The Kent State Golden Flashes have added games against Alabama, Howard, and Kennesaw State to their future football schedules, FBSchedules.com has learned through records obtained from KSU.
Kent State will travel to face the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 24, 2016. The Golden Flashes will receive a $1.5 million guarantee for playing the game, according to a copy of the contract.
Alabama and Kent State’s first and only meeting took place in Tuscaloosa in 2011. The Crimson Tide won that contest 48-7.
Other games previously scheduled for Kent State in 2016 include at Penn State (Sept. 3), vs. Monmouth (Sept. 17), and at Army (Oct. 1).
Kent State will play Howard, an FCS program they’ve never faced, in consecutive seasons. The Golden Flashes are set to host the Bison at Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio on Sept. 9, 2017 and Sept. 8, 2018.
Howard will receive a $290,000 guarantee for each game played against Kent State.
Kent State opens the 2017 season at Clemson (Sept. 2) and also travels to Marshall (Sept. 16). The Golden Flashes need one more game to complete their 2017 slate.
The addition of Howard tentatively completes the 2018 schedule for Kent State. KSU opens the season at Illinois (Sept. 1), travels to Penn State (Sept. 15), and later hosts Georgia Southern (Sept. 22).
Kent State has also added a pair of games against another FCS opponent. The Golden Flashes will host the Kennesaw State Owls at Dix Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019 and again on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020, both season-openers.
The Owls will receive guarantees of $300,000 for the 2019 game and $315,000 for the 2020 game.
Kennesaw State, which is located in Kennesaw, Georgia, recently started their football program. They begin play in 2015 and will be a member of the Big South Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision.