Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College football program has unveiled its 2023 football schedule, an 11-game slate that features seven Northeast Conference (NEC) contests, five home games, and two Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents.
Under the direction of head coach
Tom Masella, the Seahawks will open the 2023 season at Fordham on September 2. This marks the second consecutive season the Rams and Seahawks will meet in their respective season opener.
One week later, the Seahawks will travel to FBS member Navy. The Northeast Conference (NEC) opener is set for September 16, when the Seahawks travel to Sacred Heart.
This year's home opener will take place on September 23, when Wagner hosts Merrimack at Hameline Field.
The penultimate non-conference game of the season will take place on September 30, when the Seahawks travel to Rutgers for the second consecutive season. Wagner has played 15 games against FBS teams and faced off against at least one opponent from college football's highest division in each of the last 11 fall seasons.
Wagner will play two FBS opponents for the sixth time in program history in 2023. In 2015, the Seahawks played at Rice and at BYU while in 2016 the Green & White traveled to UMass and Boston College. In 2019, Wagner faced UConn and Florida Atlantic. During the 2021 fall season, Wagner took on Buffalo and Temple. Last season, Wagner faced off against Rutgers and Syracuse.
The Seahawks nearly pulled off their first upset of an FBS opponent in the 2019 opener against UConn, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Huskies before falling 24-21. Thanks to an interception return for a touchdown by defensive back
Myron Morris and two rushing touchdowns by
Dymitri McKenzie, the Seahawks were within striking distance late in the fourth quarter but fell short in the final minutes.
In their first-ever meeting against an 85-scholarship opponent, the 2012 Seahawks dropped a hard-fought 7-3 contest at FAU in Boca Raton. That 2012 Wagner team opened the season 0-3, before reeling off nine straight wins en route to the program's first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) championship and an ensuing NCAA FCS first-round playoff win over Colgate.
Following a bye week, the Seahawks will play five straight conference games. After a road contest at Saint Francis U on October 14, Wagner will host three straight home games against CCSU (10/21), Stonehill (10/28), and Duquesne (11/4), before traveling to LIU on November 11 for the final conference contest of the season.
The Seahawks will round out the 2023 season against Post University on November 18 at Hameline Field.
