After spending most of the past two seasons on the road, the Miles football team will have a good brand of home cooking for the upcoming season.
The Golden Bears released their 2020 football schedule Thursday and the two-time defending Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions will feature six home games at Albert J. Sloan-Alumni Stadium, two Classic contests, and just one road trip that is longer than four hours. A third consecutive Western Division title could also mean hosting the SIAC Championship game, as well.
[postBannerAd]
“We’ve been road warriors the last couple of years so it’ll be nice to play more games at home,” said Reginald Ruffin, set to begin his 10th season at the helm of the Golden Bears. “When you can play in front of your home crowd, it can give your team a big lift. We’ve got some of the best fans around and this schedule has not only some good home games, but some road games that our fans can get to and show the strong support we get wherever we go.”
Miles will open with two home games. The season will open on Sept. 5 with Fort Valley State and on Sept. 12, Shaw is making its first trip to Fairfield since 2014 and will be the opponent for the Prince Hall Americanism Football Classic.
The Golden Bears will then hit the road for the first time when it travels to Mobile on Sept. 19 to take on Morehouse in the Gulf Coast Challenge at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. It is the first of three straight road games as Miles visits Lane on Sept. 26, then head to Livingston to battle region foe West Alabama on Oct. 3.
The second half of the schedule is heavy with home contests, beginning with Homecoming on Oct. 10 against Benedict. The Tigers are making their first trip to Sloan-Alumni Stadium since 2012. The Golden Bears will then host a Thursday night game for the first time since 2017 when they welcome Edward Waters to Fairfield on Oct. 15. Central State is the third straight home game and appears on Oct. 24.
The final road game is on Halloween as Miles travels to take on Kentucky State. The Golden Bears close out the regular season with a visit from rival Tuskegee for Senior Day on Nov. 7. Over the past nine seasons, the Miles-Tuskegee tilt has determined the winner of the Western Division eight times and the SIAC title seven times. The SIAC Championship Game, pitting the winners of the Eastern and Western Divisions would take place at the home of the West Division winner on Nov. 14.
2020 Football Schedule
Sep 5 6 p.m. vs Fort Valley State University Fairfield, AL
Sep 12 6 p.m. vs Shaw University Fairfield, AL
Sep 19 5 p.m. vs Morehouse Mobile, AL
Sep 26 TBA at Lane College Jackson, TN
Oct 3 TBA at University of West Alabama Livingston, AL
HOMECOMING
Oct 10 4 p.m. vs Benedict College Fairfield, AL
Oct 15 (Thu) 6 p.m. vs Edward Waters Fairfield, AL
Oct 24 4 p.m. vs Central State University Fairfield, AL
Oct 31 TBA at Kentucky State University Frankfort, KY
Nov 7 2 p.m. vs Tuskegee University