Football 4/7/2020 4:45:00 PM Ryan Shumaker
ENMU Football Finalizes 2020 Schedule

Eastern New Mexico football recently finalized it’s 2020 football schedule that will feature six home games and five away games.

The Hounds will take on seven Lone Star Conference opponents and four non-conference opponents during the 2020 campaign as they look to build off of last season’s record of 8-4 and a victory in the 2019 Heritage Bowl over Southern Arkansas. The Greyhounds will take on their first Division I opponent since taking on Incarnate Word on Sept. 28, 2013 when they travel to Tarleton State on Oct. 3rd in what will be a continuation of the series between the Greyhounds and Texans in Tarleton’s inaugural season as an FCS program.

The Greyhounds will kick off the season with back-to-back games against in-region Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) foes New Mexico Highlands and Adams State in alternating home and away contests. The Greyhounds will renew their rivalry with in-state foe New Mexico Highlands on Thursday, Sept. 3rd in the season opener before traveling up to Alamosa, Colo. to take on the Grizzlies the following week.

“We are excited to open the season at home and to be able to renew our in-state rivalry with New Mexico Highlands.” Head coach Kelley Lee said, “We are also thrilled to have six home games in the friendly confines of Greyhound Stadium.”

The Hounds will then kick-off Lone Star Conference play the following weekend on Sept. 19th with a trip to Texas A&M-Kingsville looking to secure back-to-back road wins against the Javelinas after notching just the second win in program history in Kingsville during the Hound’s last visit in 2018. The LSC home opener will take place on Sept. 26 in week four as Eastern New Mexico will square off with Midwestern State inside Greyhound Stadium looking to notch consecutive wins against the Mustangs for the first time since the 1998-99 seasons after defeating Midwestern State 27-24 last fall in Wichita Falls.

The annual pair of rivalry games for Eastern New Mexico will get started following the visit to Tarleton State on Oct. 3rd, beginning first with the third annual Chile Bowl Game on Oct. 10th against Western New Mexico. The Hounds will look to extend their 15 game winning streak over their cross-state rivals and have averaged 44.8 points per game over the last five meeting between the two programs.

The 35th addition of the Wagon Wheel Game will take place for the first time inside the newly constructed Buffalo Stadium on Oct. 17th in Canyon, Texas. Eastern New Mexico will be looking for revenge over the Buffs as the visiting team has now won three straight match-ups in the series between the two arch-rivals following the 35-14 win for West Texas A&M inside Greyhound Stadium last fall.

The Hounds have still dominated the series as of late, winning six out of the last eight meetings dating back to 2013.

Eastern New Mexico will look to enact revenge on a second consecutive opponent on Oct. 24th as UT Permian Basin heads into Greyhound Stadium for a week eight match-up. UT Permian Basin got the better of the Hounds by a 48-38 final a year ago, but will have a wealth of talent to replace after graduating the inaugural class of the football program this spring.

The Greyhounds will once again need to enter the final stretch of the season playing their best ball of the year as they take on traditional powers Angelo State, Azusa Pacific and Texas A&M-Commerce in the final three weeks of the season. A similar close out to the 2019 season in which the Hounds upset Angelo State, took down GNAC champions Western Oregon and then defeated Southern Arkansas in the Heritage Bowl will be needed to finish up the 2020 campaign.

The Hounds and Rams will kick off the final three weeks with a meeting on Halloween night in San Angelo, Texas before coach Lee and company return to the friendly confines of Greyhound Stadium for the final two weeks of the season.

Azusa Pacific and Eastern New Mexico will meet for the first time on Nov. 7th as the traditional contenders in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) will be looking to respond to a 1-9 season after posting six straight years of .500 or better records and two seasons of 10 win efforts in 2013 and 2014. The Hounds were a perfect 4-0 against non-conference foes a season ago and will have ample opportunity to make a statement on a regional level once again with the 2020 crop of opponents.

The 2020 season finale will pit the Hounds against Texas A&M-Commerce on Nov. 14th inside Greyhound Stadium as the Lions will look to earn a spot in the Division II National Playoffs for the sixth consecutive season in 2020.

“We are definitely looking to build off of the momentum of our first NCAA DII postseason win in school history.” Coach Lee said, “We can’t wait to get started and continue the storied tradition of Greyhound football.”