VALDOSTA – Valdosta State Director of Athletics, Herb Reinhard, announced Wednesday the addition of Savannah State to the 2020 football schedule.

The Blazers and Tigers will meet Sept. 5, 2020, at 7 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in Valdosta. This will be the first meeting of the two teams since Sept. 14, 1996, when VSU won 21-7 in Titletown. VSU leads the all-time series 5-0 and is 3-0 at home against the Tigers.

The game came about as VSU had a bye week the first week of the season and Savannah State had Florida Tech on its schedule the opening week. Florida Tech announced it dropped football last month, providing the opening for Savannah State.

Savannah State finished its first season returning to NCAA Division II with a 7-3 record overall and a 5-0 mark in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2019. The Tigers are under the direction of head coach Shawn Quinn, who finished his first season at the helm of the Savannah State in 2019. He was the Tigers’ defensive coordinator in 2018, and has had coaching stints at both the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) levels since 1999. Prior to 2019, Savannah State had been a member of FCS since 2000.

Following the Savannah State game, VSU hosts Kentucky State on Sept. 12 and then will play at Albany State on Sept. 19. The Blazers, who have won back-to-back Gulf South Conference titles, open league play Sept. 26 versus North Greenville at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

October begins with trips to Mississippi College on Oct. 3, and at defending national champion West Florida on Oct. 10, in a matchup of the past two national champions. The Blazers return home Oct. 17 to face Delta State for Homecoming at 7 p.m. VSU now has a bye week on Oct. 24 as it was originally when VSU was to travel to Florida Tech. The month of October closes on Halloween as the Blazers host Shorter. A trip to West Alabama opens November on Nov. 7 and the Blazers return home to complete the ten-game regular season on Nov. 14 versus rival West Georgia for the Peach Basket.

The Blazers have had an outstanding run over the past two seasons with the program’s fourth national title in 2018 and a 24-1 record over its last 25 games. Moreover, since the final game of 2017, VSU has gone 25-1 with a Gulf South Conference record streak of 25-straight wins. VSU has won 13 of its last 14 games at the friendly confines of Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

With six exciting home games on the slate in 2020, Blazer season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 229-333-SEAT (7328). Single game tickets will be on sale July 15.