A rematch from the 2019 national quarterfinals and 10 conference opponents await on Lenoir-Rhyne’s 2025 football schedule, released this week.
The Bears will try to build upon last season’s 10-3 record in Doug Socha’s second year as head coach. Lenoir-Rhyne, which won a playoff game at West Alabama, was the only college program in North Carolina to win 10 games a year ago.
The new season for Socha and the Bears kicks off Friday, Aug. 29 at West Florida from the Gulf South Conference. The Argonauts finished 7-3 in 2024, failing to make the playoffs.
Lenoir-Rhyne has played West Florida one other time in football. The teams met in the 2019 Division II quarterfinals, with West Florida prevailing 43-38 on the way to the national championship.
The rest of Lenoir-Rhyne’s schedule features familiar conference opponents. The South Atlantic will only have 11 teams this season, down from 12 a year ago with the move of Barton to Conference Carolinas.
Lenoir-Rhyne will play five conference games at home and five on the road.
Opponents coming to Moretz Stadium – “Between the Bricks” as the Bears like to say – include Emory & Henry, Newberry, Anderson, UVA Wise and Catawba. Lenoir-Rhyne will play away against two 2024 playoff teams, Wingate and Carson-Newman, as well as at Mars Hill, Limestone and Tusculum.
Several kickoff times have already been set. The West Florida game will start at 6 p.m. in Pensacola. Lenoir-Rhyne’s first two home games – against Emory & Henry on Sept. 13 and Newberry on Sept. 27 – will begin at 6 p.m. also.
Back-t0-back home games against Anderson (Oct. 11) and UVA Wise (Oct. 18) are slated for 3 p.m. kick times, while the season finale against Catawba will start at 1 p.m.
The Red & Black spring game will be played Saturday, April 12 beginning at 11 a.m.
Lenoir-Rhyne 2025 football schedule
| Date |  | Opponent | Time/Result | TV/Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 29 | at | West Florida | 6 p.m. | |
| Sept. 6 | at | Tusculum* | 6 p.m. | |
| Sept. 13 | vs | Emory & Henry* | 6 p.m. | |
| Sept. 20 | at | Carson-Newman* | 1 p.m. | |
| Sept. 27 | vs | Newberry* | 6 p.m. | |
| Oct. 4 | at | Valdosta State | 4 p.m. | |
| Oct. 11 | vs | Anderson* | 3 p.m. | |
| Oct. 18 | vs | UVA Wise* | 3 p.m. | |
| Oct. 25 | at | Mars Hill* | 1 p.m. | |
| Nov. 1 | at | Wingate* | 3 p.m. | |
| Nov. 15 | vs | Catawba* | 1 p.m. | |
| * denotes conference game |
Lenoir-Rhyne 2024 football results
| Date | | Opponent | Result | Score | Overall | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep. 7 | vs | Bowie State | W | 32-19 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Sep. 14 | vs | Tiffin | W | 38-17 | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| Sep. 21 | at | Mars Hill* | W | 29-21 | 3-0 | 1-0 |
| Sep. 29 | vs | Tusculum* | W | 37-23 | 4-0 | 2-0 |
| Oct. 5 | at | Emory & Henry* | L | 20-31 | 4-1 | 2-1 |
| Oct. 12 | vs | Newberry* | W | 24-3 | 5-1 | 3-1 |
| Oct. 19 | at | Barton* | W | 20-0 | 6-1 | 4-1 |
| Oct. 26 | vs | Limestone*# | W | 21-19 | 7-1 | 5-1 |
| Nov. 2 | vs | Wingate* | L | 10-14 | 7-2 | 5-2 |
| Nov. 9 | at | Catawba* | W | 33-14 | 8-2 | 6-2 |
| Nov. 16 | vs | Anderson* | W | 27-24 | 9-2 | 7-2 |
| Nov. 23 | at | West Alabama** | W | 37-34 | 10-2 | 7-2 |
| Nov. 30 | vs | Virginia Union** | L | 12-44 | 10-3 | 7-2 |
| * conf game | ||||||
| ** playoff game |
Check out the 2025 “Master” Schedule: All games for all college football teams from North Carolina
Who’s playing spring games in 2025? Explore our spring game schedule.
