First-ever meeting with Michigan on A-State 2020 football schedule
A-State Athletics
Jerry Scott, Associate Athletics Director for Media Relations
JONESBORO – The Arkansas State football team announced Friday its entire 2020 regular-season schedule, which features a pair of midweek nationally-televised Sun Belt Conference games, two home contests every month and road outings at Memphis and Michigan.
A-State will begin the season Sept. 5 at Memphis and alternate road and home games throughout the regular season for the first time in school history. The Red Wolves have played the Tigers 58 times, the most among all opponents in program history, although the 2020 matchup will be the first since 2013.
The following week A-State will turn around and play its first game ever against Howard, hosting the Bison at Centennial Bank Stadium in its home opener Sept. 12. The Red Wolves will then travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a Sept. 19 outing against 11-time national champion Michigan.
Not only will the two teams meet for the first time, A-State will become just the second Sun Belt Conference program to ever play the Wolverines.
The Red Wolves will wrap up their non-conference slate Sept. 26 when they host Tulsa in their Homecoming game. Arkansas State holds a 64-27-1 all-time Homecoming record and has won 16 of its last 17 such games, including the last nine a row, dating back to the 2003 season.
Holding a 13-6 all-time record in Sun Belt openers, A-State will begin league competition Oct. 3 with a road game at Coastal Carolina. Following their only open week of the season, the Red Wolves will then host Georgia State on Thursday, Oct. 15, in the first of their two midweek games. The outing will be televised on ESPNU.
Five-time Sun Belt champion A-State will next face Appalachian State, catching last year’s league champ on the road Oct. 24 at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Troy will travel to Jonesboro to face the Red Wolves on Halloween at Centennial Bank Stadium.
One of four Sun Belt teams with two midweek nationally-televised games, A-State’s next outing will be played Thursday, Nov. 5, at Louisiana in a game that will also appear on ESPNU. The two programs will meet in a midweek game for the seventh time over the last nine seasons (2012-20), including the second in a row.
A-State’s second game in the month of November will be played on the 14th against ULM at Centennial Bank Stadium. Dating back to the 2011 season, the Red Wolves hold a 28-6 record over their last 34 games played in November.
Playing its final road game of the regular season, A-State will face Texas State at Bobcat Stadium on Nov. 21. It will close out the regular season Nov. 28, when it hosts South Alabama on Senior Day.
Arkansas State has strung together 15 consecutive years with a winning record at Centennial Bank Stadium dating back to 2005. The program is 68-17 (.800 winning percentage) at the stadium since the 2005 campaign and has won 43 of its last 53 home outings.
Alternating home and away games the entire regular season also means A-State will not play any back-to-back home contests in a single season for the first time since 2009, while it won’t play any consecutive road games in a year since 2007.
The 2020 Sun Belt Football Championship Game is set for Saturday, Dec. 5, on ESPN or ESPN2. Following the title game, the Sun Belt is guaranteed a minimum of five spots in bowl games for the fifth straight season. The league’s bowl affiliations and matchups for the upcoming season will be announced at a later date.
Season tickets for the Red Wolves’ 2020 campaign are available for purchase, and the renewal period for current season ticket holders is also underway. Tickets may be purchased or renewed through the A-State Ticket Office, located at First National Bank Arena’s lower red entrance, in person, by phone at 870-972-2781 or online at AStateRedWolves.com.
2020 ARKANSAS STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 5 (Sat.) at Memphis (Memphis, Tenn.; Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium)
SEPT. 12 (SAT.) vs HOWARD (JONESBORO, ARK.; Centennial Bank Stadium)
Sept. 19 (Sat.) at Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.; Michigan Stadium)
SEPT. 26 (SAT.) vs TULSA^ (JONESBORO, ARK.; Centennial Bank Stadium)
Oct. 3 (Sat.) at Coastal Carolina* (Conway, S.C.; Brooks Stadium)
OCT. 15 (THURS.) vs GEORGIA STATE* (ESPNU) (JONESBORO, ARK.; Centennial Bank Stadium)
Oct. 24 (Sat.) at Appalachian State* (Boone, N.C.; Kidd Brewer Stadium)
OCT. 31 (SAT.) vs TROY* (JONESBORO, ARK.; Centennial Bank Stadium)
Nov. 5 (Thurs.) at Louisiana* (ESPNU) (Lafayette, La.; Cajun Field)
NOV. 14 (SAT.) vs ULM* (JONESBORO, ARK.; Centennial Bank Stadium)
Nov. 21 (Sat.) at Texas State* (San Marcos, Texas; Bobcat Stadium)
NOV. 28 (SAT.) vs SOUTH ALABAMA* (JONESBORO, ARK.; Centennial Bank Stadium)
*Sun Belt Conference game | ^Homecoming