, partnerships are going to be more important than ever to build quality schedules," said OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche. "This is the first step of things to come and we are looking forward to building this relationship with the Southland Conference."
The two Conferences have combined for four FCS National Championships and more than 100 playoff wins since the subdivision was formed in 1978. Additionally, the Southland has served as the host conference for the successful NCAA Division I FCS Championship Game in its home base of Frisco, Texas, since 2011.
Southland football members include Houston Baptist University (Houston, Texas), McNeese State University (Lake Charles, La.), Nicholls State University (Thibodaux, La.), Northwestern State University (Natchitoches, La.), Southeastern Louisiana University (Hammond, La.), and Texas A&M University-Commerce (Commerce, Texas).
OVC football members include Eastern Illinois University (Charleston, Ill.), Murray State University (Murray, Ky.), Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau, Mo.), Tennessee State University (Nashville, Tenn.), Tennessee Technological University (Cookeville, Tenn.), and the University of Tennessee at Martin (Martin, Tenn.).
