CONWAY, AR. – The University of Central Arkansas Football Bears will face another demanding schedule in 2023, taking on one perennial FBS bowl team and one FCS powerhouse among its 11 regular-season games.

    The ASUN Conference announced its 2023 league schedule on Tuesday, a third-year partnership with the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), with a new twist. The ASUN-WAC partnership "will function in the manner of a single sport conference beginning January 1, 2023", according to the ASUN release. The 2023 schedule, based on existing commitments, will be limited to six conference games.
    
    "This partnership has built competitive opportunities, created a new AQ for the FCS playoffs, and brought a great group of like-minded institutions together to play football," said ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart. "We are planning for a long and strong relationship in this group and it provides certainty and security for our football programs and for the strength of both the WAC and the ASUN in all sports."
    
    The ASUN-WAC Football partnership began with a combined group that built the ASUN-WAC Challenge in 2021. Featuring an automatic qualifier (AQ) into the FCS playoff each of the past two years, the football group enters year three with nine participating institutions: Abilene Christian University, Austin Peay State University, University of Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky University, University of North Alabama, Southern Utah University, Stephen F. Austin State University, Tarleton State University and Utah Tech University. The group will add the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) in the fall of 2025 when it begins sponsorship of football.

    "Announcing our 2023 schedule is a major step in the evolution of this partnership," said WAC Commissioner Brian Thornton. "Operating in this single sport model creates the legitimacy and strength shared by similarly structured conferences."

    The group is currently building the 2024 schedule which will feature a full eight-game single round robin. Future schedules are also being constructed as part of the multi-year conference agreement.

    UCA will open the 2023 season on Sept. 2 at Oklahoma State, a member of the Big 12 that is set to face Wisconsin in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Dec. 27. That is the first of three consecutive road games to open the season. UCA travels to Pine Bluff to face the UAPB Golden Lions for the second time in three seasons on Sept. 9.
    
    The Bears then make a return trip to nine-time FCS national champion North Dakota State at the Fargodome on Sept. 16. NDSU will be playing in the FCS title game again this season on Jan. 8.

    "We are excited about another challenging schedule," said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. "Not only do we have a great conference schedule but(athletic director) Dr. (Brad) Teague has put together a very competitive and challenging non-conference schedule for our program. Any time you get to compete against a power five team like Oklahoma State it is a recruiting tool and a great honor for our program.

    "We are also excited about rekindling our in-state game with UAPB in the non-conference slate. Then getting the chance to go back to North Dakota state and play against the best FCS program is always a great challenge in itself."

    UCA's first home game and first league game will be against Abilene Christian on Sept. 23, followed by a first-ever road trip to Southern Utah (Cedar City, Utah) to close out the first month on Sept. 30.

    The Bears will host consecutive games on "The Stripes" against Southeast Missouri (Oct. 7) and Stephen F. Austin (Oct. 14) before their first bye week of the season on Oct. 21. Tarleton State comes to Conway on Oct. 28, followed by a road trip to Florence, Ala., to face North Alabama on Nov. 4.

    UCA closes out the season at home against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 11 and on the road at Austin Peay (Clarksville, Tenn.) on Nov. 18.

    "It is a fun time to be at UCA and we're really excited about the direction of the ASUN/WAC Conference," said Brown. "Our players want to compete against the best and we get that opportunity with a schedule like this."