The Lincoln Blue Tigers will have one less opponent on their 2020 football schedule, and their season will now start one week later than originally scheduled.
The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its 2020 conference schedule Tuesday in a press release. Each team was given five home games and five away games for its 10-game schedule.
Lincoln will begin the 2020 season Sept. 12 at Fort Hays State. The Blue Tigers' home opener will be the following week, Sept. 19, against Nebraska-Kearney at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
Each team will receive a bye the week of Sept. 5, which had been originally scheduled as a week for Thursday night games for each MIAA team.
Other home games on Lincoln's schedule are against Washburn, Central Oklahoma, Emporia State and Central Missouri. The remaining road games are against Pittsburg State, Northeastern State, Missouri Southern and Northwest Missouri.
The NCAA Division II announced last month it would shorten the 2020 football season from 11 games to 10. With 12 football teams in the MIAA, that meant one conference opponent would be omitted from each team's schedule. Lincoln will not play Missouri Western this fall.
According to the MIAA's press release, the MIAA Scheduling Subcommittee redid the 2020 football schedules by doing a blind draw. Each school was asked to submit one date it wanted to protect - such as Homecoming or Family Day - from the original 2020 schedule set earlier this year.
The only home dates from the original schedule that were still home dates on the revised schedule for Lincoln were Oct. 10 and Oct. 31. According to a press release from Lincoln, Oct. 10 will remain the Blue Tigers' Homecoming game, but now their opponent will be Central Oklahoma instead of Missouri Southern.
Kickoff for the Homecoming game is still 2 p.m.
Six of Lincoln's 10 games already have kickoff times posted on its schedule. The home opener Sept. 19 against Nebraska-Kearney is set for a noon kickoff, and Senior Day on Nov. 7 against Central Missouri will start at 1 p.m.
The MIAA will announce the 2020-21 conference basketball schedules for each team Thursday, as well as the 2021 conference softball schedule Friday.
In a press release sent Monday, the MIAA CEO Council announced no MIAA team will play a non-conference basketball game next season, and the MIAA Tournament would be cut from 10 teams to eight and played across a four-day span, not five.
As for softball, the MIAA said it will follow the NCAA Contests and Dates Requirements, which limits a Division II team's schedule to 44 games. The MIAA will continue with its existing conference schedule, and the 2021 MIAA Tournament will be hosted by Central Oklahoma.
As for Lincoln's remaining sports, the MIAA will also abide by the NCAA Contests and Dates Requirements for men's and women's golf, and men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field. The MIAA did not have any specifics for cross country.
The MIAA also announced Monday the conference's indoor and outdoor track and field championships will be condensed from a three-day event to two in 2021.