The Northwestern State Demons were set to play at the Mississippi State Bulldogs in 2022, but the Demons will now play at the Southern Miss Golden Eagles instead, FBSchedules.com has learned.
Back in March of 2018, we reported that Northwestern State (NWSU) would travel to take on Mississippi State (MSU) on Sept. 3, 2022 and would receive a $500,000 guarantee for the game. That contest has now been canceled, according to a copy of a letter obtained from Northwestern State University via a state public records request.
The original contract called for a $1 million cancellation fee if either party breached the agreement. However, the letter, dated March 31, 2020, states that the game was terminated via a “mutual agreement” and that Mississippi State will pay Northwestern State $150,000.
A separate document from GRIDIRON, the college football scheduling company headed by former ESPN executive Dave Brown, indicates that the cancellation was part of a three-team agreement that included Southern Miss (USM). In short, Northwestern State found a replacement game so they agreed to the cancellation of the Mississippi State game for only the $150,000 amount.
In turn, Northwestern State and Southern Miss signed a separate contract for the Demons to visit M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Sept. 17, 2022. Northwestern State will receive a $350,000 guarantee from Southern Miss for playing the game, per the copy of the contract.
With the $150,000 from Mississippi State, that means Northwestern State will make a total of $500,000 for playing at Southern Miss, which was the original guarantee the Demons were set to receive for playing at Mississippi State. That result formed the basis of the mutual agreement to cancel the NWSU-MSU game in 2022.
Northwestern State has one other non-conference game currently scheduled for the 2022 season — a Sept. 10 contest against Grambling State at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La.
Mississippi State is down to two non-conference games in 2022 with the cancellation of the Northwestern State contest. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play at Arizona on Sept. 10 and host Memphis on Sept. 24.
With the addition of Northwestern State, Southern Miss has now completed their non-conference slate in 2022. The Golden Eagles are set to open the season at home against Liberty on Sept. 3. USM will also travel to face Miami (FL) on Sept. 10 and Tulane on Sept. 24.
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