The Alabama Crimson Tide have added two Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponents to their future football schedules, FBSchedules.com has learned.
Copies of contracts for games against Eastern Illinois University and the University of Tennessee at Martin were obtained from the University of Alabama via a state open records request.
Alabama will host the Eastern Illinois Panthers at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. The Crimson Tide will pay the Panthers a $560,000 guarantee for playing the game, according to the copy of the contract that was executed on May 11, 2021.
The 2025 Eastern Illinois-Alabama contest will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.
The UT Martin Skyhawks will travel to take on the Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2028. Per the contract copy, UT Martin will receive a $500,000 guarantee for the game.
The UT Martin-Alabama contract, executed on March 4, 2021, also cements a first-time gridiron meeting.
Alabama was previously scheduled to host UT Martin on Nov. 14, 2020, but that game was not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Per an addendum to the original contract, the 2020 game has been canceled and the game in 2028 will be played under a new contract.
With the addition of these two games, Alabama has tentatively completed their non-conference schedule in 2025 and has three opponents set for 2028. Alabama’s 2025 slate also includes a game at Florida State on Aug. 30 and home tilts against ULM on Sept. 6 and Wisconsin on Sept. 13.
In 2028, Alabama is scheduled to host Ohio State on Sept. 9 and travel to play Oklahoma State on Sept. 23.
Both the Eastern Illinois and UT Martin contracts contain a “good faith” clause. The schools “…agree to discuss in good faith future dates for the game to be played” if circumstances arise in scheduling or conference realignment that make the game unable to be played in 2025.
With Oklahoma and Texas entering the SEC in 2025, the conference has been discussing their future football scheduling format. The conference is reportedly deciding between a 1-7 format (one permanent opponent and seven rotating opponents) and a 3-6 format (three permanent opponents and six rotating opponents).
Football Schedules