Tusculum University has released its 11-game football schedule for the upcoming 2023 fall season. (2023 Schedule)
The Pioneers are coming off an 8-3 campaign where the Black & Orange finished runner-up in the South Atlantic Conference Mountain Division. Tusculum’s eight wins are tied for the third-most in school history, while its six SAC victories were tied for the most by a Pioneer football team.
For a second straight season, the SAC will compete in divisional play with the winners of the Mountain and Piedmont Divisions meeting in the conference championship game on Nov. 11 to be hosted this year by the Mountain Division winner.
Of Tusculum’s 11-game slate, nine will be against conference teams with non-league outings at Kennesaw State and Virginia State to open the 2023 campaign. The Pioneers will play five games at Pioneer Field but will open the season with three consecutive road contests.
Tusculum and Kennesaw State will meet on the collegiate gridiron for the first time on Thursday, Aug. 31. The inaugural encounter between the Pioneers and Owls will take place at Fifth Third Bank Stadium on the Kennesaw, Georgia campus.
KSU is in a transition year as the Owls will be moving to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Conference USA in the fall of 2024. Kennesaw State has been competing as an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) member for the past eight seasons (2015-2022). The first seven were as a member of the Big South Conference and last year in the Atlantic Sun Conference where the Owls finished fifth and ended the year with a 5-6 overall record.
Tusculum travels to Virginia State on Sep. 9 for the third meeting with the Trojans. VSU is coming off a 6-4 season and finished fourth in the CIAA Northern Division. Virginia State has won the previous two meetings over TU with the last coming in a 24-10 decision in 2016.
The Pioneers open their 25th SAC season on Sep. 16 with a road trip to face Wingate. The Bulldogs accounted for one of their best seasons in program history going 11-3 overall and finished in a four-way tie for the SAC Piedmont Division title. Wingate earned a berth in the NCAA Division II Playoffs and advanced to the national quarterfinal for the first time in school history. This will be the 26th meeting between TU and Wingate as the Bulldogs lead the series 17-8 including a 27-10 win in Greeneville last year.
Tusculum will play its 2023 home opener on Sep. 23 when Catawba comes to Pioneer Field. The Catawba Indians finished sixth in the Piedmont and went 1-10 overall including a 50-17 home loss to the Pioneers. This will be the 27th meeting in the series and the Indians’ first trip to Greeneville since 2019 when TU was victorious, 32-14.
Tusculum welcomes Barton on Sep. 30 in the third meeting with the Bulldogs. Barton went 4-7 in 2022 and finished fifth in the Piedmont. TU rallied from a 13-point deficit and turned away a pair of potential go-ahead field goals in the final two minutes to hold on for a 14-13 win over Barton. The Pioneers won the 2021 inaugural clash with the Bulldogs in 2021 in Greeneville by a 41-17 count.
Tusculum begins a stretch of five straight Mountain Divisional games on Oct. 7 when the Pioneers make the short trip to arch-rival Carson-Newman. It will be the 52nd recorded meeting in the second-oldest collegiate football rivalry in the State of Tennessee. C-N leads the all-time series 35-14-2 but TU has won four of the last six meetings. TU has won two straight over the Eagles including last year’s 34-6 victory in Greeneville. C-N finished third in the Mountain Division and ended the year with a three-game winning streak to finish 6-5.
Tusculum will play its only home game of the month when the Pioneers host UVA Wise on Oct. 14 for Homecoming. Last year’s game between the Pioneers and Cavaliers was one of the most exciting in the 13-game series. Tusculum turned away to golden scoring opportunities by UVA Wise in the final minute as the Pioneers recorded a 10-9 win to take a 7-6 lead in the series. The Cavs finished fifth in the Mountain Division and went 2-9 overall.
TU travels to Emory & Henry on Oct. 21 as the Pioneers and Wasps meet for the 19th time in a series that dates back to 1915. Tusculum prevailed 35-9 in last year’s game in Greeneville as the Pioneers out-gained E&H 463-210 in offensive yardage. Emory & Henry finished fourth in the division in its inaugural season in the league and finished with a 5-6 overall record. The Wasps lead the series 14-4 as TU will be making its first trip to the Emory, Virginia campus since 1950.
The Pioneers will be at Erskine on Oct. 28 in the third encounter with the Flying Fleet. TU scored the final 35 points of the game in a 49-14 SAC win last fall in Greeneville. Tusculum won the first meeting with Erskine during the 2021 COVID Spring season in a 47-7 victory in Greenwood, South Carolina. The Fleet went 2-9 last year and finished sixth in the Mountain Division.
The Pioneers close out divisional play on Nov. 4 when the Pioneers host cross-mountain foe Mars Hill. The Lions are the defending division champions as they edged TU 34-27 in last year’s contest at MHU. Mars Hill lost to Newberry in the SAC Championship game to end its season at 7-3. Tusculum leads the series 22-15-2 which started in 1922. The last three meetings have been played at Mars Hill as the Lions make their first trip to Pioneer Field since 2019.
Tusculum is scheduled to host Lenoir-Rhyne on Nov. 11 to close out the regular season. The Bears finished in a four-way tie for first place in the Piedmont Division and ended its season with a 34-14 victory over the Pioneers. LR holds a 15-11 edge in the series with Tusculum which began in 1924.
The NCAA Playoffs will begin Nov. 18 at campus sites, culminating with the Division II title game on Dec. 16 at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas.
