Blue Hens' first football game as FBS member will be vs. familiar foe in 2025
The University of Delaware’s first game as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision in 2025 will be against Football Championship Subdivision foe Delaware State, UD announced Monday.
It will be on Thursday night, Aug. 28, at Delaware Stadium. The schools’ previously scheduled 2025 matchup was originally to be played at DSU’s Alumni Stadium.
It was announced in late November that Delaware will move to the FBS-level Conference USA in 2025.
Delaware and Delaware State will also not play their scheduled 2024 game in Dover, UD said. The 2025 meeting certainly includes a financial payment to DSU as well, though that amount has not been revealed.
Delaware’s 2024 schedule, its last as an FCS and Coastal Athletic Association member, is expected to be announced Wednesday.
It’s a 12-game schedule with eight CAA foes, though Delaware’s league games won’t count and the Blue Hens are ineligible for the CAA title and FCS playoffs. Delaware also has a previously scheduled Sept. 28 home date with Norfolk State, DelState’s MEAC rival, in 2024.
The Blue Hens have won all 11 games against the Hornets by double digits, stretching from their historic first matchup in a 2007 NCAA playoff game to the most recent in 2022. All except a 2021 spring game have been played at Delaware Stadium in Newark.
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The only other game so far on the Blue Hens’ 2025 schedule is at Colorado on Sept. 6. Delaware has also been discussing a home-and-away series with former CAA rival James Madison, now an FBS Sun Belt Conference team.
As an FBS member, Delaware will be permitted and is expected to play one FCS foe per year. Delaware State will frequently be that team, UD’s announcement read. The schools also have previously scheduled 2026, 2027, 2029 and 2030 dates, though whether each of those will remain is uncertain.
Delaware State went 1-10 in 2023 in its first season under coach Lee Hull and hasn’t had a winning season since going 6-5 in 2012.
Delaware was 9-4, its winningest season in 13 years, and reached the second round of the FCS playoffs for the second year in a row in 2023.
Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Blue Hens to host DSU Hornets in 2025 FBS debut
