MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama has filled two open dates on its 2015 and 2016 football schedules with a home-and-home series against San Diego State. The openings were created when UAB announced it would discontinue its football program.
Series Dates
The Jaguars will play at San Diego State on Sept. 19, 2015. The Aztecs will visit Mobile on Oct. 1, 2016.
A Series Revisited
South Alabama Director of Athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann said the schools had begun working on a home-and-home series in the fall of 2013. When the chance to schedule UAB arose, South Alabama chose that series because of local interest, the short bus trip and the reasonable cost of the road game. Erdmann said it was the “more logical choice to play UAB.”
UAB’s decision to end football left South Alabama with two open dates. San Diego State had not yet found a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent for the same dates in 2015 and 2016.
“We look forward to playing those guys,” head coach Joey Jones told AL.com. “It’s a football program with a lot of tradition and we look forward to the series.”
Jones also said the series adds to the strength of the Jaguars’ schedule.
2015 Schedule Taking Shape
South Alabama’s 2015 non-conference schedule:
- Sept. 5 — Gardner-Webb (FCS)
- Sept. 12 — at Nebraska
- Sept. 19 — at San Diego State
- Sept. 26 — NC State
The Sun Belt Conference will release the 2015 league schedule in March. South Alabama will play conference road games at Troy, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Texas State and host Idaho, Appalachian State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State.
2016 Non-Conference Schedule
- Sept. 3 — at Mississippi State
- Sept. 24 — Nicholls State
- Oct. 1 — San Diego State
- Oct. 15 — at LSU
South Alabama’s 2016 Sun Belt opponents have not been announced.
Memphis Series Also Announced
The university also formally announced a home-and-home series with Memphis for 2018 and 2019, with the Jaguars playing at Memphis in 2018 and hosting the Tigers in 2019.
