Bryant football announces 2021 schedule

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Highlighted by in-state rivalry games with Rhode Island and Brown and the program's first-ever game against an FBS opponent, Bryant University football announced its 2021 fall schedule on May 26. 

The Bulldogs will play an 11-game schedule consisting of four non-conference games and seven Northeast Conference games. Bryant is coming off an abbreviated spring season that ended with a 2-2 record. 

Bryant will kick things off on September 4 when it travels south to take on Rhode Island for the first time since 2002 and the first time as Division I opponents. The Bulldogs will then open its four-game home schedule with defending NEC champion Sacred Heart under the lights of Beirne Stadium on Sept. 11. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. against the Pioneers. 

The Black and Gold will hit the road the following two weekends, beginning with a historic trip to Akron, Ohio. Bryant's matchup with Akron will be its first against a member of the FBS. The Zips went 1-5 in an abbreviated spring season. The following weekend brings the Bulldogs to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to take on Marist out of the Pioneer League. It will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2012. 

Bryant returns home on October 2 to host Brown on Homecoming and Reunion Weekend. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m. The Bulldogs close the month with a trip to Duquesne on Oct. 9, a home matchup with Saint Francis U on Oct. 16 and a road trip to Wagner on Oct. 23. 

Following a bye week on Halloween, the Bulldogs travel to Central Connecticut on Nov. 6. Bryant will celebrate Senior Day on Nov. 13 when it welcomes Long Island to Beirne Stadium in the final home game of the year. The Bulldogs close the season at Merrimack on Nov. 20.