GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Tusculum University has released its 10-game football schedule for the upcoming 2024 fall season. The schedule will see the Pioneers face NCAA Division II Super Region 2 competition including nine contests against South Atlantic Conference competition.
TU will face four programs who recorded at least eight wins last year including two teams who advanced to the NCAA II Playoffs.
Tusculum head coach Billy Taylor is entering his first season at the helm of the Pioneer program. Seven of the 12 SAC football playing members will have a new head coach on the sidelines this fall including: TU, Carson-Newman, Lenoir-Rhyne, Limestone, UVA Wise, Wingate and SAC football newcomer Anderson who is fielding its first varsity team this season.
The Pioneers are the defending SAC Mountain Division Champions after posting a 6-5 overall record including 6-2 in league play to advance to the SAC title game for a second time in the last four years.
Tusculum will play five games on the road and five at home including a stretch of three contests at Pioneer Field in the month of October.
TU kicks off the season on Sep. 7 when they travel to the University of West Alabama for the second meeting between the Pioneers and the Tigers. UWA went 5-5 last season and finished tied for fifth place in the Gulf South Conference. This will be Tusculum’s first trip to Livingston after the Tigers posted a win in Greeneville in the 2019 inaugural meeting.
After an open date, the Pioneers will open SAC play on Sep. 21 when they host Newberry College in the first meeting between the two teams since 2021. The Wolves tied for fourth place in the SAC Piedmont Division last year and went 4-7 overall. This will be the 25th meeting in the series where Newberry has a 13-11 advantage with the Wolves winning the last three encounters.
On Sep. 28, it will be a rematch of the 2023 SAC Championship Game as the Pioneers travel to Lenoir-Rhyne University. The Bears swept the Piedmont and SAC titles last year and posted a sizzling postseason run which included winning the Super Region 2 championship. LR went 13-2 and advanced to the national semifinal where they were defeated by eventual national champion Harding. The Bears lead the all-time series with TU, 16-11 with Tusculum’s last victory coming in the 2020 SAC Championship game which was held in Hickory.
Tusculum opens the month of October with a match-up with Piedmont Division runner-up Limestone University. The Saints went 8-4 last year and earned a berth to the NCAA II Playoffs. Tusculum has dominated the young series with Limestone winning six of the seven meetings including the last four in a row. This will be the first encounter since 2021 as TU held on for a 24-21 victory in Greeneville.
The Pioneers will host Emory & Henry University on Oct. 12 for Homecoming. The Wasps placed fourth in the Mountain Division standings and went 5-6 including a 27-24 overtime win over Tusculum. This year will be the 20th meeting in a series which dates back to 1915. TU has won its last three homecoming contests including the 2022 clash with E&H which the Pioneers were victorious, 35-9.
The Pioneers face cross-mountain rival Mars Hill on Oct. 19 in the 41st meeting in the series which started in 1922. Tusculum won the Mountain Division crown with last year’s 29-27 double-overtime victory over the Lions in Greeneville. TU leads the series 23-15-2.
Tusculum returns home on Oct. 26 to host Anderson University. The Trojans will be fielding their first varsity team and are competing as SAC Mountain Division members. This is also Tusculum’s Sports Hall of Fame weekend.
The Pioneers travel to UVA Wise on Nov. 2 to face the Highland Cavaliers. TU and Wise meet on the collegiate gridiron for the 15th time as the Pioneers own an 8-6 edge in the series including last year’s 35-7 homecoming win. Tusculum’s last trip to UVA Wise was a thriller as the Pioneers turned away two scoring opportunities by the Cavs in the final minute to hold on for a 10-9 victory. UVA Wise went 2-9 last year and finished fifth in the Mountain Division.
Tusculum returns home to host arch-rival Carson-Newman University at Pioneer Field on Nov. 9 for Senior Day. The Eagles went 5-6 a year ago and finished third in the SAC Mountain Division. It will be the 53rd recorded meeting in the second oldest collegiate football rivalry in the State of Tennessee. TU won last year’s meeting 27-21 for the Pioneers’ first win in Jefferson City in 89 years. C-N leads the series 35-15-2, but the Pioneers have won five of the last seven meetings including four straight in Greeneville.
The regular season comes to an end on Nov. 16 when TU is scheduled to travel to Wingate University. If Tusculum wins the SAC Mountain Division title for a second straight year, TU would then travel to the site of the Piedmont Division winner for the SAC Championship game on Nov. 16.
The Bulldogs went 8-3 last year and won five of its last six games to finish in third place in the SAC Piedmont Division. One of Wingate’s three losses came at the hands of the Pioneers as TU rallied to a 23-21 victory for its first win at Irwin Belk Stadium since 2014. This will be the 27th meeting in the series which the Bulldogs lead 17-9.
The NCAA Playoffs will begin Nov. 23 at campus sites culminating with the Division II championship game on Dec. 21 in McKinney, Texas.
SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets available for purchase on-line at www.TusculumPioneers.com/Tickets. Individual game tickets are $15 each or a season ticket package for $60 ($15 savings). HomeTown Ticketing serves as the primary ticket provider for Tusculum University Athletics.
For more information, contact assistant athletic director Jenna Biggins at: [email protected].
