Big South Conference sets Gardner-Webb’s first-ever spring league football games

By Richard Walker

Gardner-Webb now knows its first-ever spring football conference schedule.

The Big South Conference on Monday announced its four-game league schedules for the five teams who will compete for the league championship and automatic berth in Football Championship Series (FCS) in the spring of 2021.

The Bulldogs of first-year head coach Tre Lamb will open with home games against Monmouth (March 20) and Kennesaw State (March 27), then will play road games at Charleston Southern (April 3) and Robert Morris (April 10).

League members Campbell, Hampton and North Alabama will not compete during the spring season.

Robert Morris, added as an associate member last June and scheduled to begin play in the Big South in the fall of 2021, will instead be an official conference opponent in the upcoming spring campaign and will be eligible for the league title.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the league built a week at the end of the season to allow flexibility to complete the league schedule in full. The week of April 11-17 has been left open for makeup games.

Additionally, league teams are permitted to play as many as four non-conference games during the spring.

Teams also have the opportunity to play four non-league games this fall – and Gardner-Webb is slated to play its 2020 fall opener at the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday at noon.