As a frustrating 2019 UConn football season winds down to a close, we’re beginning to get a look at the Huskies’ schedule for 2020 — their first season as an FBS independent in over a decade.
According the the Hartford Courant’s Mike Anthony, athletic director David Benedict has finalized games against nine schools: UMass, Illinois, Virginia, Indiana, Maine, Ole Miss, Liberty, San Jose State, and Army.
UPDATE: The school has officially announced the schedule.
UMass, Illinois, Maine and Indiana already existed as part of previous agreements. While dates have been reported for those games, they may shift around due to the new agreements from other schools.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the 2020 schedule so far:
UConn football’s reported 2020 schedule
Team | Date | Home/Away | Conference |
---|---|---|---|
Team | Date | Home/Away | Conference |
UMass | 9/3/20 | Home | Independent |
Illinois | 9/12/20 | Away | Big Ten |
Virginia | TBD | Away | ACC |
Indiana | 9/26/20 | Home | Big Ten |
Maine | TBD | Home | CAA (FCS) |
Ole Miss | 10/24/20 | Away | SEC |
Liberty | 10/31/20 | Home | Independent |
San Jose State | 11/14/20 | Away | Mountain West |
Army | 11/28/20 | Home | Independent |
TBD | TBD | TBD | |
TBD | TBD | TBD | |
TBD | TBD | ACC |
Per Anthony, all nine of schools have already signed contracts to play next season, and there is an agreement in place with an unnamed ACC school that hasn’t been finalized yet. If that holds true, Benedict will have filled out all but two games of UConn’s 2020 schedule without playing any former American Athletic Conference opponents in four months since the move to the Big East was announced. Not too shabby.
All things considered, it’s a solid start to life as an independent. Army and UMass bring regional appeal, and locking up five home games is no small feat for an independent (and Anthony reported the entire schedule will have seven home games). There are also some strong matchups against Power Five schools such as Illinois, Virginia, Indiana and Ole Miss. UConn has also never played Ole Miss or San Jose State before, and that could provide some travel appeal for any Huskies fans willing to hit the road.
We will continue to update this post as we receive more information.
UPDATE: The contracts for these games have revealed further scheduling details, per the Hartford Courant’s Alex Putterman.
UConn football game contracts reveal a bunch of details about future schedules, incl. beyond 2020:
— Alex Putterman (@AlexPutterman) October 24, 2019
- Additional games against Army in '21, '22, '27
- San Jose State comes to CT in '28
- UConn goes to Liberty in '23
- Middle Tennessee match-up likely for '20
- UVA just a one-off