BYU announces football games with Ole Miss and Dixie State

PROVO, Utah — BYU today announced agreements for future football games with the University of Mississippi of the SEC and FCS foe Dixie State University.

Ole Miss and BYU have agreed to a home-and-home series that will see the Rebels visiting LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, on Sept. 16, 2028, and the Cougars traveling to Oxford, Mississippi, on Sept. 8, 2029.

BYU and Ole Miss have met only once previously, with the Cougars earning a narrow 14-13 road victory in the 2011 opener at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The matchup, which marked BYU’s first game as an independent in football, was a defensive battle highlighted by BYU All-American linebacker Kyle Van Noy providing the winning score on a strip-sack touchdown in the fourth quarter.

A founding member of the SEC, Ole Miss has won three national championships (1959, 1960, 1962) and earned six conference titles while ranking No. 43 in the history of college football with 647 wins dating back to 1893. The Rebels have appeared in 38 bowl games, tied with BYU at No. 21 for the most appearances in college football history. The Ole Miss .649 postseason winning percentage ranks No. 4 all-time. The Rebel program boasts 12 consensus All-Americans and 22 first-round draft selections among its 246 overall NFL draft picks.

BYU will host Dixie State on Nov. 16, 2024, in LaVell Edwards Stadium. The two in-state programs have never met in football, but are scheduled to meet in Provo for the first time in a previously announced matchup on Nov. 19, 2022. The Trailblazers, currently one of three FCS independents in football, are scheduled to join all other DSU sports in the Western Athletic Conference after the league’s recent decision to sponsor FCS football. Located in St. George, Utah, Dixie State officially began its transition to NCAA Division I status this past July with all sports except football joining the WAC.

BYU achieved its highest final ranking since 1996 with a No. 11 national finish in 2020. The Cougars earned an 11-1 record as the only team in the country to produce both a top-10 offense and defense. With seven members of the College Football Hall of Fame, 80 All-America honorees, 143 NFL Draft picks and 38 bowl appearances, including winning the 1984 national championship, the Cougars boast a storied football history that dates back to 1922. Over the last 50 seasons, BYU ranks No. 8 overall in wins among all FBS programs with 425 victories.  

Kickoff times and broadcast plans for the announced games will be determined at a future date.