Gardner-Webb will play a full Big South/OVC Football Association schedule this fall as the Runnin’ Bulldogs attempt to defend their conference championship.
The Big South/OVC announced its 2024 conference schedule on Tuesday, and this season all nine schools will play a round-robin, eight-game slate. Gardner-Webb faced just six Big South/OVC opponents in 2023, the first season that the two conferences combined their football-playing members into one group to assure access to the FCS playoffs.
Gardner-Webb, which recently hired Cris Reisert to replace head coach Tre Lamb, will open Big South/OVC play at home against Tennessee Tech on Sept. 28. Other home conference opponents include Lindenwood (Oct. 19), Eastern Illinois (Nov. 9) and Tennessee State (Nov. 16). Road conference opponents will be UT Martin (Oct. 5), Southeast Missouri (Oct. 26), Charleston Southern (Nov. 2) and Western Illinois (Nov. 23).
Gardner-Webb has 10 games scheduled in all thus far for 2024. For the second year in a row, the Runnin’ Bulldogs will face two FBS foes — visiting James Madison on Saturday, Sept. 7 and Charlotte the following weekend. GWU likely will add one more game to the schedule.
GWU finished 7-5 overall in 2023, including a 5-1 Big South/OVC mark. The ‘Dogs earned the league’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs after ending the regular season on a five-game win streak.
Gardner-Webb 2024 Schedule (subject to change)
| Aug. 31 | |
| Sept. 7 | at James Madison |
| Sept. 14 | at Charlotte |
| Sept. 21 | |
| Sept. 28 | TENNESSEE TECH* |
| Oct. 5 | at UT Martin* |
| Oct. 12 | |
| Oct. 19 | LINDENWOOD* |
| Oct. 26 | at Southeast Missouri* |
| Nov. 2 | at Charleston Southern* |
| Nov. 9 | EASTERN ILLINOIS* |
| Nov. 16 | TENNESSEE STATE* |
| Nov. 23 | at Western Illinois |
All Big South/OVC Football Association Games
Saturday, September 7
UT Martin at Southeast Missouri
Saturday, September 21
Tennessee State at Tennessee Tech
Saturday, September 28
Charleston Southern at Tennessee State
Lindenwood at Eastern Illinois
Tennessee Tech at Gardner-Webb
Saturday, October 5
Western Illinois at Charleston Southern
Southeast Missouri at Eastern Illinois
Gardner-Webb at UT Martin
Tennessee State at Lindenwood
Saturday, October 12
Charleston Southern at Lindenwood
Eastern Illinois at Tennessee State
Tennessee Tech at Southeast Missouri
UT Martin at Western Illinois
Saturday, October 19
Southeast Missouri at Charleston Southern
Lindenwood at Gardner-Webb
Tennessee Tech at Western Illinois
Saturday, October 26
Charleston Southern at Tennessee Tech
Eastern Illinois at UT Martin
Gardner-Webb at Southeast Missouri
Western Illinois at Lindenwood
Saturday, November 2
Gardner-Webb at Charleston Southern
Western Illinois at Eastern Illinois
Lindenwood at Tennessee Tech
UT Martin at Tennessee State
Saturday, November 9
UT Martin at Charleston Southern
Eastern Illinois at Gardner-Webb
Southeast Missouri at Lindenwood
Tennessee State at Western Illinois
Saturday, November 16
Charleston Southern at Eastern Illinois
Tennessee State at Gardner-Webb
Western Illinois at Southeast Missouri
Tennessee Tech at UT Martin
Saturday, November 23
Eastern Illinois at Tennessee Tech
Gardner-Webb at Western Illinois
Lindenwood at UT Martin
Southeast Missouri at Tennessee State
About the Big South/OVC
In February 2022, the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference announced the creation of an association of their football member institutions, which began in the 2023 NCAA Division I football season and has an initial term of at least four years. The unique agreement combined the two conferences’ football membership to ensure NCAA championship access and stability for the multisport conferences. In creating the association, presidents from each of the multisport conferences pointed to the similarities of the OVC and the Big South, with their complementary geographies and intercollegiate athletic philosophies, as key to making this association possible.
Schools comprising the Association are Charleston Southern University (Charleston, SC), Eastern Illinois University (Charleston, IL), Gardner-Webb University (Boiling Springs, NC), Lindenwood University (St. Charles, MO), Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau, MO), Tennessee State University (Nashville, TN), Tennessee Technological University (Cookeville, TN), University of Tennessee at Martin (Martin, TN) and Western Illinois University (Macomb, IL). For more information on the Big South-OVC Football Association, visit www.BigSouthOVCFootball.com.
