FRISCO, Texas — The Southland Conference announced Wednesday that its entire 2021 home football schedule will be televised on ESPN+, as all 30 games will be broadcast live. This follows the unique 2021 Southland spring football season that was also fully-televised and culminated in a Division I FCS national championship by Sam Houston State, along with major national FCS awards won by Southland student-athletes.
Seven of the broadcasts will originate on Cox Sports Television for subscribers in the Gulf South region of the U.S., but will also be available nationwide on ESPN+. All other broadcasts will ESPN productions by Conference or institutional broadcast operations. A complete television broadcast schedule, including road non-conference games, will be released at a later date.
“As the Southland increases its commitment to ESPN as part of an extended agreement signed in 2020, and expands on its longstanding relationship with the network, televising all home football games is now the norm,” league Commissioner Tom Burnett said. “Further, the upcoming fall football schedule will mark the beginning of an exponential increase in campus production broadcasts in 2021-22. And we greatly appreciate the continued and growing interest from our valued partners at Cox Sports Television, as the network will feature a number of great rivalries.”
The 2021 home broadcast schedule kicks off Saturday, Sept. 4, with non-conference games West Florida at McNeese (CST/ESPN+) and North Alabama at Southeastern Louisiana (ESPN+). League play begins Sept. 25 with McNeese at UIW and Northwestern State at Southeastern Louisiana, both on ESPN+. The Southland will feature a unique scheduling model in league play this season, with each team playing three other opponents twice, home and away, and two opponents once (home or away) for eight games total. Two national FCS award winners, Cole Kelley, Southeastern Louisiana’s quarterback who won the Walter Payton Award as the best player in FCS, and UIW quarterback Cameron Ward, the Jerry Rice Award winner as the best freshman in FCS, return for the 2021 fall season.
Viewers can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.
Date Game Kickoff Time (CT)
Sat, Sept. 4 West Florida at McNeese (CST) 12 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 4 North Alabama at Southeastern Louisiana 6 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 11 Northern Colorado at Houston Baptist 6 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 11 Prairie View A&M at UIW 7 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 18 UT Martin at Northwestern State 6 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 25 McNeese at UIW 12 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 25 North Alabama at Nicholls 3 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 25 Northwestern State at Southeastern Louisiana 6 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 2 Southeastern Louisiana at McNeese (CST) 12 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 2 Houston Baptist at Nicholls 3 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 2 UIW at Northwestern State 6 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 9 Southeastern Louisiana at Nicholls (CST) 12 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 9 Northwestern State at Houston Baptist 6 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 16 Nicholls at UIW 11 a.m.
Sat, Oct. 16 McNeese at Northwestern State (CST) 3 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 16 Houston Baptist at Southeastern Louisiana 4 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 23 UIW at McNeese 12 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 23 Southeastern Louisiana at Northwestern State 3 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 23 Nicholls at Houston Baptist 6 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 30 Northwestern State at Nicholls 12 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 30 Houston Baptist at UIW 3 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 30 McNeese at Southeastern Louisiana (CST) 6 p.m.
Sat, Nov. 6 Nicholls at McNeese (CST) 12 p.m.
Sat, Nov. 6 Southeastern Louisiana at UIW 2 p.m.
Sat, Nov. 6 Houston Baptist at Northwestern State 3 p.m.
Sat, Nov. 13 McNeese at Houston Baptist 2 p.m.
Sat, Nov. 13 UIW at Nicholls 3 p.m.
Thu, Nov. 18 Nicholls at Southeastern Louisiana (CST) 6 p.m.
Sat, Nov. 20 Northwestern State at McNeese 12 p.m.
Sat, Nov. 20 UIW at Houston Baptist 2 p.m.
(CST) — Cox Sports Television and ESPN+.
ABOUT ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 13.8 million subscribers. Viewers can sign up to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.
ABOUT COX SPORTS TELEVISION (CST)
CST is an innovative 24-hour regional sports network that delivers exclusive live programming and sporting events from the prep, collegiate and professional levels. CST’s diverse lineup is a mix of home-grown studio shows that covers sports from the inside out and action-packed live events that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. Since its launch in 2002, CST’s reach has grown from humble beginnings to a much larger reach. THE GULF SOUTH SPORTS LEADER is now available to nearly 4 million viewers. Cox Sports Television is available to video distributors and is a part of Cox Communications, LLC, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the country.
ABOUT THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
The Southland Conference, founded in Dallas in 1963, and with member institutions in major metropolitan destinations Houston, San Antonio and New Orleans, sponsors 19 NCAA Division I sports, including FCS football. The Southland Conference is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, one of America’s fastest-growing cities, and where the Southland annually serves as the host conference for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.
{Courtesy: release from the Southland Conference}