SWAC Extends McClelland; Several FCS Scheduling Updates Revealed

The Southwestern Athletic Conference has extended Commissioner Charles McClelland’s contract through the 2031-32 academic year. McClelland took over in 2018 and oversaw the expansion of the SWAC membership with the additions of Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M in 2021. FAMU captured the SWAC Championship and Celebration Bowl in 2023 as the program went 12-1 for one of its best seasons since winning the 1978 Division I-AA National Championship.

Long Island and Rhode Island are set to meet in back-to-back years, according to FBSchedules. The two teams are already scheduled to play on Saturday, September 21, 2024 with LIU hosting the contest. In 2025, Rhode Island will host on Saturday, September 20 to make it a home-and-home series. The 2024 and 2025 matchups will be the first two for Long Island and Rhode Island in football.

Richmond has added both Wofford and Howard to its non-conference slate for the 2025 season as noted on the school’s website and reported by FBSchedules. The Spiders will travel to Spartanburg, South Carolina to play Wofford on Saturday, September 6 and host Howard three weeks later on Saturday, September 27. Richmond is moving to the Patriot League for football beginning in 2025, and the combination of only 7 conference games along with the scheduling quirk of the 2024 and 2025 seasons means Richmond can play up to 5 non-conference games in 2025. As of this posting, the Spiders do not have an opponent scheduled for Week 1 of the 2025 season with Wofford, North Carolina, VMI, and Howard as known opponents for weeks two through five.

Cal Poly will travel to play Utah on Saturday, September 6, 2025, according to FBSchedules. Cal Poly will receive $550,000 for the contest. The two teams have never played each other in football. The addition of Utah on that date means the previously scheduled game against Wyoming on the same day has been moved. The Cal Poly-Wyoming matchup has been moved to Saturday, September 11, 2032.

Southern Illinois is slated to take on the Wisconsin Badgers in 2027 but that game has been pushed back a week, per Wisconsin’s website. The Salukis will travel to Madison on Saturday, September 11 instead of Saturday, September 4. SIU and Wisconsin have not previously met in football. There are over 450 FCS versus FBS games scheduled between 2024 and 2034 with a full list available here.

Photo Credit to Cal Poly Athletics