UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University football team announced the schedule for the 2025 season.
The 50th edition of Cardinal football will feature an 11-game lineup that includes seven home games and four road contests during the Fall season. SVSU will see three new opponents during the non-conference slate of games with two of those three being first-time meetings.
"The Team's preparation for the 2025 season continues as we have had a great start to Spring Football. We are very excited about the 2025 slate that includes seven home games at Harvey Wickes Memorial Field," said SVSU head football coach Ryan Brady. "Mr. John Lewandowski did a fantastic job securing and putting this schedule together. We are very grateful and appreciative for his efforts to get us an 11-game schedule and we can't wait to get the 2025 campaign underway."
The Cardinals begin the 2025 regular season with three straight home contests beginning just before Labor Day weekend when Northeastern State visits University Center, Michigan on Thursday, August 28 for a 6:00 p.m., kick-off. This is the first time the Cardinals and Riverhawks will meet in football.
SVSU will host Gannon in the second game of the season on September 6. The Cardinals and the Golden Knights met twice previously with a home-and-home series in 2006 and 2007. SVSU won the first matchup, 26-10, at home. The 2007 game was a forfeit by SVSU to even the series at 1-1.
Northwood comes to town on Saturday, September 13, for the 49th installment of the Axe Bowl. The Cardinals will look to reclaim the Axe after the Timberwolves snuck away with a 10-7 victory in Midland last season that ended the SVSU winning streak at five. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
The next match-up for Saginaw Valley State is a new opponent and the first road trip against Limestone in Gaffney, South Carolina on September 20 at 6:00 p.m. The Saints were 8-3 last season and faced two NCAA DII Playoff teams in West Alabama and Lenoir-Rhyne. Limestone lost by just two points to the latter.
The Cardinals celebrate homecoming the following week against Northern Michigan to begin Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play with a 2:00 p.m. kick-off. The Cardinals have won seven straight against the Wildcats.
The following Saturday will have Roosevelt coming to Wickes Memorial Stadium for a 2:00 p.m. kick-off. The Cardinals won the first-ever matchup against the newest Lakers in the GLIAC last season in Chicago, 27-14. This will be the first time Roosevelt visits SVSU.
SVSU takes its first trip to Grand Rapids to face Grand Valley State in Lubbers Stadium on October 18. The Cardinals seek their first win in the Battle of the Valleys since 2012 after falling 16-9 in a heartbreaker at home last season.
The final game in October is a home contest versus Wayne State on the 25th at 2:00 p.m. The Cardinals have faced the Warriors 44 times with SVSU winning the last five meetings including a 37-10 win in Detroit last year.
November begins with the second trip to the Grand Rapids area on November 1 to play Davenport in Caledonia. SVSU cruised to a 24-14 win over the Panthers at home during the 2024 season.
The defending National Champions Ferris State come to town for the Cardinals' final home game of the season on November 8. The game will kick off at 1:00 p.m. and SVSU will look to gain a win over FSU after last year's 27-24 nail-biting result.
Saginaw Valley State ends the year with a chance at redemption. On November 16, the Cardinals will travel to Houghton to face Michigan Tech. SVSU lost to the Huskies 32-28 to end the 2024 regular season and will seek to return the favor in 2025.
Ticket information on the 2025 football season schedule will be announced later on svsucardinals.com and the SVSU football social media pages.
