MONROE, La.?ULM director of
athletics Bobby Staub announced the opponents for the 2009 football season Tuesday morning. The Warhawks will face
off against four teams that are playing in bowl games this season and will play
three teams for the first time in school history to open the season.
“We're looking forward to
having three of our first five games at home to start off the season,” Staub
said.
The Warhawks open the season in
Austin, Texas, against the Texas Longhorns on Sept. 5. The game will be ULM's eighth against a
member of the Big XII Conference, with most recent coming in 2007 at Texas
A&M.
“We are excited about opening
the season against a outstanding Texas team and we feel like with have a great
non-conference and home Sun Belt schedule,” ULM head coach Charlie Weatherbie
said.
ULM opens the home portion of
the schedule against Texas Southern on Sept. 12.
A trip out west to Tempe,
Ariz., pits the Warhawks against Arizona State on Sept. 19. It will be just the third meeting for ULM
against a member of the Pac 10 ? The Warhawks played at UCLA in 1996 and at
Arizona in 1998.
Following a trio of Sun Belt games,
two of which are in Malone Stadium, ULM travels to Kentucky on Oct. 24 for its
final non-conference game of the season.
The schools
have played three times since 1994, with the most recent coming in 2006 when
Kentucky escaped with a 42-40 victory.
The game will mark the 15th consecutive season that the
Warhawks will face a team from the Southeastern Conference.
ULM will host Sun Belt
Conference foes Arkansas State, Florida International, Middle Tennessee and
Western Kentucky. Road conference
contests will be Florida Atlantic, Louisiana-Lafayette, North Texas and Troy.
Sun Belt Conference rules
dictate that dates for conference games may not be released until March 1.
