Fayetteville State became the first CIAA team from North Carolina to drop its 2025 football schedule.
The Broncos’ upcoming slate, released Wednesday, will feature plenty of road trips to start the season and familiar rivals paying visits to Luther “Nick” Jeralds Stadium down the back stretch.
Coach Richard Hayes’ team will play its first four games in visiting stadiums, as well as five of the first six.
The action begins with a road trip south of the border. Fayetteville State (4-5 in 2024) will be the guest of Benedict in the Tigers’ annual Labor Day Classic game in Columbia, S.C. The contest will be Saturday, Aug. 30 at 5 p.m. Benedict, a member of the SIAC, also posted a 4-5 record a year ago.
FSU and UNC Pembroke will resume the Two Rivers Classic the following Saturday. Those games between neighboring schools have been barn-burners in recent years. UNCP slipped past 19-17 on a late field goal in 2023, while Fayetteville State got a touchdown from Demari Daniels with 17 seconds left to prevail 35-31 a year ago.
Fayetteville State will close out the non-conference season by renewing acquaintances with North Carolina Central in Durham on Sept. 13. The two teams have played 29 times over the years, including when NCCU was a member of the CIAA. The last meeting came in 2012, won by North Carolina Central 54-31.
Conference play will open with yet another road game, this one on Sept. 20 at Elizabeth City State. ECSU will be under new management this season, with former Shaw coach Adrian Jones taking over the program.
The home opener, at long last, will be Saturday, Sept. 27 against Virginia State. The Trojans finished out the 2024 season where FSU has been accustomed to playing – in the CIAA championship game. Last season saw the end of the Broncos’ six year streak of making the league title game. Virginia State beat FSU 35-18 in 2024 but lost to Virginia Union in the championship contest.
FSU will travel to Bowie State on Oct. 4 before hosting Livingstone for homecoming on Oct. 11. The Broncos suffered a stunning 24-19 loss to the Blue Bears in Salisbury a season ago.
After a bye, the final road trip of the regular season will take Fayetteville State to Durham to take on Shaw on Oct. 25. The Bears won one of the most thrilling games of the CIAA season a year ago, beating the Broncos 38-35. This year’s contest will be played at Durham County Memorial Stadium, also home to this year’s CIAA championship game in mid-November.
FSU closes out the 2024 campaign at home against two familiar in-state foes: Johnson C. Smith (Nov. 2) and Winston-Salem State (Nov. 9).
Fayetteville State derailed JCSU’s quest for a perfect season last fall. The Golden Bulls hosted the Broncos in October, holding an 8-0 record and a D2 national ranking. But FSU dominated every facet and won 27-0, earning its eighth-straight victory over the Bulls.
On the flip side, Winston-Salem State ended a losing skid against Fayetteville State in 2024, 37-31. The Broncos had won the previous four contests and five of the previous six.
“We are thrilled about the upcoming season and the opportunities it presents for our Broncos,” head coach Richard Hayes said in a release. “We didn’t achieve our goal of making it to the conference championship last season, but this year’s schedule will have us competing at a high level and getting us back on track to being champions.”
Hayes has been Fayetteville State’s coach since 2016. Last season’s 4-5 record marked the first losing campaign since Hayes’ first at the helm. The Broncos are 53-29 overall under Hayes’ leadership and 45-12 in CIAA play, with five South Division titles and one conference championship trophy (2022).
The CIAA will continue to be an 11-team conference in football this upcoming season. The league did away with divisions in 2024 when St. Augustine’s elected not to field a football team a year ago.
READ MORE: Fayetteville State’s official football schedule release story can be found here.
Fayetteville State Football | Coach Richard Hayes era
- 2016 – 4-6, 4-3 CIAA (2nd Southern Division)
- 2017 – 6-5, 5-2 CIAA (T-1st Southern Division)
- 2018 – 6-3, 5-1 CIAA (1st Southern Division)
- 2019 – 8-3, 6-1 CIAA (1st Southern Division)
- 2020 – no season, COVID
- 2021 – 8-2, 7-0 CIAA (1st Southern Division)
- 2022 – 9-3, 7-1 CIAA (1st Southern Division, CIAA champion)
- 2023 – 8-2, 8-0 CIAA (1st Southern Division)
- 2024 – 4-5, 3-4 (T-7th)
Fayetteville State 2025 Football Schedule
| Date |  | Opponent | Time/Result | TV/Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 30 | at | Benedict | 5 p.m. | |
| Sept. 6 | at | UNC Pembroke | ||
| Sept. 13 | at | North Carolina Central | ||
| Sept. 20 | at | Elizabeth City State* | ||
| Sept. 27 | vs | Virginia State* | ||
| Oct. 4 | at | Bowie State* | ||
| Oct. 11 | vs | Livingstone* | ||
| Oct. 25 | at | Shaw* | ||
| Nov. 1 | vs | Johnson C. Smith* | ||
| Nov. 8 | vs | Winston-Salem State* | ||
| * denotes CIAA game |
Fayetteville State 2024 Football Results
| Date | | Opponent | Result | Score | Overall | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep. 7 | vs | UNC Pembroke | W | 35-31 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Sep. 14 | at | Valdosta State | L | 7-35 | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Sep. 21 | vs | Elizabeth City State*# | W | 31-7 | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| Sep. 28 | at | Virginia State* | L | 18-35 | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| Oct. 5 | vs | Bowie State* | W | 27-24 | 3-2 | 2-1 |
| Oct. 12 | at | Livingstone* | L | 19-24 | 3-3 | 2-2 |
| Oct. 19 | BYE | |||||
| Oct. 26 | vs | Shaw* | L | 35-38 | 3-4 | 2-3 |
| Nov. 2 | at | Johnson C. Smith* | W | 27-0 | 4-4 | 3-3 |
| Nov. 9 | at | Winston-Salem State* | L | 31-37 | 4-5 | 3-4 |
| * CIAA game |
