SALISBURY — The Livingstone College Department of Athletics has released the 2017 football schedule. Livingstone will play 10 games during the 2017 season. The schedule features three nonconference games, including one against an FCS (Football Championship Series) opponent.
The Blue Bears kick off the 2017 season on the road on September 2, in the first of three straight nonconference games. The Blue Bears will host four games in the upcoming season.
Livingstone will roam in Columbia, S.C., to take on the Tigers of Benedict College in the 16th Annual Palmetto Capital City Classic on September 2. The Blue Bears fell to the Tigers 5-3 last year in the Classic.
The following week, Livingstone will travel to Owensboro, Kentucky to face the Panthers of Kentucky Wesleyan of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference on Sept. 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The final nonconference game of the Blue Bears’ away contests will be against the Pirates of Hampton University, an NCAA Division I FCS opponent and former CIAA foe. The last time these two teams met was in 1994, Hampton competes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The 6 p.m. matchup will take place at Armstrong Stadium on Sept. 16.
Livingstone, which went 2-8 overall and 1-6 in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association last year, will open CIAA play in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, in a CIAA crossover game on September 30 at 6 p.m. in Garrison Stadium taking on the Hawks of Chowan University.
Opening the home slate Livingstone will host the Trojans of Virginia State University in its second CIAA crossover game of the season. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
The Blue Bears will hit the road for back to back trips to the Raleigh — Durham area. On Oct. 7 Livingstone will meet Saint Augustine’s and will travel to Durham to face Shaw University to compete against the Bears on Oct. 14. Game times have yet to be released.
The Blue Bears will return into the den to host three CIAA Conference games including Winston-Salem State on Oct. 21, Fayetteville State University on Oct. 28, for Homecoming and will close out the 2017 gridiron season on Nov. 4 hosting archrival Johnson C. Smith University, in the 125th anniversary of The Birthplace of Black College Football, which will take place inside Alumni Memorial Stadium in Salisbury.
Livingstone 2017 Football Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Location | Time | Event |
| Sept. 2 | Benedict | Columbia, SC | 4 p.m. | Capital City Classic |
| Sept. 9 | Kentucky Wesleyan | Owensboro, KY | 1 p.m. | |
| Sept. 16 | Hampton | Hampton, VA | 6 p.m. | |
| Sept. 23 | Chowan | Murfreesboro, NC | 6 p.m. | |
| Sept. 30 | Virginia State | Salisbury, NC | 6 p.m. | Faculty/Staff Day |
| Oct. 7 | Saint Augustine’s | Raleigh, NC | TBA | |
| Oct. 14 | Shaw | Raleigh, NC | TBA | |
| Oct. 21 | Winston-Salem State | Salisbury, NC | 1 p.m. | Military Day |
| Oct. 28 | Fayetteville State | Salisbury, NC | 1:30 p.m. | Homecoming |
| Nov. 4 | Johnson C. Smith | Salisbury, NC | TBA | Commemorative Classic |
Courtesy: Livingstone Athletics
