ARKADELPHIA – The eighth-ranked Ouachita Baptist University football team opens the 2023 season on Thursday, August 31 on the road against Southwestern Oklahoma State.

Thursday's kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Flex-Chem Field at Milam Stadium in Weatherford, Oklahoma. The game can be heard on the Ouachita Football Network on affiliate stations across the state of Arkansas. Links to live audio, live video, and live statistics can be found at www.OBUtigers.com/coverage.

The Tigers are the preseason favorites in the Great American Conference after winning the program's sixth league championship in 2022 with an undefeated regular season record of 11-0. It was the fourth undefeated regular season since 2014 and led to the team's fifth appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Ouachita returns more than 50 lettermen from last year's squad, including five starters on offense, 10 on defense, and two decorated specialists. Nine of those returners earned all-conference awards or better last season.

SWOSU was picked 10th by the league's head coaches after posting a 4-7 record last season. Most of the starters are gone from last year's Bulldog team, and the squad is under the leadership of its third head coach in as many years.

The Ouachita vs. SWOSU matchup was dubbed the Paul Sharp Cup in 2013, honoring the late coach who led the Bulldogs to the NAIA national championship in 1996. Sharp, the brother of current Ouachita Athletic Director David Sharp, played football and graduated from Ouachita, and was an assistant coach for the Tigers from 1974-78. He also spent time as an assistant coach at Central Arkansas and Lamar, and served the bulk of his coaching career as the head coach at SWOSU from 186-2004. He passed away in 2012.

Since the inception of the trophy game, Ouachita owns an 8-1 record against SWOSU. Overall, Ouachita leads the series 14-4.

Ouachita enters the 2023 season with a streak of 14 consecutive winning seasons, the longest such active streak of any college football team in the state of Arkansas, regardless of classification. The Tigers have also won 15 consecutive season-opening games.