CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M University announced its 2017 football schedule Thursday which is slated to feature seven home games at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.  The seven home games are the most in the regular season for the Buffs since 1989. 

The Buffs are under the direction of first year head coach Hunter Hughes who was hired in December after nine years as defensive coordinator at Colorado State-Pueblo. 

The 2017 season gets underway Saturday, Sept. 2 against Azusa Pacific at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.  APU finished the 2016 season with a 9-3 record and a berth in the NCAA playoffs.  The Cougars defeated WT in the season-opener in Glendora, Calif., 28-10 this past season.  APU has won two-straight against WT.   

Hughes and the Buffs will face his former team on Sept. 9 as Colorado State-Pueblo comes to visit.  The ThunderWolves finished 8-3 last season winning their final six games after starting 2-3, including a 28-10 home loss to WT in the second week of the season.  The Buffs have won the last two in the series versus CSUP. 

Lone Star Conference play begins Sept. 16 as UT Permian Basin visits for the first time.  The Falcons went 2-9 in their first year as a football program in 2016 and 0-9 in league play.  WT downed UTPB 48-14 at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa last season. 

WT then makes its first road trip of the season at Tarleton State on Sept. 23 as it will be the first time the Buffs have played in Stephenville since 2013.  The Buffs hosted Tarleton State in Canyon in 2014 and 2016 and played the Texans in the LSC Football Festival in Arlington in 2015.  Tarleton State went 5-6 overall and 5-4 in Lone Star Conference play in 2016.

Eastern New Mexico visits on Sept. 30 to round out the month of September for the annual Wagon Wheel Game.  ENMU rallied for a 39-30 win over WT last season, outscoring the Buffs 25-2 in the second half.  ENMU finished the season with a 7-5 record and a 6-3 mark in Lone Star Conference play and a 45-12 loss to Fort Hays State in the Heart of Texas Bowl in Copperas Cove, Texas. 

October opens with the Buffs traveling to a vastly improved Texas A&M-Kingsville squad Oct. 7.  TAMUK snapped a six-game WT winning streak in 2016 with a 51-34 win in Canyon and the Javelinas finished the season with a 9-3 record and 6-3 mark in LSC play.  TAMUK won its final seven games, including a 24-17 win over Southern Arkansas in the Live United Bowl in Texarkana, Texas.

WT returns home for Homecoming 2017 and dips out of LSC play against Adams State of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference on Oct. 14.  The Buffs are 5-1 all-time against Adams State and the teams haven't met since a 63-20 win by the Buffs at Adams State on Sept. 8, 2007.  WT has dropped its last two games on Homecoming.

Week eight of the season finds WT traveling to rival Midwestern State for the annual Highway 287 Challenge Series on Oct. 21.  The Buffs won in Canyon over the Mustangs in a thriller in 2016, 35-27.  Texas A&M-Commerce visits Oct. 28 as the Lions went 10-2 overall and won their third-straight Lone Star Conference title in 2016.  TAMUC lost to Grand Valley State in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Football Playoffs. 

The final month of the regular season opens as the Buffs travel to Angelo State on Nov. 4, followed by Senior Day 2017 on Nov. 11 as Western New Mexico makes its first trip to Canyon since 2000.  WT won an overtime thriller at WNMU 37-30 in the finale in 2016 for a 6-5 record and 5-4 mark in Lone Star Conference play.    

Check back with www.gobuffsgo.com for updates on game times for the 2017 football season as well as  news on all of West Texas A&M athletics.