Southland releases Spring 2021 football schedule

FRISCO – The Southland Conference announced plans Tuesday to resume football championship competition in the spring semester, giving the Sam Houston Bearkats their first look at a revised schedule after the postponement of fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an unprecedented move in the 58-year history of the league, Southland Conference play will begin February 20 and continue through April 10, featuring six league games for its participating seven members – UIW, Lamar, McNeese, Nicholls, Northwestern State, Sam Houston and Southeastern Louisiana.

"We are very pleased to confirm our delayed 2020 Southland Conference football schedule into the 2021 spring semester," Commissioner Tom Burnett said. "While the spring playing opportunity will be different in many ways, we are looking forward to providing this competitive and championship opportunity for our participating football programs, their student-athletes and coaches, and all of the fans and followers of Southland football."

On August 12, Southland presidents approved postponement of league football and other fall sports to the spring semester, and later agreed on an opt-out opportunity with the spring plan. Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, Houston Baptist and Stephen F. Austin committed to playing football exclusively in the fall, while in other sports, all 13 members are expected to fully participate in the spring competitive season.

Spring schedules for other fall sports will be announced in the near future.

With the new schedule, Southland teams will vie for a league championship with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the adjusted NCAA Division I Football Championship. The FCS playoffs, with a reduced bracket from 24 to 16 teams, will include 11 automatic qualifiers and five at-large bids and a first-round starting date of April 24.

The NCAA Championship Game, hosted by the Southland Conference for the last decade, is scheduled to return to Frisco's Toyota Stadium on the weekend of May 15-16.

"When we first started looking at the difference between playing football in the fall or the spring, the priority for us was having the chance to play for a championship," said Director of Athletics Bobby Williams. "With the recent decision by both the Southland Conference and the NCAA Board of Directors to hold an FCS playoff and national championship game, the decision to play in the spring was a no-brainer for us. We have a standard in our department, and that is playing for championships."

The six-game, single round-robin football schedule will feature each team playing three home games and three away games in an eight-week period. Each team will have multiple open dates during the slate to provide flexibility if schedule changes are necessary.

Further, the NCAA has approved a maximum of eight total games in a 13-week period that begins January 23. Non-conference opportunities will be determined at a later date.

In this revised format, the Kats are scheduled to open up the Spring 2021 season on the road at UIW on February 20 with their home opener set for February 27 against Southeastern Louisiana. Following a bye week, SHSU will host two-time defending league champion Nicholls (March 13) and then go on the road to Beaumont to face Lamar (March 20). Then, after another bye week, the Kats will get a Thursday game at Northwestern State (April 1) and close out the regular season at home vs McNeese (April 10).

"We talked to our players about not playing in the fall, I think in the program was disappointed," head coach K.C. Keeler said. "But when they understood there was a chance to play for a championship in the spring, it really got everyone excited. As I've said many times, this program has been in five Final Fours in the last decade, and that is rarified air. We want to add a national championship to this program's resume and it's great to be at a place where the administration understands that is the goal of the program."

It should be noted that undertaking this season's schedule will be contingent upon current health conditions in each university community, following the guidance from the NCAA and local medical authorities.

Game management details, ticketing and attendance matters, media and broadcast issues and other operational details will be determined by the Southland and the host institutions, including Bearkat Athletics who will release such details at a later date.

Southland releases Spring 2021 football schedule

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