The 2024 football season is about seven months away and Bethune-Cookman's football schedule has already been released. The Wildcats, a traditional HBCU football power, has fallen on hard times over the past few seasons. Following the Ed Reed saga that started 2023, Bethune-Cookman went 3-8 in their first season under new head coach Raymond Woodie Jr.

However, the program seems to be growing in its promise after a strong start to off-season recruiting. The program has signed many FBS transfers and looks to bring back key contributors from last season's team. Per FBSchedules, Bethune-Cookman will be playing four out-of-conference games to start the season that will surely test them before they kick off SWAC play in late September.

The full schedule is below.

08/31 – at South Florida
09/07 – Mercer (Home)
09/14 – at Western Michigan
09/21 – Clark Atlanta
09/28 – Alabama State
10/05 – BYE
10/12 – at Alabama A&M
10/19 – at Mississippi Valley State
10/26 – Jackson State (Homecoming)
11/02 – Grambling State (Home)
11/09 – at Southern
11/16 – at Texas Southern
11/23 – Florida A&M (Florida Classic)

Arguably the most interesting game on Bethune Cookman's is their September 7th matchup against Mercer University. The game will be the first time in Mercer's history that they've faced off against an HBCU as they restarted their football program in 2013 after last fielding a team in 1941. Since Mercer's return to football, they've seen immense success. They've had three successive winning seasons starting in 2021 and made the FCS Playoffs in November, beating Gardner-Webb 17-7 before losing to reigning champion South Dakota State.

A competitive game against an FCS Playoff contender in Mercer could be a great indicator of their success in SWAC play. They also play FBS programs South Florida and Western Michigan.