DALLAS – Conference USA has announced its football schedule for the 2025 season on Thursday, putting the Sam Houston schedule on the brink of finalization for the upcoming fall.
With the addition of Delaware and Missouri State to the list of CUSA schools, the league will feature a 12-team alignment with no divisions and each team playing eight conference games for the 2025 campaign.
A final release of the schedule and the location of Bearkat home games for 2025 will be announced at a later date.
It will be an early start to 2025 for the Bearkats as they will jump directly into league play, opening the season at WKU on August 23, a game which will open the Phil Longo era of Sam Houston Football.
The Kats will not be back in Conference USA play until the calendar flips to October and sends them to NM State on October 2 (Thurs). It will mark the third season which will see all October CUSA matchups played on midweek evenings after seeing success in both 2023 and 2024. CUSA's broadcast partners will share the October weeknight football games on linear television across CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.
Following its trip to Las Cruces, the Kats will return home to host reigning league champion Jax State on October 9 (Thurs) and UTEP on October 15 (Wednesday). Sam Houston will then have a bye before traveling to Louisiana Tech for its only Tuesday game of the month on October 28.
The other league games will all come in November, beginning on November 15 when Sam Houston plays host to Delaware. It will be the first-ever meeting between the programs with UD making the move to the FBS in 2025.
Sam Houston will then head to Middle Tennessee on November 22 for its final road game of the season before concluding the slate by hosting FIU on November 29.
Conference USA's 20th annual Championship Game, pitting the top two finishers during conference play, will be played on Friday, December 5, during championship week. A finalized kickoff time for the title game will be announced at a later date.
The Kats' league schedule comes in addition to four other non-conference games currently on the schedule, including Sam Houston hosting UNLV on August 30. Road non-conference games include trips to Hawaii on September 6, Texas on September 27 and to Oregon State on November 8.
It is important to note that all games are subject to date changes and some dates may move in the coming weeks in order to accommodate national television selections. A schedule of televised games will be released from CUSA at a later date.
