EMORY, Va. – With spring practice now underway, the Emory & Henry College Football Team has announced its schedule for the upcoming 2023 season. Head Football Coach Curt Newsome will lead the Wasps on the gridiron for the 10th year and the program's second season as a member of the South Atlantic Conference. E&H will still not be eligible to earn a spot in the NCAA Division II Playoffs, but will be in the running to be crowned as SAC Champion and eligible for weekly and season-long awards from the league.

This past fall, Emory & Henry posted a 5-6 overall record with a 4-5 mark against league opponents in its first year as a member of the SAC. The Wasps finished in fourth place in the Mountain Division and eighth overall after being picked 11th in the conference's preseason poll. Two of E&H's opponents were selected for the Division II Playoffs last year following a gauntlet of a conference season that saw six of the league's 12 schools represented in the Super Region 2 Rankings.

RELATED – 2023 Football Schedule (printer-friendly version)

E&H gets the season started with a trip to Athens, West Virginia on Saturday, September 2 to visit Concord University at 1:00 p.m. The Wasps make a second trip to the "Wild & Wonderful Mountaineer State" on Saturday, September 9, facing off against Bluefield State University. It will be the first time that Emory & Henry has faced the Big Blues in football since 1976.

Emory & Henry's next contest is a trip to Newberry, South Carolina to take on the two-time defending league champions in Newberry College. Fans will certainly remember the double-overtime thriller between the Wasps and Wolves at Fred Selfe Stadium last fall where E&H came up just short to No. 9 Newberry, 26-23.

On Saturday, September 23, E&H will play its first home game of the season, welcoming Wingate University at 1:00 p.m. The Wasps dispatched the Bulldogs, 17-10, in overtime last year for their first SAC victory.

After a trip to Salisbury, North Carolina on Saturday, September 30 to face off against Catawba College, Emory & Henry will ride across the mountains to the University of Virginia's College at Wise for Southwest Virginia Bowl VI.

The Wasps close the year with four of their five final contests in the friendly confines of Nicewonder Field and Fred Selfe Stadium. Homecoming 2023 will be on Saturday, October 14 against reigning Mountain Division champion Mars Hill University at 1:00 p.m. Next up for Emory & Henry is Tusculum University on Saturday, October 21 (1:00 p.m.).

Following a visit to Carson-Newman University on Saturday, October 28, E&H will play its final two contests at home. Erskine College visits Southwest Virginia for the first time on Saturday, November 4 (1:00 p.m.) and Limestone University is scheduled for a matchup on Saturday, November 11 (1:00 p.m.). The Week 11 game against the Saints could change based on the conference standings in order to place the top teams in each of the two divisions against one another in the SAC Championship game. Regardless, the Wasps will close out the season with a home game.

Game times for this season are tentative and subject to change based on travel. Please refer to the football schedule on www.GoWasps.com for the latest updates on game times.

During Emory & Henry's Spring Practice, Coach Newsome and Gary Lester will do a spring version of the Keys to the Game Radio Show at 6:30 p.m., every Monday evening. That can be heard live on WEHC 90.7 FM (and WISE FM affiliates across Southwest Virginia) as well as online at www.wehcfm.com. Fans can also find replays of Keys to the Game on the football page at www.GoWasps.com.

For more information on Emory & Henry College Football, the College's 21 other NCAA Division II sports, IDA & IHSA Equestrian teams and competitive cheerleading & dance squads, visit www.GoWasps.com, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/GoWasps or follow us on Twitter @GoWasps and Instagram @WaspsAthletics.

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2023 Emory & Henry Football Schedule