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Big South/OVC Announce 2023 Schedule; Bulldogs announce full 2023 slate
Posted: Dec 13, 2022

Big South/OVC Announce 2023 Schedule; Bulldogs announce full 2023 slate

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University football team announced its 2023 football schedule on Tuesday in conjunction with the announcement of the 2023 Big South/Ohio Valley Conference schedule.

Bryant's 2023 slate will feature 11 games, including five at the David M. '85 and Terry Beirne Stadium Complex. The Black and Gold will play five non-conference games to start the year before a bye week sends them into their six-game Big South/OVC schedule. The full release from the Big South/OVC can be found below or by clicking here.

2023 Bryant Football Schedule
Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023 at UNLV (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023 vs LIU (Smithfield, R.I.)
Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 vs Brown (Smithfield, R.I.)
Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 at Princeton (Princeton, N.J.)
Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 at Rhode Island (Kingston, R.I.)
Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023 BYE
Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023 vs Robert Morris (Smithfield, R.I.)*
Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 at Eastern Illinois (Charleston, Ill.)*
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023 at Charleston Southern (North Charleston, S.C.)*
Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 vs Gardner-Webb (Smithfield, R.I.)*
Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023 at Lindendwood (Saint Charles, Mo.)*
Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 vs Southeast Missouri State University (Smithfield, R.I.)*
* - Big South/OVC Game

Notes and Notables

  • Bryant will open the season against an FBS opponent for the second-straight year. It will mark the third FBS opponent for the Bulldogs. 
  • The season opener will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the Las Vegas Raiders.
  • Bryant's game in Las Vegas will also mark the furthest west the Bulldogs have traveled.
  • Bryant will face both Brown and URI for the third-straight year. The Bulldogs will host Brown on Sept. 16 and close their non-conference schedule at URI on Sept. 30.
  • The Black and Gold will face two Ivy League opponents for the first time in program history. Bryant's trip to Princeton will be its first matchup with the Tigers, who have won 13 Ivy League titles overall and three of the last six.
  • Bryant's league schedule will offer up first-time opponents Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood and Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO).
  • The Black and Gold will play games in four states it has never been before. Bryant opens in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will also make trips to Illinois (Charleston), South Carolina (North Charleston) and Missouri (Saint Charles). 
  • Bryant will face each of last year's NCAA participants in its final two home games; 2022 Big South champion Gardner-Webb and 2022 OVC champion SEMO. 

 

BIG SOUTH AND OHIO VALLEY ANNOUNCE 2023 FOOTBALL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

First Year of Joint Association Features Six League Games

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- The Big South Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) announced today its football conference game schedule for the 2023 season, which marks the first year of the joint association of the league's football member institutions.

The 10 combined teams in 2023 (6 – OVC, 4 – Big South) will play a six-game conference schedule, as prior scheduling commitments prevented opportunities for additional Big South-OVC games in the first year.  

Games will be played during 10 of the 12 weeks in 2023, with the first-ever contest scheduled for Week 2 on Sept. 9 with Lindenwood at 2022 OVC Champion Southeast Missouri.  The first cross-over game features 2022 Big South Champion Gardner-Webb at Tennessee State in Week 3 on Sept. 16. 

Five of the 10 members will begin league play in September – Lindenwood (Sept. 9), Southeast Missouri (Sept. 9), Tennessee State (Sept. 16), Gardner-Webb (Sept. 16) and UT Martin (Sept. 30).  The remaining five squads open conference action on either Oct. 7 or Oct. 14.

Three league games are slated for Oct. 7, Oct. 14 and Oct. 21 and the slate increases to four the final Saturday of October.  Two of the three November dates have the maximum five conference games on the schedule.

More details of the association's administration, including tiebreakers for the automatic bid to the playoffs, will be announced at a later date.

Below is the 2023 composite Big South-OVC league schedule, which is subject to change.

2023 Big South-OVC Football Conference Schedule

Saturday, Sept. 9
 Lindenwood at Southeast Missouri 

Saturday, Sept. 16
 Gardner-Webb at Tennessee State

Saturday, Sept. 30
 Tennessee State at UT Martin 

Saturday, Oct. 7
 UT Martin at Eastern Illinois
Robert Morris at Gardner-Webb
Tennessee Tech at Lindenwood 

Saturday, Oct. 14
Robert Morris at Bryant
Lindenwood at Charleston Southern
Eastern Illinois at Southeast Missouri 

Saturday, Oct. 21
Bryant at Eastern Illinois
Charleston Southern at UT Martin
Southeast Missouri at Tennessee Tech 

Saturday, Oct. 28
Bryant at Charleston Southern
UT Martin at Gardner-Webb
Lindenwood at Tennessee State
Tennessee Tech at Robert Morris 

Saturday, Nov. 4
Gardner-Webb at Bryant
Tennessee State at Charleston Southern
Eastern Illinois at Lindenwood
Robert Morris at Southeast Missouri
UT Martin at Tennessee Tech 

Saturday, Nov. 11
Bryant at Lindenwood
Charleston Southern at Robert Morris
Tennessee State at Eastern Illinois
Gardner-Webb at Tennessee Tech
Southeast Missouri at UT Martin 

Saturday, Nov. 18
Southeast Missouri at Bryant
Charleston Southern at Gardner-Webb
Eastern Illinois at Robert Morris
Tennessee Tech at Tennessee State 

-FCS-

 

ABOUT THE BIG SOUTH-OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE ASSOCIATION
 In February 2022 the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference announced the creation of an association of their football member institutions, to begin with the 2023 NCAA Division I football season and have an initial term of at least four years. The unique agreement combines the two conferences' football membership to ensure NCAA championship access and stability for the multisport conferences.  In creating the association, presidents from each of the multisport conferences pointed to the similarities of the OVC and the Big South, with their complementary geographies and intercollegiate athletic philosophies, as key to making this association possible.

This year the conferences combined for 13 finalists for the 2022 FCS National awards (Walter Payton, Buck Buchanan, Jerry Rice, Eddie Robinson and Doris Robinson), with four individuals finishing in the Top 10 of voting. 

Schools included in the association include Bryant University (Smithfield, RI), Charleston Southern University (Charleston, SC), Eastern Illinois University (Charleston, IL), Gardner-Webb University (Boiling Springs, NC), Lindenwood University (St. Charles, MO), Robert Morris University (Moon Township, PA), Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau, MO), Tennessee State University (Nashville, TN), Tennessee Technological University (Cookeville, TN) and University of Tennessee at Martin (Martin, TN).