COMMERCE – Following two straight games on the road to begin the season, the East Texas A&M University football team hosts Northwestern State for its home opener on Saturday as part of Family Weekend presented by Hilton Dallas/Rockwall Lakefront. 

WHO: Northwestern State at East Texas A&M
WHERE: Commerce | Ernest Hawkins Field
WHEN: Saturday, September 12 | 6 p.m.
RECORDS: East Texas A&M is 0-2 on the season and 0-1 in Southland Conference play, while Northwestern State is 0-2 overall and has not played a conference game this season. 
RANKINGS: Neither team is nationally ranked.

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/1192d0f8-081d-4acd-8833-8ed141e7aa62
LIVE STATS: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=673207
GAME NOTES: ETAMU | NSU
SOUTHLAND MEDIA HUB: https://www.southland.org/sports/2026/7/28/26slcfbmediahub.aspx
TICKETS: LionAthletics.com/tickets
 
FULL DIVISION I MEMBERS
• East Texas A&M University is now its second season as full members of NCAA Division I, after having completing its expedited transition process to become full NCAA Division I members and become immediately eligible for NCAA sponsored postseason events.
• The Lions are eligible for the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the second year in a row as they look to make their first playoff appearance at any level since reaching the Division II Quarterfinals in 2019.

GAS TANK LEAGUE
• The Southland Conference enters year two of having 10 football-playing members, with this season being the first that all teams will play nine conference games.
• For the Lions, their first conference game comes Saturday at SFA and they play Nicholls for the first time since 2023.

SLC MEMBERS IN 2026-27

Institution	Offers Football?
EAST TEXAS A&M	YES
HCU	Yes
UIW	Yes
Lamar	Yes
McNeese	Yes
New Orleans	No
Nicholls State	Yes
Northwestern State	Yes
Southeastern	Yes
SFA	Yes
A&M-Corpus Christi	No
UTRGV	Yes

 
NEW-LOOK LIONS TAKE THE FIELD
• The Lions begin the season with a revamped coaching staff as well as a complete overhaul of the roster.
• In total, the Lions have seven new position coaches among the 11 full-time coaching positions on the staff, including both the defensive and special teams coordinators.
• The coaching staff for this season holds over 97 years of experience coaching Division I football.
• On the 107-person roster, the Lions have 67 newcomers, of the 22 starters on offense and defense against Mercer, nine starters were newcomers.
• For the first time in the Division I era, the Lions do not return any all-conference selections from a year ago.

A WELL-SEASONED ROSTER
• The Lions have 64 players on the roster that began their careers elsewhere and transfered to East Texas A&M.
• Of the 64 transfers on the roster, 18 transfered in from Division I schools, while 46 came from non-Division I schools.
• The 28 percent of the transfers being from Division I schools is the lowest among the 12 opponents that the Lions are facing this season.

THOMPSON TAKES OVER DEFENSIVELY
• Jesse Thompson enters his first season as the Lion defensive coordinator, he was most recently at NC Central prior to East Texas A&M.
• Thompson retained just one position coach on the defensive side of the ball from a year ago in Luke Jaicks and the Lions bring back just one defensive starter, Orion Kupu.
• Thompson also works directly with the cornerbacks.

ROBERTS RETURNS TO THE OLD STOMPING GROUNDS
• An East Texas A&M graduate, Chris Roberts returns to his alma mater as the special teams coordinator and running backs coach.
• Roberts served last season on the special teams staff at New Mexico.
• The Lions return both Ozlo Rigby (kicker) and Ben Mehan (punter) for their second seasons in the Blue & Gold.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE DEMONS
• The Lions and the Demons, who have played three times in the last four times are meeting in Commerce for the first time since 2022.
• East Texas A&M has won the last two matchups, which came in Natchitoches, while the Demons took a 41-14 win in Commerce during the 2022 season, which was part of a five-game winning streak in the series for the Demons.
• A win on Saturday gives the Lions their first three-game winning streak in the series since winning five straight from 1934-38.
• The Demons are 18-12-1 all-time in the series and 5-4-2 in Commerce.

LOOKING TO BUCK THE TREND
• Saturday is the home opener for the Lions, who are looking to start 1-0 in their home slate for the first time since 2022.
• A win over the Demons gives the Lions a win in their home opener over an opponent, who is in the same NCAA Division as the Lions, since winning 37-36 in double overtime over A&M-Kingsville in 2018.
• The Lions are also looking to avoid starting 0-2 in conference play for the first time since the 2013 season.

NEARLY COMPLETED THE COMEBACK
• Falling behind 23-0 at halftime in the season opener at at Mercer, the Lions scored 15 in a row and had a chance to score a touchdown, down eight, in the final minute of the game, but the pass sailed just a bit high.
• The comeback from 23 points would have been the largest in the Division I era and would have been the program's first win over a ranked opponent since 2022.

FIRST TIME IN THE PEACH STATE
• The Lions headed to the state of Georgia for the first time this year, when they faced Mercer, which marks another new state for the program after having checked off California, Florida, and Virginia already during the Division I era.

SIMPSON TAKES THE SPOTLIGHT IN LION DEBUT
• Playing in his first ever game as an East Texas A&M Lion, local Greenville native Micah Simpson was held to just 26 receiving yards in the first half against Mercer, but finished the game with 10 catches for 168 yards and a long 48-yard touchdown on fourth down, which was the first points of the game for the Lions.
• He is the first Lion to record 100 or more receiving yards in his team debut since at least 2000.

NATIONAL TV LOVES THE LIONS
• The Lions played their season opener on national television for the third straight season, having played at San Diego State on truTV in 2024 and at SMU on the ACC Network last season.
• In the Division I era, the Lions have played on national TV three times with the game at Florida State also being on the ACC Network.
• Saturday's appearance on ESPN for the Lions was their first on the main ESPN channel since the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championship Game.
• The only other FCS programs to have started the season on national TV each of the last two seasons are Tarleton and Howard.

RIGBY RECEIVES NATIONAL RECOGNITION
• Senior kicker Ozlo Rigby was named to the Fred Mitchell Award watchlist this preseason after also ending up on the list towards the end of last season.
• He was 11 for 17 in made field goals a year ago and also 38 for 39 in PATs.

MEHAN, OAKMON, SALLIS NAMED TO PHIL STEELE PRESEASON ALL-SLC TEAM
• Three Lions were highlighted by the Phil Steele magazine going into the season with EJ Oakmon being named to second team all-conference running back, Sallis a second team all-conference tight end, and second team all-conference punter.
• Oakmon was second on the team a season ago with 357 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 81 carries, while catching 13 passes for 93 yards.
• Mehan recorded 50 punts on the season last year with an average of 39.8 punt yards per attempt. He had 12 punts inside the 20-yard line, two punts of 50 yards or more, and two touchbacks.
• Sallis did not appear in a game last season due to injury, but caught 21 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns during the 2024 season, his lone season in the Blue & Gold.

GETTING USED TO UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY
• The Lions have seven road games this season with two coming in stadiums that they have not played in before.
• After the season opener in Five Star Stadium, the Lions play at the HA Chapman Stadium in Tulsa for the first time next week.
• Of the five conference games on the road, East Texas A&M makes its first trip to Nicholls since 2022 and plays at Lamar, SFA, and HCU for the first time since 2023.
• The Lions last played at McNeese in 2024, being the third trip to Lake Charles in the first five seasons of the Division I era.

FUTURE FBS GAMES ON THE BOOKS
• The string of games against FBS continues for the Lions as they play at Tulsa this season, at Louisiana on September 11, 2027, and at North Texas on September 16, 2028.

JUST DO IT
• East Texas A&M signed an apparel agreement with Nike prior to last season and is the only school in the Southland to be outfitted by Nike.
• The Lions also had a special jersey patch sponsor for last Saturday's game with Archer Construction.

STARTING OFF WITH BACK-TO-BACK RANKED OPPONENTS
• For the second year in a row, the Lions faced two opponents that were nationally ranked in the first two weeks of the season after having played No. 16/16 SMU and No. 14/19 Florida State a year ago.
• This season is now the third time under Dolezel that East Texas A&M took on a ranked opponent to begin the season, having played No. 16/17 UC Davis at home in 2023.
• The Lions are searching for their first win over a ranked opponent since 2022, when they beat No. 20/19 Southeastern on the road.
• Last season, the Lions beat UIW on the road, who was the defending conference champion, which was also the second win over a playoff participant from a season ago for the Lions in the Division I era, with the other being SLU in 2022.
• This season the Lions play four FCS Playoff teams from a season ago as well as Prairie View A&M, who played in the HBCU Celebration Bowl.
• Currently, six of the 11 FCS opponents for the Lions are either ranked or receiving votes this week.

WHO'S BEHIND CENTER
• Eric Rodriguez started the season opener against Mercer, his sixth season with the Lions, having made his Lion debut during the 2021 season.
• Rodriguez was the lone quarterback that appeared in the game. He has played in 29 games in his Lion career, while having started 15.

EIGHTH IN THE PRESEASON SLC POLL
• In the preseason conference poll, the Lions were picked to finish eighth, after tying for seventh with UIW a year ago.
• The Lions have not finished worse than seventh in the conference standings since the 2012 season.
• The highest finish for the Lions since moving up to
Division I was a tied for fourth place finish during the 2022 season.

TWO STRAIGHT YEARS WITH AN ALL-AMERICAN
• East Texas A&M has played four seasons as a transitioning Division I member and have had a player earn All-America honors in two of those seasons.
• After Max Epps earned All-America distinction in 2023, Brandon Tucker was named a first team All-American in 2024 as well as the SLC Defensive Player of the Year.
• East Texas A&M is one of just six schools in the FCS with an AP All-American, Academic All-American, and a NFL Draft Pick in the last four years.

LIONS STORM BACK TO STUN THE CARDINALS
• Trailing by as much as 21 in the game, the Lions came back to win it 52-45 over UIW in San Antonio on October 18 last season.
• It was the first ever win over the Cardinals for the Lions, who improved to 2-1 in conference play. The Lions outscored UIW 31-10 in the second half.
• The 21 point-deficit overcome by the Lions is the most in the Division I era as well.

LIONS EARN NATIONAL ATTENTION FOLLOWING THE WIN OVER THE CARDINALS
• East Texas A&M was tabbed an honorable mention National Team of the Week by Stats Perform FCS, while Kyree Anderson earned honorable mention National Defensive Player of the Week recognition as well on October 20 following the win at UIW.

SHUTOUT STREAK ENDS
• A longstanding streak for East Texas A&M came to an end against Sac State in 2024, being shutout for the first time since 2011.
• The Lions had played 135 games without being shutout during the stretch.
• It was also the first road shutout for Sac State since 2011.

RARE OVERTIME GAME
• The Lions fell in overtime to Grambling in the 2024 season's home opener, which was the program's first overtime game in the Division I era and first since October 9, 2021, against Saginaw Valley State.
• Over the last seven seasons, the Lions have played just three overtime games, the only win being over A&M-Kingsville in 2018.

THE PICK IS IN: LEVI DRAKE RODRIGUEZ
• On April 27, 2024, Levi Drake Rodriguez heard his name called at the NFL Draft, being drafted in the sixth round by the Minnesota Vikings.
• Rodriguez was the first NFL Draft pick for the Lions since 2000 and 31st overall to be drafted in the NFL/AFL.
• Rodriguez earned first team all-conference honors a year ago and was named to Pro Football Focus' All-America team.
• He enters his third season on the roster of the Vikings this year.

LIONS IN THE PROS
• The Lions have two players currently on NFL rosters heading into the 2026 season.
• Rodriguez is entering his third season with the Minnesota Vikings, while Kader Kohou is entering his fifth season overall in the NFL and first with the Kansas City Chiefs.
• The Lions also have one player on a CFL roster in King Ambers and both Celestin Haba and Luis Perez took part in the UFL this summer.

RARE FEAT FOR THE LIONS
• The Lions won their first three conference games in the Southland and Division I in 2022, becoming just the fourth program to start conference play 3-0 during its first season in NCAA Division I AA/FCS, joining UAlbany (DII), Dayton (DIII), and Gardner-Webb (DII).
 

Yr.	Team	Conf.	Strk	Final Record
1983	Dayton	Pioneer	W6	6-0
1999	UAlbany	Northeast	W5	6-1
2002	Gardner-Webb	Big South	W3	3-0
2022	EAST TEXAS A&M	SOUTHLAND	W3	3-3