BELTON–UMHB’s 10-game regular season slate in 2024 was released Friday morning, and includes three non-D3 opponents along with a rematch against UW-Whitewater and a double round-robin American Southwest Conference schedule.
The matchup with UW-Whitewater was previously announced, but The Cru’s other three non-conference contests were confirmed by the release of the schedule, and for the first time in program history, UMHB will face three non-D3 opponents in the regular season.
Per research done by True To The Cru, UMHB last played a non-D3 opponent in 2010, when the Crusaders won, 31-10, at Southern Oregon (NAIA) on Oct. 16, 2010.
The season opener comes on Sept. 7, when UMHB travels east to McKenzie, Tennessee, for a 1 p.m. battle with NAIA Bethel (TN). Bethel comes off an 11-2 campaign in 2023 that saw the Wildcats reach the NAIA quarterfinals, as they averaged 437.3 yards and 41.9 points per game. The Wildcats finished the season ranked No. 7 in the NAIA Coaches Top 25 poll. A competitive program in the Mid-South Conference, Bethel also faced Georgetown (Ky.), who finished No. 4 in the NAIA, in a 52-24 loss, and beat Lindsey Wilson, who was ranked No. 11 at the time of the game, 34-8, in the regular season finale. The Wildcats are coached by Michael Jasper, who enters his sixth season at the helm of the program.
The home opener is set for Sept. 14 at 6:00 p.m., as The Cru hosts Westgate Christian, an independent program based out of Houston, Texas. Unaffiliated with the NCAA, NAIA, or any other collegiate division, WCU is in its first year of varsity football. Ola Muhammad, a former student-athlete at Midwestern State, is the program’s head coach.
The trip to Whitewater follows on Sept. 21, as UMHB battles the Warhawks in non-conference play for the third straight season. UW-Whitewater went 11-2 in 2023, and reached the national quarterfinals. Read more about that game here.
The Crusaders then host John Melvin University for one final tune-up prior to ASC play kicking off the following week, as the Louisiana-based program travels to Belton on Sept. 28. The 1:00 p.m. game features a John Melvin program playing its second year of football, as the Millers went 2-5 overall a year ago (one win came as the result of a forfeit) against a primarily-JV schedule. The program’s lone win came over Louisiana Community Christian College (the other came as the result of a forfeit). Don Lee is listed as the head coach of the program.
Notably, contests against Westgate Christian and John Melvin will be noncountable games, per an NCAA spokesperson. Neither institution “meets the accreditation or membership standards set forth in the NCAA statistics countable opponents policy”. As a result, neither game will officially count for records or statistics, per the NCAA.
ETBU is UMHB’s first ASC opponent of the season, as the Tigers travel to Belton on Oct. 5 for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff. The homestand continues with the annual rivalry clash against Hardin-Simmons, set for 1:00 p.m. on Oct. 12. A road trip to Howard Payne on Oct. 19 is followed by an open week before UMHB heads east to ETBU on Nov. 2. A road duel against Hardin-Simmons follows on Nov. 9 before the regular season closes in Belton, with UMHB hosting Howard Payne on Nov. 16.
The 2024 UMHB Football Schedule
September 7 | @ Bethel University – 1:00 pm
September 14 | vs Westgate Christian University, HOME GAME – 6:00 pm
September 21 | @ Wisconsin Whitewater – 1:00 pm
September 28 | vs John Melvin University, HOME GAME – 1:00 pm
October 5 | vs ETBU, HOME GAME 1:00 pm
October 12 | Hardin Simmons, HOME GAME – 1:00 pm
October 19th | @ Howard Payne – 1:00 pm
October 26th | OPEN WEEK
November 2 | @ ETBU – 1:00 pm
November 9 | @ Hardin Simmons – 1:00 pm
November 16 | Howard Payne, HOME GAME – 1:00 pm
