D2Football Opening Day 2025
August 28th, 2025 6:00am
Welcome back, D2 fans. It's been a long eight months since the 2024 season came to a close, but we're back in a big way. The Division II football season officially kicks off tonight, Thursday, Aug. 28. A total of 26 games are on the docket with a matinee officially dropping the curtain on the 2025 campaign at 4pm, eastern. It will be the start of a four-day opening weekend with games Thursday night, Friday night, all day Saturday, and concluding with a day-night doubleheader on Sunday.
Here are some of the contests to keep on eye tonight...
Central Washington, normally the last team to kick off on any given Saturday, will host the earliest kickoff time of the day, at 1pm local time (4pm, eastern). The Wildcats will host Colorado Mesa from the RMAC.
A handful of games will kick off at 6pm, eastern. The headliner of the day features No. 10 Pittsburg State at No. 1 Ferris State. The Gorillas opened the 2024 season with a 19-3 victory over the Bulldogs in The Jungle. The series, which has been extended for 2026 and 2027, now shifts to Big Rapids, Michigan where the defending national champs will seek revenge for last year’s only blemish. The video broadcast will be live on FloSports.
No. 15 Indianapolis heads across town to take on Marian in a very intriguing D2 v. NAIA meeting. The game known as the Monumental Match-up is being played for only the third time ever and first since 2016. Marian won both prior meetings in 2015 and 2016. The Knights open the season at No. 23 in the NAIA national rankings.
Also in the 6pm time slot, No. 19 Bemidji State opens with a road contest at Michigan Tech. Last year’s meeting of the same teams resulted in one of the tightest battles of opening weekend. The Huskies tied the game at 13 with a field goal on the final play of regulation but the Beavers would prevail in overtime, 19-13.
At 7pm, eastern, No. 24 Central Missouri will kick off the season at Delta State. The Mules are the ranked team in this contest but many would consider it an upset if they get out of GSC territory with a win over The Statesmen.
No. 4 Minnesota State will host Northwest Missouri State in the back end of a home-and-home series that began last year in Maryville. Despite a second half rally by the home team, the Mavericks were dominant in a game that seemed to chart the course for the remainder of the fall for both programs. The Bearcats enter a new era with head coach John McMenamin in his first season.
No. 22 Charleston will open the defense of their MEC championship with a visit from CIAA member Livingstone. The Golden Eagles will be in their first contest with new head coach coach Mike Tesch.
A trio of in-state, non-conference rivalries are featured on Thursday night. In Nebraska, Wayne State from the NSIC will visit Nebraska-Kearney from the MIAA. The pair have not met since 2011 due to prior scheduling arrangements of both conferences. In South Dakota, Sioux Falls of the NSIC makes the long trek westward to take on RMAC member Black Hills State. Bragging rights in New Mexico will be on the line as LSC member Eastern New Mexico hosts New Mexico Highlands from the RMAC.
Later in the evening, another Top 25 matchup will kick off in western Kansas. No. 20 Fort Hays hosts No. 12 Angelo State for the second year in a row. Last year’s opener was postponed one day due to storms. The Tigers won that meeting 21-7.
No. 8 Western Colorado will look to solidify their Top 10 preseason ranking with a home contest against West Texas A&M. RMAC rival No. 7 CSU Pueblo opens with a conference game at home against South Dakota Mines.
Check out the schedule page for the full list of the opening night games.
As a reminder, D2Football.com is no longer updating scores on the schedule page in real time as there are many alternatives for tracking live updates. Results will be updated at the end of the night.
