Statesmen Seek 10th Game for 2018

The fact that the Saint John Fisher and Hartwick games from 2017 were "one and done" contracts and Buffalo State won't officially join the Liberty League until 2019, the Statesmen will need to fill an open date in Week 5, at the end of September (which is also Homecoming / Parents Weekend for those "keeping score at home") to fill a 10-game schedule this fall.

The recent out of conference series against Brockport, Shenandoah and Endicott remain intact as do the current five Liberty League conference ones.

What we do know is on the calendar is a season opener on 9/1/18 vs. Brockport, who made it all the way to the 2017 Final Four, at Brockport. Another game that's been confirmed via press release is a "Saturday Night Lights" game against Shenandoah on 9/15/18 in VA at 7 PM. I would also say it's safe to assume that the games against Saint Lawrence and Rochester (who just added Hobart alum Chad Martinovich '94 as their new HC) will remain in their usual Week 10 and 11 spots (on 11/3 and 11/10, respectively).

The Endicott date is yet to be announced but it likely will remain in Week 4 like last year, which will be on 9/22/18 this upcoming season. This game will the final one in the series after Hobart having played Endicott every year since the 2014 season.

SUNY-Morrisville is reportedly the Week 2 (9/8/17) opponent. The Mustangs finished the 2017 season with a 4-6 overall record and a 2-5 mark in the Empire 8. Their wins were against Norwich, Nichols, Saint John Fisher and Utica. They dropped a close Week 5 contest to Union, 28-27, which started a five game losing streak until they rebounded with wins in Week 10 and 11 to close out the season.

Other games, including the LL conference schedule, will be officially announced at a later date. The Hobart Athletic Department does have a potential opponent on the radar for Week 5, but it is keeping it close to the vest for now.

That said we can predict the 2018 schedule as follows (assuming SUNY is a home game to ensure a balanced five-home and five-away game schedule - and avoid a four-game road trip to open the year - plus LL games flip-flop per usual):

Week 1 @ Brockport on 9/1/18
Week 2 vs. SUNY-Morrisville on 9/8/18
Week 3 @ Shenandoah on 9/15/18 at 7 PM
Week 4 @ Endicott on 9/22/18
Week 5 vs. TBD on 9/29/18 - Homecoming game, likely under the lights
Week 6 TBD on 10/6/18 (LL game - maybe @ RPI)
Week 7 TBD on 10/13/18 (LL game - maybe IC at Hobart)
Week 8 TBD on 10/20/18 (LL game or bye week - IC is playing UofR on this date)
Week 9 TBD on 10/27/18 (LL game or bye week - Union at Hobart could be in Week 8 like 2017)
Week 10 @ SLU on 11/3/18 (see comment below)
Week 11 vs. UofR at the Boz 11/10/18 - Senior Day / Centennial Cup game (see comment below)

This type of schedule would mean a couple of long road trips in the first half of the schedule, but the back half would be helpful with three home games, including two against Ithaca and Union in mid-to-late October as the conference title and playoff race starts to shape up. It's possible the SUNY game could be a night one, as the Mustangs do really like to schedule these, especially early in the season. They had a series against SLU in prior years that were 7 PM kickoffs. Either way, this is a solid slate if it pans out. Time will tell.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!