Home games against the previous two national championship teams as well as a newly minted Junior College program from St. George highlight the 2023 Snow College football schedule, which was unveiled Monday.
 
The schedule promises to be one of the toughest within the National Junior College Athletics Association Division I as seven of the Badger's 11 opponents were ranked within the NJCAA Top-15 at one point last season, including five of the top 14 from the 2022 Postseason Poll.
 
The Badgers were the odd team out of the 2022 NJCAA Playoffs as they finished the regular season fifth in the standings, one short of the coveted top-four spots that qualify for the postseason.  Snow College was bumped up to fourth in the final poll of the season following Coffeyville's loss to eventual runner-up Hutchinson Community College in the semifinal game.
 
Snow College finished 2022 with an 8-2 overall record including a perfect 5-0 record at home.  The Badgers defeated three ranked opponents including No. 8 Butler Community College and No. 7 Lackawanna College on the road.  Snow College also defeated No. 10 Georgia Military and Trinity Valley Community College who, while not ranked at the time of the meeting, was ranked as high as third near the end of the season.
 
Snow College will open its season as it did last year against the TVCC Cardinals at Bruce Field in Athens, Texas Aug. 24. Then the Badgers will return to Ephraim to begin its home schedule against the 2021 National Champion New Mexico Military Institute.
 
The Badgers will welcome a new opponent to Terry Foote Stadium in the newly formed Junior College partner St. George Eagles.  The St. George Eagles are the first private Junior College and "Post Graduate" team in the state of Utah.  They were formed from the USA Collegiate and The Coaches Team Foundation, and 2023 will serve as their first season as a program.  The Badgers will host the Eagles Sept. 9.
 
Snow College will play back-to-back road games Sept. 23 and 30 against Dodge City Community College and Georgia Military College.  The Badgers were victorious in their lone meeting against DCCC earning a 38-14 victory Dec. 5, 2015, in Hutchinson Kansas. 
 
The Badgers will begin a four-game home stretch that will span the entire month of October beginning with the reigning National Champion Iowa Western Community College Oct. 7.  Snow College will host the US Air Force Academy Preparatory School the following week.
 
The first-ever meeting between Snow College and Pacific Northwest Christian College will take place Oct. 21 in Ephraim.  The Badgers will wrap up their home slate of games against Lackawanna College Oct. 29.
 
Snow College will take on Garden City Community College Nov. 4 in Garden City Kansas before heading out on its longest trip of the season with a matchup against Monroe College in New Rochelle New York to conclude its season Nov. 11. 
 
The Badgers will travel approximately 14,000 miles across five states and three different time zones. 
 
The Badgers will once again be led on the sidelines by Zac Erekson, who will be entering his fourth season at the helm for the Badgers.  Erekson has gone 23-5 during his tenure at Snow College, including appearances in the 2020 NJCAA National Championship and the 2021 semifinal game.
 
"We're looking forward to another great year with a solid schedule," Head Coach Zac Erekson said. "We feel like we have the toughest schedule in the country and look forward to getting things started and showing what we are capable of in the fall."
 
The Badgers went 6-2 during the 2022 season against teams they will face in 2023.  They finished the year winning their final four games against 2023 opponents.
 
All home games for the Badgers will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be played inside Terry Foote Stadium in Ephraim.  Other start times are available at snowbadgers.com.