SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity football team announced its 2023 schedule that will feature three teams that were nationally-ranked last season – two of which finished the year in the top 10 and competed in the NCAA Playoffs.

The non-conference schedule is as stacked as it's ever been for the Tigers, as the team will face off against St. John's University (Minn.) and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in the first two weeks of the season. St. John's lost in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs last year, while Mary Hardin-Baylor made it to the NCAA Semifinals before falling to eventual champion North Central College (Ill.).

"As we prepare for the 2023 season, I am both honored and excited for the opportunity that our young men, and our program, have in terms of opening up with both St. John's and Mary Hardin-Baylor," said Head Coach Jerheme Urban. "It is extremely exciting to think about opening up in Collegeville, Minn, in a historic venue, with anywhere from 12-14,000 people in attendance, and then coming home to host a top-five program like UMHB. They have both clearly established themselves as perennial D-III contenders, and I am very proud of the hard work and commitment that our guys have shown over the recent years that has put us in a position for these two games to be seen as nationally relevant games. Both programs have incredible coaching staffs that I have a ton of respect for, both programs have elite athletes that have allowed them to consistently play deep into December, and both programs will demand our absolute best efforts. As competitors these are the games that we will remember, and our program is excited about the challenge that lies before us."

Trinity has faced off against UMHB several times over the 20-plus years – including each of the last two postseasons. The Tigers and Johnnies have met just once before, which was a 41-34 Trinity win in the 2002 NCAA Semifinals. That win advanced Trinity to the NCAA Stagg Bowl for the first time in school history. Trinity will be on the road against St. John's to open the 2023 season on Saturday, September 2. The Tigers open the home portion of the schedule the following week against Mary Hardin-Baylor.

The Tigers will be seeking their third consecutive Southern Athletic Association Championship in 2023, which will begin on the road against Birmingham-Southern College. The Panthers were ranked 25th in the 2022 D3football.com Preseason poll and have finished as the runner-up to Trinity in the SAA each of the past two seasons.

Trinity's first home game in SAA play will be against Rhodes College (Tenn.) on September 23, followed by another tough road game at Berry College (Ga.) on September 30. Berry won five straight SAA Championships from 2017 to 2021 (Spring 2021), sharing the 2019 title with the Tigers – the first SAA Championship in program history.

The month of October will feature two home contests that includes Trinity's Alumni Weekend, a road game against a new – but familiar – face in the conference, and the bye week. The month begins with Trinity hosting Centre College (Ky.) on October 7, followed by the bye week in Week 7. The Tigers resume play at Southwestern University on October 21, which renews an old rivalry when the teams played together in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. This will be Southwestern's first season in the SAA, after playing the last seven years in the American Southwest Conference. The final game of the month will be Trinity's Alumni Weekend celebration and the Tigers will host Millsaps College (Miss.) on the 28th.

The final two weeks of the season will be on the road against the University of the South (November 4) and at home against Hendrix College (Ark.) in the regular season finale (November 11).

Coach Urban will begin his 10th season at the helm of the Trinity football team, having compiled a record of 61-25 in his first nine seasons. His 61 wins are the second-most in school history as he passed Trinity University Athletics Hall-of-Famer Gene Norris (60 wins) with the team's win in the First Round of the NCAA Playoffs last year.