Bryant football unveils 2016 schedule; Opens season on Sept. 3
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – With National Signing Day in the review mirror, the Bryant University football team and 13th-year head coach Marty Fine are looking ahead as they are proud to officially unveil the 2016 schedule.
The Black and Gold's 2016 campaign will feature 11 games, including five inside the friendly confines of Bulldog Stadium. In addition to its six Northeast Conference games, Bryant will test itself with non-conference games against Montana State, Brown, Maine and Coastal Carolina.
It all begins on Saturday, Sept. 3 when the Bulldogs welcome Division II Merrimack to Bulldog Stadium for a 3:00 p.m. kickoff. It will mark the second time in three years the two teams have met and the fourth time they have played since Bryant moved to Division I.
Bryant will then begin a grueling four-game stretch that will take them across the country to Montana and all the way to the northern-most part of New England. The Bulldogs begin the stretch with their first-ever trip west of the Mississippi when they travel to Bozeman, Mont., on Sept. 10 to take on Montana State. The Bobcats, members of the Big Sky Conference, are coming off a losing season but have advanced to the FCS playoffs in two of the last four seasons.
The Black and Gold will then return home to host in-state rival Brown on Sept. 17. Bryant defeated the Bears, 20-16, in Providence last season in what was just the second all-time meeting between the two schools. The Bulldogs will then celebrate Homecoming and Reunion Weekend as they welcome Central Connecticut to Smithfield on Sept. 24 to open NEC play. The four-game stretch concludes on Oct. 1 as the Black and Gold travel to Orono, Maine, to renew their series with the Black Bears.
Following their lone bye week of the season, the Bulldogs will play four-straight NEC games. They travel to Saint Francis U. (Oct. 15) and host Wagner (Oct. 22) before heading to Pittsburgh, Pa., to take on defending league champion Duquesne (Oct. 29). Bryant will conclude the home portion of its schedule the following week as it hosts Robert Morris (Nov. 5) at Bulldog Stadium.
The final two weeks of the season will be difficult for Bryant as it heads to Coastal Carolina for the second-straight season before finishing the year at rival Sacred Heart. The Bulldogs and Chanticleers met for the first time last season, a 31-17 victory for the hosts. This season, however, Coastal Carolina is playing as an independent as they complete the mandatory one-year transition process from an FCS to an FBS member.