WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State announced a 10-game slate featuring six home dates for the 2017 season.
The Mustangs kickoff the season with four of their first five games at Memorial Stadium including their earliest season opener since 2009.
MSU takes on Quincy (Ill.) on Aug. 31 at Memorial Stadium with a 7 p.m. start time. It has been eight seasons since the Mustangs last played in August as MSU rolled to a 41-0 win over New Mexico Highlands to start the 2009 campaign.
Quincy finished sixth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2016 posting a 5-6 overall mark.
The Mustangs travel to take on second-year program West Florida on Sept. 9 in Pensacola. The Argonauts play their home games at Blue Wahoos Stadium which is the home of Pensacola's Double-A professional baseball team. The 5,038-seat stadium was named 2012 Ballpark of the Year by Baseballparks.com.
West Florida posted a 5-6 record in its inaugural season which featured a 42-39 victory over No. 16 Florida Tech.
Midwestern State's first three Lone Star Conference are the comfortable confines of Memorial Stadium. The Mustangs play host to upstart Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sept. 16 and take a week off before welcoming Western New Mexico on Sept. 30 and defending league champ Texas A&M-Commerce on Oct. 7.
Texas A&M-Commerce makes its first appearance in Wichita Falls since 2014 and it's just the Lions second showing since 2004.
The Mustangs alternate road and home games for the remainder of the season traveling to face Angelo State on Oct. 14, UT-Permian Basin on Oct. 28 and closing the season at Eastern New Mexico on Nov. 11.
Midwestern State faces rivals West Texas A&M and Tarleton State at home on Oct. 21 and Nov. 4, respectively.
The Mustangs posted their 17th consecutive winning season last fall while advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the seventh time in program history with an 8-3 record.
All games broadcast live on ESPN 95.5 FM -- The Falls Sports Authority. Each home game streams also streams live via a video pay-per-view on the Mustangs Digital Network at MSUMustangs.tv.
SCHEDULE NOTABLES
* Midwestern State posted a 3-1 home record last season and is 39-8 at Memorial Stadium since the start of the 2008 season.
* The Mustangs play six home games for the third time in the last eight seasons. MSU also slated six regular season home contests in 2009 and 2015.
* MSU advanced to the NCAA playoffs in three of the four years it has played six regular season games at home under current head coach
Bill Maskill including 2006, 2009 and 2015 campaigns. The Mustangs also played six regular season home contests in 2005.
* Midwestern State has won its last 18 games against non-conference foes dating back to the 2003 season.
* The Mustangs are 19-10 in season openers since the program brought back football to start the 1988 season.
* MSU plays its first game in the Sunshine State of Florida when it takes on West Florida on Sept. 9 in Florida.
* The Mustangs make their first appearance in three different venues this season. In addition to Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola, MSU plays at the venerable Ratliff Stadium made famous in "Friday Night Lights" when it takes on UT-Permian Basin on Oct. 28 in Odessa. Midwestern closes the season at Eastern New Mexico's new Greyhound Stadium. The on-campus facility opened for the 2016 season.
* Here are MSU's records against this season's opposition: Texas A&M-Kingsville (12-6), Western New Mexico (2-2), Texas A&M-Commerce (10-12), Angelo State (14-6), West Texas A&M (13-17), UT-Permian Basin (1-0), Tarleton State (11-18) and Eastern New Mexico (17-6). The Mustangs have never faced Quincy or West Florida.
-- MSUMustangs.com --