football
Stephenville, Texas – Kickoff times for Tarleton State University football's six home games have been officially set, the Texans announced Thursday.
The Texans, who are set to play their first season as a full-fledged NCAA Division I program in 2024, will open the season at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 24 at 2:30 p.m. Tarleton State's next four home games (Sept. 28 vs. Southeastern Louisiana, Oct. 12 vs. Utah Tech, Nov. 2 vs. Eastern Kentucky and Nov. 16 vs. Abilene Christian) will be played at 6 p.m. The regular season finale against Central Arkansas on Nov. 23 will kick off at 2 p.m.
After a stellar first four years in NCAA Division I, Tarleton State has recorded four consecutive winning seasons and a .610 winning percentage (25-16), the third-best in any reclassification period since 2004. Since 2018, they have the state's best winning percentage (.727, 48-18) among all D1 and D2 programs in the state of Texas. The Texans were ranked 19th in Opta analyst Craig Haley's 2024 FCS football preseason Top 25 rankings last month.
Season tickets start at just $150 and are on sale now. Visit TarletonSports.com/Tickets or visit the Tarleton ticket office at the west entrance of Memorial Stadium. Single-game tickets are available for purchase on Monday of each home game week.
The Texans finished the 2023 season with an 8-3 record overall and a 4-2 record in the United Athletic Conference, good for second in the league. Head Coach Todd Whitten He was named the UAC Coach of the Year, marking his fifth career Coach of the Year award.
Tarleton State ranked first in the UAC in yards per play (6.4), rushing yards per game (201.7) and rushing touchdowns (25) and was second in the conference in points per game (33.3), yards per game (430.5) and yards per rush (5.2). In addition to ranking in the top two in the UAC in five categories, the Texans ranked in the top 25 nationally in all of those categories.
Defensively, the Texans recorded the most defensive touchdowns in the conference (4, tied for 4th nationally) and led the UAC in fumble recoveries (11, tied for 9th nationally), yards per play (4.8, 17th nationally) and sacks (26, tied for 28th nationally). Tarleton State also finished in the top four in the UAC in turnovers forced (18), tackles for loss (65) and points defensed (24.5 points per game). Tarleton's special teams led the UAC in kickoff returns (24.3 yards per return, 8th nationally) and were second in the conference in punt returns (18.2 yards per return, 4th nationally).
