Western Michigan, Mississippi State agree to football game in 2023

The Western Michigan Broncos completed their tentative 2023 football schedule on Tuesday afternoon, announcing an agreement in principle between WMU and the SEC’s Mississippi State Bulldogs.

“We are excited to be able to add this storied program to our schedule on such a short timeline, and are appreciative of the efforts of Mississippi State to partner with us on this tremendous match-up and opportunity for our program,” WMU athletic director Dan Bartholomae said via press release. ”We look forward to our trip to Starkville in 2023.”

The meeting will be the first between the two programs.

WMU is 1-5 all-time against members of the SEC, with their last game against an original member of the conference taking place in 1997 against Florida. (WMU played Missouri in 2007, when it was a member of the Big 12 Conference.)

The new game will take place on Oct. 7, 2023 in Starkville, Mississippi, with WMU serving as Mississippi State’s third of four out-of-conference opponents. The Broncos are set to start the season at home against Saint Francis University on August 31st before taking a two-game road trip to Syracuse on September 9th and Iowa on September 16th. The Mississippi State game will be the Broncos’ last out-of-conference matchup.

The agreement makes an adjustment to Mississippi State’s tentative schedule, as WMU replaces a road game to American Athletic Conference member Tulane which was set for the same date. The Bulldogs will not travel in any of their four out-of-conference games, playing host to Southeastern Louisiana (Sept. 2), Arizona (Sept. 9) and Southern Miss (Nov. 18.)

As of publication, it is unknown how much Mississippi State will pay WMU for agreeing to the game.