Southeastern announces 2019 football schedule

HAMMOND, La. – Non-conference contests versus Jacksonville State, Bethune-Cookman and Ole Miss, followed by a nine-game Southland Conference slate makes up the 2019 Southeastern Louisiana football schedule, which was released on Thursday.

Officials from SLU and Jacksonville State announced a home-and-home series between the two Football Championship Subdivision schools over the next two seasons. The Gamecocks will visit Strawberry Stadium for the 2019 season opener on Aug. 31. The Lions will return the trip the following season and are scheduled to face JSU in Jacksonville, Ala. on Sept. 19, 2020.

Jacksonville State has won the last five Ohio Valley Conference championships. This past season, the Gamecocks finished 9-4 overall and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs. JSU was ranked ninth (Coaches) and 10th (STATS) in the final FCS national polls.

Jacksonville State is the first OVC team Southeastern has faced since a home-and-home with Southeast Missouri in 2013 and 2014. SLU and SEMO split with each team protecting its respective home field.

Former Gulf South Conference rivals, the Lions and Gamecocks have met 11 times previously with JSU holding a 6-4-1 advantage in the all-time series. The teams haven’t faced since the 1978 campaign, which saw Jacksonville State earn a 10-7 home win against a Southeastern team led by legendary head coach Billy Brewer.

Southeastern’s Week Two trip to Daytona Beach, Florida to take on Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 7 will be the completion of a home-and-home series between the two schools. Back in 2017, BCU edged the Lions, 28-23, in Hammond.

The Wildcats were 7-5 a season ago. Bethune-Cookman finished with a 5-2 record in MEAC play in 2018.
Southeastern will close out non-conference play on Sept. 14, traveling to Oxford, Mississippi to face Ole Miss. The matchup with the Rebels will mark the fourth straight season SLU has faced a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent and second consecutive year in which Southeastern has taken on a Southeastern Conference foe. The Lions fell, 31-0, at LSU in 2018.

SLU and Ole Miss will be meeting for the second time in school history in Week Three. Back in 2009, the then-No. 5 Rebels pulled away for a 52-6 victory over the Lions in Oxford. Ole Miss was 5-7 overall in 2018.

Southeastern finished 4-5 in Southland Conference play in 2018 in its first season under head coach Frank Scelfo. Scelfo’s charges will open league play at home on Sept. 21, hosting Lamar in Strawberry Stadium.

Also visiting Hammond this season for Southland competition will be UIW (Oct. 12), Stephen F. Austin (Nov. 2) and Nicholls (Nov. 21). All told, four of the five teams traveling to Strawberry Stadium in 2019 were in the 2018 FCS playoffs. Stephen F. Austin is back on the schedule for the first time since 2016, while Sam Houston State drops off the schedule for the next two seasons.

The Lions open the road portion of its league slate at Northwestern State on Sept. 28. SLU will also visit Southland foes McNeese (Oct. 5), Houston Baptist (Oct. 26), Central Arkansas (Nov. 9) and Abilene Christian (Nov. 16).

Southeastern will open 2019 preparations with spring practice starting on March 12. The annual Spring Game is scheduled for April 13 at 2 p.m.

2019 Southeastern Louisiana Football Schedule
Aug. 31 – Jacksonville State
Sept. 7 – at Bethune-Cookman
Sept. 14 – at Ole Miss
Sept. 21 – Lamar*
Sept. 28 – at Northwestern State*
Oct. 5 – at McNeese*
Oct. 12 – UIW*
Oct. 26 – at Houston Baptist*
Nov. 2 – Stephen F. Austin*
Nov. 9 – at Central Arkansas*
Nov. 16 – at Abilene Christian*
Nov. 21 – Nicholls*

Southeastern home games in bold
* – Southland Conference contest