NORFOLK, Va. | Norfolk State University head football coach Dawson Odums announced on Thursday the 2023 football schedule, which features the return of the Labor Day Classic and the annual Battle of the Bay.
“This is a very fan-based schedule. I think our fans will be very appreciative of the schedule and the proximity of the teams that we are playing,” Odums said. “We open the season with Virginia State, an old rivalry and this should be a very good Labor Day Classic. I think the schedule is challenging in the first four games, but I think it gives us an opportunity to start with some success. We’ve got four home games this season, but I think it is an exciting schedule for our fan base. We are excited about this 2023 season, and I think we will have an opportunity for some success.”
The Spartans are looking to rebound off a 2-9 season in 2022 and will have the opportunity to open the new season at William “Dick” Price Stadium in the annual Labor Day Classic against rival Virginia State on Sept. 2. NSU won the last meeting, 34-13, during the 2019 season.
Norfolk State spends the following three weeks on the road as the Spartans visit Hampton in the annual Battle of the Bay Classic on Sept. 9 in Hampton, Va. The Spartans dropped the 2022 clash, 17-7, but outlasted the Pirates, 47-44, in overtime during the 2021 game in Hampton.
The following week, Sept. 16, NSU travels to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. to face Temple as it marks the first meeting between the two programs.
Norfolk State wraps up its three-game road swing at Towson on Sept. 23. The two programs have met just once during the 1984 NCAA Division II playoffs.
The Spartans return home, concluding the first month of the season, on Sept. 30 to face former conference foe North Carolina A&T State.
After a bye week to begin October, Norfolk State goes on the road for back-to-back Saturdays as the Spartans visit Tennessee State on Oct. 14. This matchup marks the first time the two programs have met since 1972.
NSU concludes the road trip on Oct. 21 with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opener in Washington, D.C. against Howard.
Norfolk State will hold its 2023 Homecoming game on Oct. 28 as Morgan State visits Dick Price Stadium. The Spartans won the 2022 game, 24-21 in Baltimore and own a 21-12 all-time record against the Bears.
NSU opens the final month of the regular season at the defending MEAC and Black College Football National Champions, North Carolina Central, before visiting Delaware State on Nov. 11.
Norfolk State University football wraps up the regular season at home as South Carolina State comes to town on Nov. 18. The Spartans outlasted the Bulldogs in overtime, 42-38, to win the 2022 game.
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