Western Kentucky and Conference USA released the Hilltoppers’ full 2024 football schedule on Thursday.

WKU’s 12-game slate features six home contests at Houchens-Smith Stadium, eight conference matchups and three midweek games. Six of WKU’s 2024 opponents played in a bowl game last season, including one in a College Football Playoff game, and there are four teams on the schedule that played in their league’s conference championship game in 2023.

The Hilltoppers will open the season at Alabama on Saturday, Aug. 31, and will return to Bowling Green for the home opener against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 7. WKU will play its conference opener at Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Sept. 14. The Hilltoppers wrap up the nonconference schedule with a home matchup against Toledo on Saturday, Sept. 21, and with a trip north to face Boston College on Saturday, Sept. 28.

WKU’s final seven regular-season games are all CUSA matchups. The stretch starts with three midweek games, including two at Houchens-Smith Stadium. The Hilltoppers are scheduled to host UTEP on Thursday, Oct. 10, travel to Sam Houston for a Wednesday, Oct. 16, meeting, and finish October with a Wednesday, Oct. 30, game against CUSA newcomer Kennesaw State.

WKU is scheduled to play at New Mexico State on Saturday, Nov. 9, host Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Nov. 16, play at Liberty on Saturday, Nov. 23, and close the regular season at home on Nov. 30 against Jax State.

The 20th annual Conference USA Championship Game will take place Friday, Dec. 6. The top team in the regular-season CUSA standings – there are no divisions again this season – will host the title game, which will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

This marks the second season that all of CUSA’s October games will played on midweek evenings after a successful launch in 2023. CUSA’s broadcast partners will share the October weeknight football games on linear television across CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU. Of last season’s 19 midweek contests during this timeframe, 14 of those games were decided by two scores or less, while nine were one-score games, including two in overtime.

The Hilltoppers are 0-3 all-time against Alabama, with the last meeting coming during the 2016 season – a 38-10 Crimson Tide victory. WKU went on to win the CUSA championship that fall. The Tide went 12-2 last season, claimed the SEC championship, and received a berth in the College Football Playoff.

The Week 2 meeting with EKU will mark the 87th between the programs. WKU holds a 48-35-3 record over the Colonels, but the two in-state foes haven’t faced off since the 2017 season when the Hilltoppers claimed a 31-17 victory in the season opener. EKU went 5-6 in 2023.

WKU and MTSU have met 73 times previously. The Hilltoppers hold a 37-35-1 edge in the “100 Miles of Hate” rivalry series after wins in five straight meetings and eight of the last nine, including a 31-10 triumph last season. The Blue Raiders posted a 4-8 record last season.

Toledo and WKU have never met. The Rockets went 11-3 last season, were the Mid-American Conference runner-up, and played in the Arizona Bowl.

WKU has also never played Boston College, but will make the trip to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, this fall to face an Eagles squad coming off a victory in the Fenway Bowl to cap off a 7-6 season.

The Hilltoppers are a perfect 4-0 against UTEP after a 21-13 win last season in El Paso, Texas – the first meeting between the programs since 2018. The Miners finished 3-9 in 2023.

WKU evened the series with Sam Houston, 1-1, by beating the Bearkats 28-23 last season in Bowling Green, despite turning the ball over five times in the game. The only other meeting between the two was in 2004. Sam Houston went 3-9 last year in its first season in CUSA.

Kennesaw State, in its first season as an FBS program, will come to Houchens-Smith Stadium in October for the first meeting between the two programs. The Owls went 3-6 in their last season competing at the FCS level.

New Mexico State holds the win in the only game played with WKU – a 38-29 contest last November. The Aggies were 10-5 in 2023, played in the CUSA Championship Game in their first season in the league, and received a berth in the New Mexico Bowl.

WKU evened the series with Louisiana Tech, 5-5, with a 35-28 victory last season in Ruston, Louisiana – the first meeting between the two programs since 2018. The Bulldogs finished the year 3-9.

Liberty holds a 4-0 all-time advantage in the series with WKU after a 42-29 decision last year at Houchens-Smith Stadium. The Flames, competing in their first season in CUSA, won the league title and received the Group of Five invitation to a New Year’s Six Bowl, falling to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.

WKU leads the series with Jax State 4-2. The Gamecocks knocked off the Hilltoppers 20-17 last fall in Jacksonville, Alabama, and finished their first FBS season with a 9-4 record and New Orleans Bowl title.

All games are subject to date changes and some dates may move in the coming weeks in order to accommodate national television selections. A schedule of televised games will be released at a later date.

WKU went 8-5 in 2023 and capped off the season with a come-from-behind, 38-35 overtime victory over Old Dominion in the Famous Toastery Bowl.

WKU FOOTBALL 2024 SCHEDULE

Aug. 31: at Alabama

Sept. 7: EASTERN KENTUCKY

• Sept. 14: at Middle Tennessee

Sept. 21: TOLEDO

Sept. 28: at Boston College

• Oct. 10: UTEP
• Oct. 16: at Sam Houston
• Oct. 30: KENNESAW STATE
• Nov. 9: at New Mexico State
• Nov. 16: LA TECH
• Nov. 23: at Liberty
• Nov. 30: JAX STATE

CAPS = Home Game

= CUSA Game{&end}