CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel football team's 2017 schedule was announced Monday and features six home games and five games against in-state opponents, including at ACC member Clemson.

"Our 2017 schedule fits our goals of giving our fans quality games at Johnson Hagood Stadium while preparing our football team for Southern Conference and postseason play," The Citadel Athletic Director Jim Senter said. "We are happy to have six home games again after only having five in 2016, and all three of our non-conference opponents are schools in South Carolina. Having important dates like Parents Day and Homecoming set in advance allows our alumni to makes plans and be in attendance to celebrate with us. I'm glad to announce the 2017 schedule, but we are also excited to see what the rest of the 2016 season brings for our football program under the leadership of head coach Brent Thompson."

The Bulldogs will play five in-state foes during the 2017 season, beginning with consecutive home games Sept. 2 against Newberry and Sept. 9 against Presbyterian to start the season. The Citadel owns a 32-4-4 lead in the all-time series with Newberry, and the Bulldogs and Wolves are meeting for the first time since 1997. The Citadel and Presbyterian last met in 2010 with the Bulldogs claiming a 26-14 victory to increase their lead in the all-time series to 50-11-1.

The Citadel's first Southern Conference game will be the next week at ETSU. The Bulldogs and Bucs will be playing in Johnson City, Tennessee, for the first time since 2003. After a bye week, the Bulldogs hit the road again to start a stretch of seven straight weeks against conference opponents at Samford. Currently, the all-time series is tied 4-4 with both teams winning two games at home and two games on the road.

Parents Day is set for Oct. 7 against Mercer, who the Bulldogs beat 24-23 to open the 2016 season. The Citadel has won three in a row over the Bears and leads the all-time series 9-4-1. The next week, The Citadel hosts Wofford in what will be the teams' 70th meeting. The Bulldogs currently hold a 41-26-1 edge in the series.

After an Oct. 21 game at Chattanooga, the Bulldogs return to Charleston for their final two home games of the season. Oct. 28 against VMI will be Homecoming, and Senior Day will be Nov. 4 against Western Carolina. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series with the Keydets 39-30-2 and have won four of the last five games against the Catamounts.

The Citadel concludes its 2017 regular season with two road games in the Upstate. The Bulldogs travel to Furman on Nov. 11 for the 97th meeting in the SoCon's oldest rivalry series. Last weekend, The Citadel won its third in a row against the Paladins. The regular season finale comes at Clemson on Nov. 18 as The Citadel returns to Clemson Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2013.

The complete 2017 schedule can be found here.

The defending Southern Conference co-champions have started the 2016 season 2-0 with conference wins at Mercer and at home against Furman. The Citadel travels to Gardner-Webb on Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff that will be available on the Big South Network.

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