MONROE, La. – The ULM football team prepares to open home play for the first time in FMOL Health | St. Francis Stadium, taking on Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday (Sept. 19). Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. CT.
 
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Sean Fox (play-by-play) and Desmund Lighten (analyst) on the call. The game will also air on KLIP 105.3 FM with the Voice of the Warhawks, Mike Hammett and analyst Mike McGee.

OPENING DRIVE –
• The Warhawks are finally opening home play at St. Francis Stadium, after two road weeks to open the season. This is the first season since 2022 that the Warhawks have not opened the season at home. ULM is playing in its latest home opener since 2020, when the team played on September 19 as well, facing then-conference foe Texas State. The last season the Warhawks opened play at home after September 19 was 2012.
• ULM is 51-22-2 in home openers since becoming a four-year institution, going 8-2 in the last 10 years. In the Bryant Vincent era, the Warhawks are 2-0 in home openers, defeating Jackson State in 2024 and Saint Francis in 2025. This is the first Vincent-era home opener not played on a Thursday.
• Not only is ULM opening home play later than usual, but is facing a familiar opponent in its home opener. Southeastern Louisiana has been ULM's home-opening opponent five times. The most recent occurrence was 2018, when the Warhawks edged out the Lions, 34-31. 
• The home opener marks the first playing in FMOL Health | St. Francis Stadium, the name changed to recognize an expanding partnership with FMOL Health | St. Francis. The new name was announced on August 7, with a press conference held earlier this month. Additionally, the FMOL Health | St. Francis logo will be represented in jersey patches across all ULM women's sports as part of the expanded partnership.
• While the name has been changed, an installation is in progress to recognize the former namesake of the stadium, Coach James Malone, widely revered as the father of ULM Athletics. Malone was Northeast Louisiana's second head football coach, leading the Indians from 1934 to 1953, boasting a 94-64-12 record. With one of the top records of any football coach at ULM, he coached two unbeaten football teams and three bowl teams, leading the 1935 team to the junior college national championship. Malone also led the team from junior college into senior college competition in 1951. 
• The Warhawks have seen the Lions 37 prior times since joining the senior college ranks, 48 times when including junior college competition. Since becoming a four-year institution, ULM falls 12-25 against Southeastern all-time. In the last 10 meetings, the teams are tied up, 5-5. The Warhawks hold the two-game victory streak after winning in Monroe in 2010 and again in 2018.
• The last time ULM saw SLU was 2018 in Monroe, in which the Warhawks claimed a 34-31 win in SLU head coach Frank Scelfo's first season. R.J. Turner blocked a field goal as time expired to secure the win, quarterback Caleb Evans completing 35-of-53 passes for 346 yards. ULM logged 554 yards of offense, along with 31 first downs. Corey Straughter recorded a 50-yard interception as David Griffith led the team with seven tackles.
• In hosting six opponents at home for the first time since 2024, the Warhawks also host three opponents from the state of Louisiana for the first time since 2002. ULM will host Southeastern Louisiana to open home play, then taking on Louisiana Tech and the Ragin' Cajuns in Monroe. 
• The Lions are led by ninth-year head coach Frank Scelfo, who is a then-NLU alum and represented the Warhawks from 1978-81 on the baseball team. Scelfo sits at fourth in the record books with 36 career home runs. He was coached by Lou St. Amant, prior to the team becoming a competitor in the Southland Conference.
• On the 2026 roster, ULM welcomes back 49 returners and brings in 56 newcomers, providing an 48% retention rate from 2025. Out of the newcomers, the Warhawks welcome 10 first-years, 23 NCAA transfers and 23 JUCO transfers to the bayou. Out of those returning to Monroe, 20 have played with ULM for one year, 21 for two years, three for three years and four for four years.
• ULM's 12-game football schedule features six home games, four being conference opponents. The last time ULM had six home games was the 2024 season, where the Warhawks went 4-2 at Malone Stadium. Overall, it marks the eighth time that the Warhawks have played a six-game home schedule since joining the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-A). 
• ULM has 26 states featured on its roster in 2026. In announcing its roster, ULM Football posts 19 Louisiana players, 11 coming from Monroe's own Ouachita Parish. Louisiana is the state with the most representatives on the team, with Mississippi following close behind with 18. Texas records the third-most with 15 and Alabama records 10. Iowa, Florida, Pennsylvania and Georgia all record a few, while 19 other states are represented with one or two. 
• Family connections on the ULM football coaching staff include Bryant Vincent's son, Brady Vincent, as the team's Tight Ends Coach. Bret Vincent makes it three Vincents featured in the ULM football program, with Bret playing wide receiver for the Warhawks.