After one of the most successful seasons in recent history, Eastern New Mexico University Football Coach Kelley Lee has announced the 2018 season. The Greyhounds’ 11-game slate should be one of the toughest in the nation.
If momentum holds, the Greyhounds should be up to the schedule. Last season, ENMU posted an 8-2 record and placed third in the Lone Star Conference with a 6-2 mark. Eastern’s only setbacks came against the eventual National Champions (Texas A&M-Commerce) and LSC Champions (Midwestern State).
Eastern’s 11 opponents combined for a 68-58 record, with two teams qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Two of ENMU’s opponents reached the NCAA Tournament, and three finished with at least seven victories. The Greyhounds will host six games this season, including three in September.
The season will open on Thursday, August 30th, at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Last season, the Miners posted a 7-4 record with a 5-2 mark in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. ENMU has not played Missouri S&T since November 6, 1971, when they picked up a 37-7 win in Rolla, Mo.
After that, it’s back to Al Whitehead Field at Greyhound Stadium for a crucial two-game home stand. The home opener will be against a Colorado Mesa team which posted a 9-2 record at tied for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title with CSU-Pueblo. The teams have not met since an NAIA playoff showdown in December, 1983.
On September 15th, the Hounds will host defending NCAA Division II Champion, Texas A&M-Commerce. The contest will mark the second home game against the Lions since Greyhound Stadium opened in 2016. Eastern will be looking for its first win against A&M-Commerce since defeating them to clinch the LSC title in the 2013 finale.
In 2014, ENMU earned its first-ever road victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville and will look to emerge victorious for the second time in three trips on September 22nd. Last season, the Greyhounds earned a 51-34 victory over the Javelinas at home.
On September 29th, Eastern will host defending Lone Star Conference Champion Midwestern State. The two teams have had an exciting rivalry over the last few years. A highlight was ENMU’s last-second road victory in 2016, which came down to the game’s final play. The contest will be ENMU’s Hall of Honors Game.
In October, the Hounds will alternate home and away games, starting with a trip to Tarleton State. That game will be followed with a rematch from the 2016 Grand Opening of Greyhound Stadium, against Western New Mexico University, which will be Homecoming.
On October 20, the Greyhounds will head to West Texas A&M for the 31st installment of the Wagon Wheel Game. Eastern has hoisted the wheel following four of the last five showdowns to even the series at 15-15.
The Greyhounds will welcome UT Permian Basin on October 27th, before heading to Angelo State on November 3rd, for their LSC finale.
The Hounds will close the regular season within the friendly confines of Greyhound Stadium against Western Oregon. In 2015, the Wolves posted a 7-4 record.
