It starts with...

• 09/02 - at North Dakota
• 09/09 - Northwestern College
• 09/16 - at South Dakota State

Northwestern is the latest addition.  They recently won the NAIA championship.

Lots of long haired Dutchmen playing for Northwestern.

Looks like another 0-3 start to next season.

Northwestern will see Drake the same way a PFL champ would see a lower tier Ivy League squad: a potential maiming victim to help their reputation at recruiting time.  Drake better be ready.

Sugar Daddy State won the FCS tournament today, beating Normally Dominant State 

SDSU will have many of the same players when the Bulldogs visit on September 16th.  I think D is getting over $200,000 for the game.

Drake will be facing two defending national champs next season, in SDSU and Northwestern.

SDSU's quarterback's father was a QB for Drake in the 80s.

And they had the prior year's national champs (Normally Dominant State) to start the 2022 campaign. Wow.
For the record, D was ahead against NDSU 7-0 :)

Darth Vader
Lord of the Sith
Founding Father - Drake Spirit Committee (1990)

I think Ray Gronowski was the last Drake quarterback on scholarship to throw a touchdown pass.

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1985/11/10/tulsa-drubs-drake-45-15/62745987007/

2023 Schedule

Sept 2nd North Dakota -- Grand Forks, ND Time is TBD
Sept 9th Northwestern College -- Drake Stadium -- 1pm
Sept 16th South Dakota State -- Brookings, SD -- Time is TBD
Sept 30th Morehead State -- Morehead, KY -- 1pm
Oct 7th Valparaiso -- Drake Stadium -- 1pm
Oct 14th St. Thomas -- Drake Stadium -- 1pm
Oct 21st San Diego -- San Diego, CA -- 1pm
Oct 28th Stetson -- Drake Stadium -- 1pm
Nov 4th Marist -- Poughkeepsie, NY -- 1pm
Nov 11th Presbyterian -- Drake Stadium -- 1pm (last home game is typically senior day)
Nov 18th Butler -- Indianapolis, IN -- 1pm

No Dayton.  I'm a little surprised.  We've played them every season for the past 35 years.  Only 3 of Drake's current MVC basketball opponents have been on the schedule that long.

Overlooking the two paycheck games,  Drake has many opportunities, wouldn't you agree?

I'm guessing that Drake has four schools that, in the league's current 11-member configuration, will "always" be on the DU schedule.  Valpo-Butler-UST-USD?

Or maybe I'm completely off base.

You are correct. The four schools were Drake's protected rivalries when more DI non-scholarship programs started to appear/join PFL. I heard rumblings a few years ago the games may be alternated due to competitive balance concerns.  Basically more wins and less losses increased each teams postseason possibilities which would generate more revenue than playing these games each year now. Just like every other college sports decision it comes down to $$$'s at the expense of tradition. 

I am surprised Dayton is the only one taken off for 2023. It was rumored to be two of the four each year. And Dayton is our longest running rival of the four. 

The Pioneer could expand to 13 teams by the end of the decade.  Xavier has sent up a trial balloon on non-scholarship football.  Augustana (Sioux Falls) will probably put its football in the PFL if Augie can get into the Summit League.  At the pace realignment is moving, I don't doubt that Augustana will get a second look from the Summit.

With XU and Augie, there would be seven midwestern schools: more than enough for their own (autobid eligible) football league.  I doubt they would break away from the other six current PFL schools, but who knows?

What ever happened to early season nights at home?

What is the upside of playing Northwestern? A near guaranteed loss, no fan appeal. No recognition if you win. Whoever does the scheduling just doesn't get how to create an illusion. Better off playing a D3 from another state that sounds better.

Drakey

First of all, Drake schedules by paycheck, so they have a limited menu of who they can get.  Even if playing Truman or MST every year were desirable, I don't think Drake could always get those games.  This is a rare opportunity to schedule a very good NAIA team, and since Northwestern is from Iowa, the Bulldogs recruit against them directly.  Far from a near guaranteed loss, this is a chance for the Bulldogs to improve their rep in Iowa and put the last two games v. Grand View to rest.  This game will generate some buzz in Des Moines, which I think is positive.  If Drake home games are a bore, what's the point in having a football team?

As for D-III,  Drake's D-I recruiting competitors (1990s) derisively told kids that Drake was a D-III program.  The easy fix was to stop playing D-III teams.

I predict Northwestern will be the best attended home game of the season.  I doubt any others will come close.

...maybe St. Thomas.  They will bring some fans.

And we averaged 7.6 wins per year in the 90s after switching to D1. I think most members of the general public have very limited knowledge regarding level of play or classifications in college athletics. I do know that the Pioneer league teams are at least somewhat recognizable as D1 schools. If a school is in Iowa, and not Iowa, ISU, UNI or Drake, I think the general perception is that they are D3 for the people that even have a vague idea of what that means. They would equate Northwestern to Grinnell or Simpson. Unfortunately NAIA teams are not he same and have a number of scholarships and very lax academic standards which enables them to recruit better players. I just don't see what Drake gets out of this. My personal belief is that the Pioneer teams should just play each other and maybe allow one or two payday games. Looks like we are doing two every year now.

Drakey

No home game until Oct 7th under your plan.  

I prefer more football at Drake Stadium, not less.