CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri plays an 11-game football schedule with five home matchups this upcoming 2022 season.

SEMO's unique docket is comprised of opponents representing five different conferences, including the Ohio Valley, Missouri Valley Football, Big 12, Southland and Atlantic Sun.  

The 118th season of SEMO football officially kicks off with back-to-back road games at Big 12 Conference and Football Bowl Subdivision member Iowa State (Sept. 3) and longtime rival Southern Illinois (Sept. 10).
 
This year marks the first meeting with Iowa State, just the second school out of the Big 12 that the Redhawks face in program history. Prior to this year, SEMO played Kansas twice (2014, 2017) during Tom Matukewicz's tenure as head coach.
 
In week two, the Redhawks cross the Mississippi River for their annual "War for the Wheel" game at SIU. The 2022 campaign marks the 90th meeting between the teams which are separated 48 miles apart.
 
The rest of SEMO's non-conference slate includes two games with Southland Conference affiliates Nicholls State (Sept. 17, home-opener) and Northwestern State (Oct. 22), and a pair of matchups with Atlantic Sun members Central Arkansas (Sept. 24, Family Weekend) and Eastern Kentucky (Oct. 29, Homecoming). The Redhawks only road trip in that four-game stretch is to Northwestern State.
 
OVC schools will collaborate with the Southland Conference in a previously announced non-conference scheduling alliance in 2022 and 2023.
 
The 75th season of football in the OVC will feature seven league teams (SEMO, Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, Murray State, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin) playing five conference games apiece.
 
Lindenwood, which joins the OVC and begins its reclassification to Division I, is eligible to win the OVC Championship but cannot earn the league's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs. Should the Lions claim the regular-season title, the runner-up (as determined through a tiebreaker to address the unbalanced schedule), would earn the automatic berth. This year's 24-team Division I Football Championship field will be announced on Sunday, November 20.
 
SEMO is scheduled to play three of its five OVC games on the road. The Redhawks open league action at Lindenwood (Oct. 1) and make trips to Tennessee State (Nov. 5) and Eastern Illinois (Nov. 12). SEMO also hosts Tennessee Tech (Oct. 8) and Murray State (Nov. 19) during their 31st year as a member of the OVC.
 
Also beginning in 2023, the OVC and Big South Conference begin a previously announced agreement to create an association between its football member institutions. The unique agreement combines the two conferences' football membership to ensure NCAA championship access and stability, and will provide the football member institutions a schedule of games against all the teams in their multisport conference and additional games against schools from the other conference.