Missouri State Announces First FBS Football Series

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Missouri State has finalized a pair of non-conference football series for its inaugural season as a Division I FBS program in 2025, the university announced Thursday.

The Bears have drawn exciting home-and-away series against Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Marshall University. Both series will begin in 2025 with reciprocal matches in 2026.

The program's first-ever home game against an FBS opponent will take place on Saturday, September 13, 2025, when the Bears host SMU at Robert W. Plaster Stadium. The match is expected to be an evening match and will mark the university's official home debut at the reclassified level.

MoState will resume play on September 26, 2026 in Dallas.

Likewise, the Bears signed a home-and-home set with Marshall. The 2025 list includes a Sept. 6 game in Huntington, W.Va. against the Thundering Herd. The teams will also face off in Springfield in a rematch on September 19, 2026.

It will be Missouri State's first-ever game against both foes.

For 2025, previously announced games at Arkansas (Aug. 30) and at home against UT Martin (Sept. 20) will complete Missouri State's inaugural FBS non-conference schedule. Next season also includes eight games in Conference USA. Those dates and opponents have yet to be announced by MSU's new league.

Season ticket information for the upcoming season is available by calling (417) 836-8899, visiting MissouriStateBears.com/tickets or by submitting a ticket interest form.

Non-conference schedule for 2025

August 30 – in Arkansas
September 6 – at Marshall
September 13 – SMU
September 20 – UT Martin

Non-Conference Schedule for 2026

September 5 – at Kansas State
September 19 – Marshall
September 26 – at SMU

About the state of Missouri

This fall, Missouri State will enter its final season at the FCS level – and its second season under head coach Ryan Beard — with 20 starters returning from a 4-7 club. Beard's first season as Missouri State's head coach in 2023 was highlighted by strong performances in November and a highly recognized passing offense that ranked fifth nationally (FCS) with a school record 300.3 yards per game. MoState's late-season surge included a convincing home win over No. 15 Northern Iowa and a hard-fought loss to eventual national champion South Dakota State in the season finale.

The Bears have reached the FCS playoffs twice in the last four seasons and are charter members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which has produced 11 of the last 12 FCS national champions, as well as four national runners-up during that same span. MoState will transition to FBS football when it officially joins Conference USA in 2025.

About SMU

Third-year head coach Rhett Lashlee will guide the Mustangs to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2024 after leading the Dallas-based squad to an 11-3 overall record and an undefeated 8-0 record in the American Athletic Conference last season. SMU defeated Tulane in the U.S. championship game before falling to Boston College in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.

The Mustangs have 12 players named to the Athlon Sports Preseason All-ACC Teams, including first-team All-ACC Brashard Smith, a transfer from Miami who was a second-team All-ACC specialist a year ago. SMU plays in Gerald J. Ford Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 32,000 with the potential for future expansion to 45,000. The configuration includes nearly 600 club-level seats and 240 seats in 24 spacious luxury suites housed in a three-level tower with a press box.

About Marshall

Marshall enters the 2024 season as one of the Group of Five's most consistent programs, having played a bowl game in each of the last seven seasons and 10 of the last 11 years. Head coach Charles Huff is entering his fourth season leading the Thundering Herd and has a 22-17 record with the Herd during his three completed seasons.

Huff's victories with the Herd include two Power Five victories, a 26-21 win over No. 8 Notre Dame on Sept. 10, 2022 and a 24-17 win over Virginia Tech in Huntington on Sept. 23, 2023. In each of the last three seasons, Marshall has had a running back rush for 1,000+ yards and finish in the FBS top 25 in rushing yards and touchdowns (Rasheen Ali, 2021 & 2023; Khalan Laborn, 2022).

Marshall is in its third season competing in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference.