GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – With the end of a shortened spring season wrapping up recently, Davenport University officially released its 2021 football schedule Tuesday (April 20). The Panthers will have 11 regular-season games on the slate against strictly NCAA Division II opponents for the first time and will not have a bye week.
 
This year's schedule is unlike any other as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) was trimmed down to eight sponsored institutions with Ashland University moving to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) in the fall. That meant one less guaranteed conference opponent and the need for four non-conference games to reach the maximum of 11. The most notable schedule difference is that the Panthers will be playing Northern Michigan and Ferris State twice. DU will travel to Marquette on Sept. 18 for a non-conference contest with Northern Michigan. The next week on Sept. 25, DU travels to Big Rapids to clash with Ferris State in a non-conference game. The Panthers will host both schools during GLIAC action with the Wildcats coming on Oct. 9 and the Bulldogs on Nov. 6.
 
"We look forward to playing arguably the toughest schedule in the country," said head coach Sparky McEwen, who will be entering his fifth season at Davenport in the fall. "Our players understand that in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. Our schedule presents many challenges from playing four weeks on the road to traveling to the Upper Peninsula twice. Not to mention playing two GLIAC opponents twice in a season which is very unique. We look forward to this relentless schedule and will be prepared once the season starts!"
 
The 2021 opener will be on Saturday, Sept. 4 when the Panthers welcome first-time opponent Truman State to town. The Bulldogs were slated to end the 2020 fall regular-season before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled all games. Truman State at the time of this release was able to play three games this spring and went 3-0 with wins over Southwest Baptist (38-20), William Jewell (34-15) and Missouri S&T (46-27). Truman put together a 10-2 record during the 2019 season with their only losses coming against playoff teams in Lindenwood and Indianapolis.
 
Walsh will be the fourth non-conference opponent for Davenport and the Panthers will travel to North Canton, Ohio on Sept. 11 to square off with the Cavaliers. Walsh is another first-time opponent and a member of the GMAC. The Cavaliers will play five games this spring and are currently 0-4. Walsh put together a 3-8 campaign back during the last full season in 2019.
 
For the second time in a three-week span, the Panthers will cross the Mackinac Bridge to open up GLIAC action on Oct. 2 against the Huskies of Michigan Tech. In four all-time meetings including this game, Davenport will have made three trips to Houghton. During the 2019 campaign, the Huskies pulled out a 30-17 win in Caledonia. The Huskies scored all 30 of their points in the first half and the Panthers scored all 17 of their points in the second half.
 
The Panthers welcome the Wayne State Warriors on Oct. 16 for their third home game of the season. The Warriors and Panthers in their last two games have won on the road in convincing fashion. DU won 37-14 in 2018 in Detroit and the Warriors won 34-0 during the 2019 season in Caledonia. The Warriors, like many others in the GLIAC, decided not to participate in a spring season. WSU went 8-3 during the 2019 season and won their final five games including wins over Michigan Tech (35-14) and Grand Valley State (31-17).

Davenport will have back-to-back games against mid-Michigan foes in Northwood (Oct. 23) and Saginaw Valley State (Oct. 30). The Panthers will enter the 2021 season on a two-game GLIAC win streak beating the Timberwolves and Cardinals back in November 2019. It was the first time in three tries that the Panthers pulled off a victory against NU and SVSU. Davenport won 21-14 in Caledonia on Nov. 9 and then traveled to University Center to wrap up the season on Nov. 16 with a 33-23 win over the Cardinals. DU outscored SVSU 17-0 in the fourth quarter to come back for the win.

The regular-season finale will be a trip to nearby Allendale for a clash against the Lakers of Grand Valley State. Davenport will be looking for their first win over the storied program on Nov. 13 at Lubbers Stadium. GVSU last took the field on Nov. 16, 2019 in that aforementioned loss to Wayne State. The Lakers went 8-3 during the 2019 season, but two losses to end the season kept them from making the playoffs. 

The Panthers were able to play twice during the spring with a pair of wins against Gannon University. They won 30-22 in Erie, Pa. back on March 20 and then won again 37-22 on April 9 in Caledonia.