Wayne State University Athletics

Football 3/15/2023 3:47:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Wayne State Announces 2023 Football Schedule

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football team, under the direction of first-year head coach Tyrone Wheatley, will host six contests in its 11-game 2023 schedule announced today.

For the second straight season, WSU will open its slate at perennially national power Slippery Rock. This game will conclude a four-year contract (2019 and 2021 at WSU, and 2022 and 2023 at SRU). The season-opener against the Rock will start at 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 2. SRU went 10-3 a year ago and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Playoffs.

The Miners of Missouri S&T will be the opponent for the September 9 home debut of Coach Wheatley. The 1 p.m. kickoff at Tom Adams Field is the completion of a home-and-home agreement which began with a 2019 contest in Rolla, Mo. S&T won that meeting 51-45 in overtime. Missouri S&T went 3-7 in 2022, but four losses were by a touchdown or less.

Week 3 will see the Warriors traveling to Indianapolis to face the Greyhounds in a 6 p.m. match-up on September 16. This will be the 24th all-time meeting between the football programs with WSU holding a 7-5 mark in games played at Key Stadium including five consecutive victories from 2000 through 2011. UIndy went 9-2 in 2022 and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Playoffs.

The following weekend, Wayne State will entertain Truman State for another 1 p.m. tilt. The Bulldogs will be visiting Motown for the third time since 2015. TSU has won the last two match-ups to take a 4-3 lead in the all-time series. Truman compiled a 9-2 record last fall, which included a 28-27 win over Tiffin in the America's Crossroads Bowl.

WSU will conclude its non-conference schedule with a home contest against Concordia (Ann Arbor) at 6 p.m. on September 30. This will be the inaugural meeting between the two schools. The Cardinals went 5-5 a season ago, after winning their final three games.

The Warriors will commence their GLIAC slate of games with the annual Homecoming contest. The 2023 opponent will be Michigan Tech for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Huskies have won seven of the last nine meetings, but Wayne State still holds a 19-13 edge in the all-time series.

WSU's second home night game of the year will see the Davenport Panthers travel to Adams Field. Despite last year's 47-43 setback in the final seconds at DU, the Warriors have a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series. Davenport compiled an 8-2 regular-season mark in 2022 before falling at Ferris State in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs.

Wayne State's first GLIAC road test will be a 2 p.m. game at Saginaw Valley State on October 21. The Cardinals have won the last three meetings to take a 33-10-1 lead in the all-time series. SVSU scored the game-winning touchdown in the final minute of the 2022 match-up to snap a 14-14 deadlock.

WSU will continue on the road the following weekend making the trek to the Superior Dome in Marquette to face the Northern Michigan Wildcats. NMU has won three of the last four meetings to lead 20-15 in the all-time series.

The home finale on November 4 will be a 1 p.m. kickoff against Grand Valley State, who is under the direction of former WSU letterwinner and offensive line coach Scott Wooster. Following WSU's triumph in Allendale in 2019, GVSU has won the last three match-ups including both the league and non-GLIAC games in 2022.

The Warriors regular-season finale will take place on November 11 at defending national champion Ferris State.

Football season tickets for the 2023 campaign will go on sale during the spring game on Saturday, April 15.

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