Bryant football announces 2018 schedule
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Highlighted by a trip to 2017 NCAA Tournament member Stony Brook and five home games inside the David M. and Terry Beirne Stadium Complex, Bryant University football coach James Perry officially announced the 2018 schedule on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 6-5 season in coach Perry's first on the sidelines. Bryant won each of its final four games and finished second in the Northeast Conference with a 4-2 record. It marked the ninth-straight season the Black and Gold have posted a .500-or-better record in the NEC.
Bryant's five home games this fall will take place inside the renovated Beirne Stadium Complex. Construction began following the completion of the 2017 season and when the Bulldogs take the field for the 2018 opener, they will be running out onto turf instead of natural grass for the first time in program history. Lights are also included in the renovation project, allowing the Black and Gold to play their first night home game in program history.
Bryant begins its 20th season of football on Sept. 1 when it welcomes the University of New Haven to Smithfield. It will be the first meeting between the two schools. New Haven is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference and is coming off a season in which it went 6-4 overall and 5-4 in conference.
The following weekend, Bryant will cross the Long Island Sound to face Stony Brook. It will be the fourth time in program history that the two teams will meet on the gridiron. The Black and Gold are 1-2 in the series, having defeated the Seawolves, 13-7, in their last meeting in 2014. Stony Brook tied a program record with 10 wins and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division I Football Championships in 2017.
Bryant returns home on Sept. 15 to host Marist, a member of the Pioneer League. The Bulldogs and Red Foxes have met twice, with the most recent meeting coming in 2012. That game represented Bryant's first game as a full Division I member. Marist has won both meetings.
The Black and Gold's final two non-conference games will feature Fordham (Oct. 20) and Howard (Nov. 17). Bryant is 2-1 all-time against the Rams, including a 45-40 victory last fall in Smithfield. The Bulldogs' trip to the nation's capital to face Howard will mark the first time since the 2012 season that the final regular-season game is a non-conference game. Bryant and Howard will be meeting for the first time and it will be Bryant's first-ever game against a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
Bryant begins its quest for an NEC title on Sept. 22 when they welcome Robert Morris on Homecoming and Reunion Weekend. Bryant will also host defending league champion Central Connecticut on Oct. 13 and Wagner on Nov. 10.
Bryant will visit Duquesne (Oct. 6), Sacred Heart (Oct. 27) and Saint Francis U (Nov. 3) in NEC road contests. The Black and Gold went 2-1 against those three teams last season, defeating the Dukes in the final game of the regular season.
2018 Bryant Football Schedule
Sept. 1 vs. New Haven
Sept. 8 at Stony Brook
Sept. 15 vs. Marist
Sept. 22 vs. Robert Morris (Homecoming and Reunion)
Oct. 6 at Duquesne
Oct. 13 vs. Central Connecticut (Family and Friends)
Oct. 20 at Fordham
Oct. 27 at Sacred Heart
Nov. 3 at Saint Francis U
Nov. 10 vs. Wagner
Nov. 17 at Howard