Football | 3/20/2024 5:03:00 PM

March 20, 2024-For the first time in 13 years the Emporia State football team will play a regular season football game against a non-MIAA member school in the fall of 2024.  The Hornets have signed a two-year contract to play Angelo State in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
 
Emporia State will play host to the Rams on September 7 on Jones Field at Welch Stadium and travel to San Angelo, Texas for the 2025 season.
 
"Number one we wanted to make sure everyone, and the seniors especially, have an opportunity to play 11 football games," said Emporia State head coach Garin Higgins. "It's exciting, we have players from Texas on our team and they will be excited about playing a good Angelo State team this year and then going to Texas next season."
 
The match-up features two programs that have each averaged nearly eight wins a game over the past ten seasons with a combined six trips to the NCAA Playoffs and five bowl games in that span. Last season the Hornets were 9-3 and won the Fun Town RV Heritage Bowl while the Rams were 7-3 on the year. 
 
The game was made possible after the NCAA Division II football sponsoring schools approved "Week Zero" legislation that allows D2 school to start the season early and play 11 games over 12 weeks.  The Hornets will now open the season with the Turnpike Tussle against Washburn on Thursday, August 29 during Week Zero.
 
The rest of the Emporia State football schedule including home game kick-off times will be released at a later date.
 
The Hornets defeated Lincoln 56-10 last season in a non-conference contest as the Blue Tigers began the process of leaving the MIAA. Prior to that the last time Emporia State played a non-conference regular season game was a 42-28 victory over then independent Southwest Baptist on November 5, 2011. The last regular season non-conference game played at Welch Stadium and the last regular season game against a team without any MIAA affiliation was a 35-7 victory over Langston (Okla.) on September 24, 2011. 
 
The Hornets are 10-1 in regular season non-conference play and 17-3 overall under Garin Higgins.  Emporia State has not lost a non-conference game in Welch Stadium since a 21-18 loss to then #15 Winona State on September 9, 2006. Since joining the MIAA for the 1991 season, the Hornets have gone 37-13 against non-MIAA opponents.
 
The Hornets are 18-6 over the last two seasons, the second-best record in the MIAA over that time.  They are set to return ten players on offense and seven on defense that started the Heritage Bowl.  Last year was the eighth time in the last 11 seasons that Emporia State advanced to the post season.