WEEK 1 SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28
Dayton at Eastern Illinois 7 p.m. DAY, 1-0 DAY, W1 Dayton def. Eastern Illinois, 17-10 (9/18/2021) Lindenwood at St. Thomas 7 p.m. LU, 1-0 LU, W1 Lindenwood def. St. Thomas, 64-0 (9/21/2024)
Upper Iowa at Drake 7:30 p.m. DRA, 3-0 DRA, W3 Drake def. Upper Iowa, 17-13 (8/28/2008)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
New Haven at Marist 7 p.m. First Meeting
SATURDAY, AUGUST 30
Georgetown at Davidson 1 p.m. GU, 11-4 GU, W1 Georgetown def. Davidson, 46-24 (8/31/2024)
Butler at Northern Iowa 2 p.m. First Meeting
Virginia-Lynchburg at Valparaiso 2 p.m. First Meeting
Webber International at Stetson 6 p.m. STE, 2-0 STE, W2
Stetson def. Webber International, 38-38 (9/9/2023)
Allen (S.C.) at Morehead State 6 p.m. First Meeting
Presbyterian at Mercer 6 p.m. MU, 2-0 MU, W2
Mercer def. Presbyterian, 63-10 (8/29/2024)
Cal Poly at San Diego 8 p.m. UCD, 9-1 UCD, W7 UC David def. San Diego, 43-13 (9/17/2022)
PFL Notes
• Opening week sees all 11 PFL teams in action with a trio of games set for Thursday, followed by a Friday night contest in Poughkeepsie, and the remaining seven games set for Saturday. • The PFL’s coaching ranks continued its turnover during the 2024-25 offseason with five head coaches hired. Butler, Davidson, Drake, Stetson, and Valparaiso all brought aboard new leaders for their programs. • Following a vote by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors in June, St. Thomas has officially completed the reclassification process, making it an active member of NCAA Division I and eligible to compete in NCAA championships. The Tommies will compete for the PFL automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs for the first time this season. • Davidson College senior running back Mari Adams and Drake senior linebacker Sean Allison are the PFL’s representatives on the 2025 Walter Payton and Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch Lists, respectively. Adams was joined by Drake senior long snapper Brett Welsing on the 2025 Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Teams. • Last season, PFL teams claimed four wins against their scholarship FCS brethren. Butler (at Murray State), Dayton (vs. Saint Francis), Drake (at Eastern Washington), and San Diego (vs. Cal Poly). Those victories helped the league post its most wins against FCS nonconference teams since 2019. • Ten PFL alumni were on NFL 53-man rosters prior to the start of the 2025 NFL season. In addition, PFL alumni were on Canadian Football League and the United Football League rosters during those league’s respective 2025 seasons.
