ETSU opens season at Vanderbilt, Sept. 4

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 17, 2021) – The ETSU football team has put the odd 2021 spring season behind and is now focused on getting back to normal this fall as the Bucs have officially revealed the 2021 fall season schedule. The Bucs will begin the season at Southeastern Conference foe, Vanderbilt, on Saturday, Sept. 4. The Bucs will host six home contests at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium this fall.

“We are looking forward to being able to play a normal fall schedule,” stated Head Coach Randy Sanders. “We were fortunate to have the opportunity to play this spring but now we are shifting our focus to a fall season that will be both challenging and beneficial to our team. We are excited to see fans filling the seats at Greene Stadium this season.”

BACK TO THE CAPITAL
The Bucs will begin the 2021 fall schedule at Vanderbilt on Saturday, Sept. 4 in Nashville, Tenn. The Bucs will be making their second journey to Vanderbilt Stadium in program history and second in three seasons. ETSU ended the 2019 regular season at Vanderbilt, falling to the Commodores by the final of 38-0.

GOOD TO BE HOME
The Bucs will kick off the home slate the following Saturday on Sept. 11 when ETSU welcomes NCAA Division II opponent, UVA Wise. The Cavaliers and Bucs will be meeting on the gridiron for the first time in program history. ETSU will then close out the non-conference slate with the first-ever meeting against the Delaware State Hornets on Sept. 18.

SOCON OPENER
The Bucs will open the 2021 Southern Conference campaign with a road showdown at Samford on Saturday, Sept. 25 in Birmingham, Ala. This will be the second consecutive season that ETSU has begun the SoCon journey with Samford. The Bucs outlasted the Bulldogs on Feb. 20 to open the 2021 Spring season by the final of 24-17.

HOME COOKIN’
Following the SoCon opener on the road, ETSU will entertain four SoCon opponents over the final eight weeks at Greene Stadium. The Bucs will host Wofford on Oct. 2, followed by The Citadel on Oct. 9. ETSU will then return home on Saturday, Nov. 6 when the Blue & Gold square off against VMI. The Bucs will close out the 2021 Fall campaign with a home battle against Mercer on Nov. 20 in Johnson City. ETSU will be looking for revenge against the Bears as Mercer handed the Bucs a tough 21-13 loss in Macon on April 10, ending the ETSU season this spring.

BRING YOUR FAMILY
The first of two very important dates during the fall season will be Family Weekend on Oct. 2. The Bucs will host Family Weekend as it coincides with ETSU’s home battle against the Wofford Terriers at Greene Stadium.

HOMECOMING!
The second big date on the docket will be on Saturday, Nov. 6 as the Bucs host VMI on homecoming. More on homecoming festivities will be announced at a later time. ETSU is 3-2 in homecoming matches since the return of football, including 2-1 when hosting homecoming at Greene Stadium.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The final three SoCon road showdowns will be mixed in with the Buccaneer home contests, beginning with the Rail Rivalry against Chattanooga on Saturday, Oct. 16 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Mocs opted out of the remainder of their games in the 2021 spring season, including the 2021 Spring version of the Rail Rivalry that would have taken place in Johnson City on April 17. Following a battle with the Mocs, the Bucs will head to Greenville, S.C. to square off with Furman on Oct. 23. The final road contest of the season will be the coveted Blue Ridge Border Battle against the Western Carolina Catamounts. The fourth edition of the BRBB will take place in Cullowhee, N.C. on Saturday, Nov. 13. ETSU won the previous rivalry, 24-17 on March 27 at Greene Stadium. Neither team has kept the trophy for two consecutive seasons since the inauguration of the rivalry in 2018.

OPEN WEEK
ETSU’s open week will be the day before Halloween on Saturday, Oct. 30, sandwiched between a pair of league contests. The Bucs will have two weeks to prepare for the air-raid offense of the Keydets on Nov. 6.

GET YOUR TICKETS
Season tickets are officially open for renewal and may be renewed by calling the Buccaneer ticket office at 423-439-3878 or by visiting etsutickets.com.

Kickoffs for all games will be announced at a later time.

ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more sent to their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click here to sign up today!

For more information on Buccaneer football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football page.