WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.-  A matchup against its first opponent from the Football Bowl Subdivision and five teams that held top-25 rankings in 2014 highlight Monmouth University football's 2015 schedule.

The Hawks face Central Michigan University of the Mid-American Conference on Saturday, September 12 in a game that will mark the first FBS opponent for Monmouth. The Blue & White will open the season a week earlier when they host  Holy Cross, starting the season off at home for just the sixth time in the 23-year history of the program. The Hawks also host Bryant, Liberty, Coastal Carolina and Presbyterian. One of the most challenging schedules in school history features three playoff participants including the Flames, Chanticleers and the Patriot League Champion Fordham Rams.

“Our schedule is both a challenging and exciting one,” said Monmouth Head Coach Kevin Callahan. “We are excited about our second season in the Big South. It is an extremely competitive football conference as demonstrated by the performances of Coastal Carolina and Liberty in the FCS playoffs and the conference's No. 3 national ranking. The addition of Kennesaw State will make the conference schedule even more challenging. While the biggest addition to the schedule is the addition of FBS opponent Central Michigan, our non-conference portion will continue to have a Northeast flavor to it with teams like Fordham, Holy Cross, Wagner and Bryant.”

The Hawks open the season at home for the second straight season when Holy Cross visits Monmouth Stadium for the first time. Monmouth won the only other meeting between the two teams, holding off a late Crusader rally to take the 2013 matchup 21-14 in Worcester.

Monmouth will travel to Mount Pleasant, Michigan on Saturday Sept. 12, 2015 to face Central Michigan in the first Monmouth contest against a FBS program in the school's history. The Hawks will face a CMU team that finished fourth the in West Division with a 7-6 record, including a trip to the Popeye's Bahamas Bowl.

The Hawks continue their three-game road swing with a pair of local opponents in Wagner and Fordham. The Seahawks and Monmouth renew their rivalry on Sept. 19 in Staten Island. Monmouth has won three straight against WC, which will have a new coach for the first time in 30+ years. The Hawks then head up to Rose Hill to face historic Fordham University, a team which was ranked as high as seventh in the 2014 national polls. The Rams finished with an 11-3 record en route to a Patriot League Championship and an FCS Quarterfinal Playoff appearance.

Monmouth wraps up its non-conference schedule with a Oct. 3rd tilt against Bryant when the Bulldogs come to Monmouth Stadium. MU holds a 5-1 all-time series record against the Bulldogs, winning its last meeting in 2013 by a 21-18 margin up at Bulldog Stadium.  Bryant cracked the top-25 for the first time in program history in 2014, when it started the season  8-1 with wins over two Colonial Athletic Association opponents.

With the non-conference schedule behind them, Monmouth opens up Big South play by heading for its first ever trip to Charleston Southern. Last year the Buccaneers finished 8-4 and took the first meeting between the two teams in West Long Branch in a driving rain storm. The following week, on Oct. 17, Monmouth will welcome Liberty University to Monmouth Stadium for the first time, looking for its first win against the Flames. LU, which earned its first trip to the FCS playoffs in 2014, finished with a 9-5 record and a share of the Big South title.

The three-game road stand comes to an end against BSC Co-Champions Coastal Carolina, which spent a number of weeks  ranked first in the FCS polls. The Chanticleers, who finished 12-2, rode conference Offensive Player of the Year Alex Ross and Defensive Player of the Year Quinn Backus to an NCAA semifinal appearance two weeks ago. Monmouth is 0-3 all-time against Coastal, with the Chants taking the only game in West Long Branch, 26-7, during the 2008 season.

Monmouth will face new conference mate and new FCS football member Kennesaw State on Halloween in Atlanta. The Owls, who begin their first season of football in 2015, are coached by Brian Bohannon who spent five seasons as quarterbacks coach at Georgia Tech running the prolific spread option offense.

A late bye week comes on November 7th leading up to Monmouth's final regular season home game against Presbyterian. It will be the second meeting of the schools with PC earning an 18-12 win in Clinton this year. Monmouth jumped out to a 6-0 lead on the first play from scrimmage before a defensive battle ensued with the Blue Hose ultimately getting a pair of late turnovers to secure the win.

The 2015 season wraps up on the road for the Hawks, as they head to Boiling Springs to face Gardner-Webb. Monmouth earned its first Big South victory last season against the Bulldogs, 31-15.

All times are still yet to be announced and dates are subject to change due to television scheduling.  

Monmouth was 6-5 overall last year in it's first season as a member of the Big South.

2015 Monmouth Football Schedule