Southern Miss changes football schedule

(The following is a press release from Southern Miss Athletics.)

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss Department of Athletics announced Thursday that the Golden Eagle football team will move its season opener up two days, while also adding a pair of home 2020 contests to replace the two games that were canceled last month.

Southern Miss will now open its season, Thursday, Sept. 3, against South Alabama, at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium. Game time will be 7 p.m., and marks the first meeting in football between the schools.

In addition, the Golden Eagles have added two new opponents to the schedule and are now set to entertain Tennessee Tech, Saturday, Sept. 19, and Tulane, Saturday, Sept. 26, on the Southern Miss campus. These two games are to make up for the Jackson State and Auburn cancellations. Game times for these two contests will be 6 p.m.

The Jackson State contest was canceled following the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s decision to not play any sports during the fall semester due to COVID-19, while the Southeastern Conference switched their 2020 schedule to a league-only format.

"We are excited to be able to add these games to our schedule and get to seven home games for student-athletes and season ticket holders,” said Southern Miss Director of Athletics Jeremy McClain. “This is obviously a very fluid situation, and we will continue to make adjustments that allow us the best opportunity to safely conduct a football season.

“The move to Thursday night to open the season allows us more time to address health and safety concerns inside the stadium and with our student-athletes between game 1 and game 2. Our focus will continue to be on monitoring the situation daily, and moving forward cautiously towards the start of the season.”

The updated schedule now marks only the second time in school history - the other coming in 1920 - that the school will play host to seven scheduled home games in one season.

The Southern Miss Department of Athletics will soon release details regarding ticketing and stadium protocols for the upcoming home season.

Season tickets are still available for the upcoming football season by going online at SouthernMissTickets.com or by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or 601-266-5418. Please note that Southern Miss Athletics will utilize mobile ticketing as its preferred method of choice for this year.

The meeting will be the first for the two schools in the sport of football between the Golden Eagles and Tennessee Tech, while Southern Miss and Green Wave will meet for the 32nd time in the renewal of the Battle for the Bell. Tulane defeated the Golden Eagles, 30-13, at the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl last January in their first meeting since 2010.

Sept. 3 vs. South Alabama 7 p.m. Sept. 12 vs. Louisiana Tech* TBA Sept. 19 vs. Tennessee Tech 6 p.m. Sept. 26 vs. Tulane 6 p.m. Oct. 3 at North Texas* TBA Oct. 10 vs. Florida Atlantic* TBA Oct. 17 at UTEP* TBA Oct. 24 at Liberty 5 p.m. Oct. 31 vs. Rice* TBA Nov. 14 at WKU* TBA Nov. 21 vs. UTSA* TBA Nov. 28 at UAB* TBA