The Drake Bulldogs have announced their 2025 football schedule, which features five home games and 11 contests overall.
Drake opens the 2025 season with a home contest on Thursday, Aug. 28 against the Upper Iowa Peacocks at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Upper Iowa is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference in Division II.
The Bulldogs then have an open date before venturing to South Dakota in consecutive weeks to face the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Sept. 13 and the South Dakota Coyotes on Sept. 20.
After its second open date, the Pioneer Football League (PFL) portion of Drake’s slate kicks off with Valparaiso visiting Des Moines on Oct. 4. Drake’s other home PFL tilts include Davidson on Oct. 18, St. Thomas on Nov. 8, and Morehead State on Nov. 22.
The Bulldogs venture outside of the Hawkeye State for road league games at San Diego on Oct. 11, Marist on Oct. 25, Butler on Nov. 1, and Dayton on Nov. 15.
Below is Drake’s complete schedule for the 2025 season, plus a link to their schedule page which will be updated with kickoff times and TV as they are announced:
08/28 – Upper Iowa
09/06 – OFF
09/13 – at South Dakota State
09/20 – at South Dakota
09/27 – OFF
10/04 – Valparaiso
10/11 – at San Diego
10/18 – Davidson
10/25 – at Marist
11/01 – at Butler
11/08 – St. Thomas
11/15 – at Dayton
11/22 – Morehead State
* PFL contest.
Drake advanced to the FCS Playoffs last season, but fell on the road against Tarleton State, 43-29, in the first round and finished the season 8-3 overall and 7-1 in PFL action. The 2025 season will be the first for the Bulldogs under head coach Joe Woodley, who previously led Grand View to a 72-5 overall record in six seasons, including an NAIA Championship in 2024.
Another schedule oddity for 2025, Drake does not host a home game in September