NEW ORLEANS – Rivalry games against instate opponents UAB and Troy at the new Hancock Whitney Stadium highlight the 2020 University of South Alabama football schedule announced by the Sun Belt Conference office on Friday.

The Jaguars will face eight programs that finished with a winning record last fall including three that would go on to win a postseason bowl game.

"We've got a great schedule that sets up really well including four good home games in a row, that's something we haven't had since I've been here," South head coach Steve Campbell said.  "We have a great opening game at Southern Miss against a good football team who is a regional rival, and I know our guys are looking forward to playing our first home game in Hancock Whitney Stadium against Grambling."

"What a tremendous schedule," said USA Director of Athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann.  "We are excited about the road non-conference games at Southern Mississippi and Florida, which are both reasonable driving distances for our fans.  Opening Hancock Whitney Stadium with consecutive Saturday games against Grambling, UAB and Troy provides a perfect opportunity to create the on-campus experience and home-field advantage that we have worked so very hard to achieve.  The exposure from a Thursday prime-time home game versus ULM on ESPNU will allow us to showcase our program, our campus and our community to a national audience.

"We are under 200 days from kickoff, the time is now for people to secure their season tickets and parking passes."

All four non-conference opponents finished above .500 a year ago, with the schedule opening up with a Sept. 5 visit to Southern Mississippi in the first meeting of a home-and-home series with the Golden Eagles.  On Saturday, Sept. 12, USA will play for the first time ever in Hancock Whitney Stadium when it plays host to Grambling in the first of six home contests.  The Jags will visit Florida — which finished sixth in the final Associated Press poll last season after going 11-2 and winning the Capital One Orange Bowl — on Sept. 19, and are set to close out non-league play when UAB visits on Sept. 26.

It's the second straight fall that South play all four of its non-conference games to begin the season.

"It's a challenging non-conference schedule, but we like it because you get to see how far you've come in a short period of time," said Campbell.  "I know we are going to be a much-improved football team, our aspirations are to compete for the conference championship and reach a bowl game.  We get to start off with a team that had a good season last year and has a lot of players coming back, it will be a good test for us early.  We also go on the road to face a really good Florida team and I know everybody has the UAB game circled on their calendar.

"It's a schedule that is set up to prepare us for our conference schedule."

The Jaguars will play host to Troy on Saturday, Oct. 3 in the annual "Battle For The Belt," and following a week off Texas State will come to Hancock Whitney Stadium on Oct. 17.  USA will end a four-game homestand — its longest since opening 2010 with five straight contests in Mobile — on Thursday, Oct. 22 with a match-up against ULM that will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

"Having our first three conference games at home is exciting for us, starting the conference slate at home is something we're looking forward to," said Campbell.

South will then play three games in a row on the road, at Georgia Southern (Oct. 31), Coastal Carolina (Nov. 7) and Louisiana (Nov. 14), before facing Georgia State on Saturday, Nov. 21 on Senior Day.  The regular season will conclude with a Nov. 28 trip to Arkansas State.

The Jags are in the Sun Belt West Division with Arkansas State, Louisiana, ULM and Texas State.  The division winner will take on the top team from the East Division on the campus of one of the participants in the Sun Belt Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 5.

All kickoff times and additional television information will be announced at a later date.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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