The Rhode Island Rams have added the Sacred Heart Pioneers to their 2027 football schedule, FBSchedules.com has learned. A copy of the football game contract was obtained from the University of Rhode Island via a state public records request.
Rhode Island will host Sacred Heart at Meade Stadium in Kingston, R.I., on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2027. According to the terms of the contract, the Rams will not pay the Pioneers a guarantee for the matchup and a return game at Sacred Heart was not mentioned.
The contest between Rhode Island and Sacred Heart in 2027 will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.
Rhode Island is a member of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Sacred Heart is entering its second season as an FCS Independent after competing in the Northeast Conference (NEC) from 1999 through 2023.
The addition of Sacred Heart gives Rhode Island three non-conference opponents for the 2027 season. The Rams are also scheduled to play consecutive road contests at the Boston College Eagles on Sept. 25 and the Brown Bears on Oct. 2.
Rhode Island is the first known opponent for Sacred Heart’s 2027 football schedule.
As previously mentioned, Sacred Heart is an FCS Independent. Therefore, the school is responsible for filling the entirety of its schedule each season and lacks the assistance of a conference.
Football Schedules
This is what we want to see. FCS vs FCS. Similar talent and regionality.
Better than Sacred Heart vs. Edward Waters or Rhode Island at Boston College
Agreed on the two matchups mentioned John, although those still aren’t as bad as Virginia-Lynchburg or Lincoln (CA) at anyone that will put them on the schedule. We did lose North American from that category, who lost to Portland State 91-0 in 2023, but if I had my way, FCS games against D-III teams, NCCAA, NAIA and these independent teams I mentioned should not count in the standings. The one good thing is that even the D-II games are not considered for playoffs.
Of course, as you and I have discussed, other factors necessitate those two games of yours, but it doesn’t mean we have to agree with them, and we are fully entitled to complain if they are part of a season ticket package.
That is the troubling part. If I have season tickets for Ohio State, I have to pay for Grambling.
Same thing at the FCS level. Watching a FCS team host a NAIA team is frustrating.
Most Division 3 schools play Division 3 schools. I’m a SUNY Brockport grad and we play 10 games, all against D3 opponents.
The way it should be
If I were king, FCS teams with games against D-III, NAIA, NCCAA or any other association I am missing (to include independent schools without an affiliation), those games would not count in the standings. Also, a loss to one of those teams would eliminate that team from the playoffs no matter what their record or conference standing.
Of course, the FBS teams are able to play them as well, but most of them say that they won’t play a game against anyone other than a D-I opponent, so they still play the FBS games.
Way back in time, even before I was roaming the planet, there were games against high school teams by a lot of colleges, and somewhere along the line we recognized the wisdom of ending this.
What I worry about is the potential injuries to the players even more than season tickets. What most people don’t realize is that even the highest level of FCS team, like defending champion NDSU might have a roster where they have a 1 and a 1A at each position. The problem is when they try to play the highest level FBS teams, like defending champion Ohio State (which NDSU would never do), they might have as high as a 1D or 1E on the other side of the line. Once that FCS kid gets tired, the risk of injury goes way up.
To be fully clear, 1D rarely sees the field in two years at the FBS level and hits the portal to FCS and works into a starting job.