Bearcats will have six home games this season
The McKendree University football program has released its 2016 schedule and for just the second time in the 21 years since the program was revived in 1996, the Bearcats will have six regular-season home games.
And for the second time, McKendree will host a Thursday night season opener at Leemon Field. Head coach Mike Babcock, who is entering his fourth year at McKendree, is very excited about the schedule the Bearcats have in front of them for the upcoming season.
“It’s exciting to announce this 2016 schedule because of the challenges that lay ahead in the coming year,” said Babcock. “We believe we have three great non-conference opponents who will provide great early-season challenges for our program. After those games, we’re looking forward to another fantastic season of Great Lakes Valley Conference football. There is more parity in our league than ever, although Indianapolis is still the team to beat. But week in and week out, every team will get tested in the GLVC. We cannot wait to see what the new season will bring for the Bearcats.”
The 2016 schedule release comes just one day before McKendree opens its spring practice season. The Bearcats will have the full complement of 15 workouts allowed per NCAA rules, beginning on Wednesday and culminating in the annual spring game set for Saturday, April 23. Kickoff for the spring game is set for 3:15 p.m. at Leemon Field.
McKendree will officially kick off its 2016 season on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Leemon Field against Angelo State University. The Rams are members of the Lone Star Conference and went 7-4 last season with a 3-3 mark in league play. That game will mark the home contest under the lights for McKendree as the teams will meet at 6 p.m. It will mark the first meeting between the two programs.
Nine days later on Sept. 10, West Liberty University will be the opponent for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Lebanon. The Bearcats opened the 2015 regular season at West Liberty with a 50-27 triumph. The Hilltoppers posted a 5-6 record a year ago with a 5-5 slate in Mountain East Conference action.
The Bearcats will close out the non-conference portion of the 2016 schedule on Sept. 17 at NCAA Football Championship Subdivision member Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The Bulldogs were 5-6 last season, including a 4-4 record in the Pioneer Football League. This will be the second meeting all-time between McKendree and Drake. The Bearcats visited Des Moines to begin the 2000 season and fell to the Bulldogs by a score of 28-11.
On Sept. 24, McKendree will start its fourth season of GLVC play by hosting William Jewell College. The Bearcats built a big first-half advantage on its way to a 41-23 win on the road against the Cardinals last season. The William Jewell contest will be followed by road games on Oct. 1 at Southwest Baptist University and at the University of Indianapolis on Oct. 8. McKendree posted a 38-13 Homecoming win over Southwest Baptist last season. Indianapolis, the four-time defending GLVC champions, handed the Bearcats their first loss of the 2015 season with a 34-24 setback at Leemon Field in a game that was not decided until the closing minute of play.
After the two-game road swing, McKendree will return to Leemon Field to host Saint Joseph’s College for Homecoming on Oct. 15 and Missouri S&T a week later on Oct. 22. The Pumas provided stiff opposition until the Bearcats used a pair of late scores to pull away for a 29-10 win last season in Indiana. After building a 17-0 first-quarter lead at Missouri S&T last October, the host Miners rallied to grab a 34-27 win over McKendree.
The final two road games of the 2016 regular season will come at Lincoln University on Oct. 29 and at Quincy University on Nov. 5. McKendree set an NCAA Division II-era record for the program for points in a game last fall with a 65-0 victory over Lincoln. The Bearcats’ offense continued to click a week later versus Quincy by posting a 56-30 win over the Hawks.
McKendree will close out its 2016 regular season schedule on Nov. 12 at Leemon Field when Truman State University comes to town. The Bearcats grabbed a 31-3 win over the Bulldogs in last year’s season finale played in Kirksville, Mo.
The only other time McKendree played six regular-season games at Leemon Field was in 2004, when the Bearcats went 5-1 at home on its way to a 9-2 overall record and an undefeated run through the Mid-States Football Association-Midwest League at 7-0.
This story was originally published April 2, 2016 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Bearcats will have six home games this season."