JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 13, 2023) – With the holidays right around the corner, it's not too late to add football season tickets to your shopping list!
 
On Wednesday, ETSU football head coach Tre Lamb announced the 2024 Buccaneers' schedule. 
 
"We're excited to release the 2024 schedule and start building towards the season opener in late August," said Coach Lamb, who was named the program's 20th head coach last month. "This is a challenging schedule that will have us prepared for when we open Southern Conference play at the end of September. Our fans have the opportunity to travel to the two non-conference road games at Appalachian State and Elon, and having North Dakota State come to Greene Stadium will be great for the Tri-Cities. We look forward to having Greene Stadium packed all season."  
 
THE TRE LAMB ERA BEGINS
First-year head coach Tre Lamb will make his Buccaneer debut on Saturday, Aug. 31 when ETSU takes on Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. This will mark the second time in the last five years where the Buccaneers and Mountaineers open the college football season as the two teams met in the 2019 opener. In a series that started back in 1928, this will be the 48th all-time meeting between to the programs. 
 
HOME OPENER
After opening on the season on the road for the second straight year, the Bucs will host UVA-Wise for their 2024 home opener on Sept. 7 inside Greene Stadium. During the historic 2021 season, ETSU opened its home schedule with a 45-14 win over the Cavaliers – the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Bucs are 7-0 all-time in home openers inside Greene Stadium and outscoring the opposition 262-65 in those seven wins. 
 
A REMATCH OF THE 2021 FCS QUARTERFINAL 
ETSU will get another crack at FCS perennial power North Dakota State as the Bison visit Greene Stadium on Sept. 14. The two teams met in quarterfinal of the 2021 FCS Playoffs with North Dakota State coming out on top, 27-3. The Bison have won nine FCS championships since 2011 and are playing Montana in the semifinals this weekend. 
 
CLOSING OUT NON-CONFERENCE PLAY ON THE ROAD
Following back-to-back home games, ETSU will hit the road to close out non-conference play. The Bucs will once again face another former SoCon foe when the Blue & Gold take on Elon the weekend of Sept. 21. ETSU has won two of the three meetings against the Phoenix, while Elon is coming off a 6-2 season in the CAA. 
 
SOCON STARTER 
For the third straight year, ETSU finds itself on the road to open conference play as the Buccaneers travel to Charleston, S.C. to take on The Citadel on Sept. 28. ETSU leads the all-time series 19-13, including a 35-23 victory over the Bulldogs in the 2023 season finale. 
 
RIVALRY GAMES RETURN TO GREENE STADIUM 
ETSU hosts the first of two rivalry games on Oct. 5 when the Bucs take on Chattanooga in The Rail Rivalry. The Bucs look to retain the trophy for the first time since 2018 as ETSU takes on a Chattanooga team who advanced to the second round of the FCS Playoffs in 2023.  
 
The second rivalry game comes nearly month later when ETSU and Western Carolina clash in the Blue Ridge Border Battle on Nov. 9 inside Greene Stadium. The Blue & Gold eye their fourth-ever win in the trophy game with the Catamounts winning the last two. 
 
MORE SOCON HOME GAMES 
The Bucs' other two home conference games feature the last two SoCon champions as ETSU faces Samford on Oct. 12 and Furman on Nov. 16. The Bulldogs advanced to the quarterfinals in 2022 before bowing against North Dakota State, while Furman suffered a tough overtime loss to Montana in last weekend's quarterfinal. 
 
SOCON ON THE ROAD 
Following the bye week on Oct. 19, ETSU will have back-to-back road games at Wofford (Oct. 26) and at Mercer (Nov. 2). Coach Lamb will return to his old stomping grounds as he served as the Bears' quarterbacks coach from 2014-17. Mercer is coming off its first-ever FCS Playoff appearance in 2023 where the Bears advanced to the second round before falling to top-seeded and reigning FCS champion South Dakota State. 
 
The Blue & Gold conclude regular season play at VMI on Nov. 23, marking the first time the two programs will meet in a season finale since 2001 when ETSU won 34-23 in Lexington. That 2001 game was moved to the last week of the season following the September 11th attacks. 
 
PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS TODAY!
Fans can renew or purchase 2024 season tickets by calling the ETSU Ticket Office at 423-439-3878 or by visiting ETSUTickets.com. 
  
For more information on ETSU football, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.