FRISCO – The Southland Conference will open the 2025 college football season with a headline-grabbing Week 0 clash, as Nicholls hosts Incarnate Word in a nationally televised matchup on ESPN2. The game is scheduled for Saturday, August 23, with kickoff set for 12 p.m. CT.
“This is a monumental moment for the Southland Conference and a powerful testament to the rise and national impact of our football programs,” said Southland Commissioner Chris Grant. “To open the season on ESPN2 with two championship-caliber teams is more than just a game — it’s a showcase of what makes Southland football special: gritty, passionate, and unapologetically Southern. The culture, pride, and pageantry of our league will be on full display for a national audience, and we couldn’t be more fired up.”
The matchup will be the first college football game played on U.S. soil in the 2025 season, following the Kansas State vs. Iowa State showdown in Dublin earlier that day. It will also mark the first FCS game of the year.
Both teams enter the season as powerhouses within the conference, having claimed the past two Southland titles. Nicholls finished the 2023 campaign with an undefeated conference record, while UIW went unblemished in league play in 2024 to secure the crown. Since 2018, the two programs have combined for seven conference championships—Nicholls in 2018, 2019, and 2023; UIW in 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2024.
UIW head coach Clint Killough returns for his third season after compiling a 19–5 record, including a Southland title and an FCS playoff appearance. On the other sideline, Nicholls will introduce new head coach Tommy Rybacki, who takes over after a decade as the Colonels’ defensive coordinator under the recently retired Tim Rebowe.
The game will also make Southland Conference history, becoming the first in-conference matchup to air live on a national linear television network.
