The 2024 Howard Payne Yellow Jackets football schedule has been released, and features several stark changes from recent seasons.
First, the American Southwest Conference will consist of just four schools for football – Howard Payne, Hardin-Simmons, Mary Hardin-Baylor and East Texas Baptist – in 2024. Therefore, the league has adopted a double round-robin format where each league team both hosts and visits the others.
ASC games will account for six contests on each team’s schedule, and the other four outings are non-conference games.
Howard Payne jumps into ASC action in the Sept. 7 season opener at home against Hardin-Simmons. The Yellow Jackets then play three consecutive non-conference games at Southwest Assemblies of God on Sept. 14, Lyon College on Sept. 21 and Wittenburg on Sept. 28. The Jackets wrap up non-conference play Oct. 5 at home against Westgate.
The last five games for HPU all count in the ASC standings – at East Texas Baptist Oct. 12, home against Mary Hardin-Baylor Oct. 19, at Hardin-Simmons Nov. 2, the home finale against ETBU Nov. 9 and the regular season finale at UMHB Nov. 16.
The Yellow Jackets posted a 6-4 overall record and 3-4 ASC mark in their first season under head coach Kevin Bachtel.
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HOWARD PAYNE 2024 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
| Sept. 7 | Hardin-Simmons* |
| Sept. 14 | at Southwest Assemblies of God |
| Sept. 21 | at Lyon |
| Sept. 28 | at Wittenburg |
| Oct. 5 | Westgate |
| Oct. 12 | at East Texas Baptist* |
| Oct. 19 | Mary Hardin-Baylor* |
| Oct. 26 | OPEN |
| Nov. 2 | at Hardin-Simmons* |
| Nov. 9 | East Texas Baptist* |
| Nov. 16 | at Mary Hardin-Baylor* |
*ASC Game