CANYON, Texas – The Buffaloes return to the gridiron on Thursday night as they host the Texas College Steers in the 2021 season opener at Buffalo Stadium on the campus of West Texas A&M with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
 
West Texas A&M begins their 109th season of football on Thursday night as they hold an overall record of 524-519-2 (.502) dating back to the 1910 campaign. It marks the 55th time that the Buffs will open the season in Canyon.
 
The Buffs are 48-61 all-time in season openers including 33-21 in contest played in Canyon. WT is a perfect 2-0 inside of Buffalo Stadium on opening night with wins over Azusa Pacific (36-16, 9/7/2019) and Oklahoma Panhandle State (58-7, 9/19/2020). WT has outscored their opponents 2,549-1,999 in season openers.
 
WT returns to the gridiron following a challenging 2021 season saw the Buffaloes push the envelope as they implemented strict but effective protocols that allowed WT to play the most games by any Division II institution during the COVID-19 Pandemic, finishing the fall with a 3-3 overall mark.
 
The Buffs were tabbed third in the LSC Preseason Poll announced on July 26th. Texas A&M-Commerce picked up 15 of the possible 23 first place votes for a total of 175 points to sit atop of the poll followed by Angelo State (two first place, 152) and West Texas A&M (one first place, 125). UT Permian Basin (five first place) and Midwestern State finished tied for fourth with 112 points followed by Eastern New Mexico (60), Texas A&M-Kingsville (59) and Western New Mexico (33) to round out the poll.
 
A LOOK AT THE STEERS
Texas College finished the 2019 campaign with an overall record of 1-9 including a 1-7 mark in SAC play as their only win of the season came against Southwestern Assemblies of God (W, 24-17) on October 26, 2019. 
 
TC HEAD COACH GREG ELLIS
The Texas College Steers are led by first year head coach and former Dallas Cowboy defensive end Greg Ellis who took over the program on July 23, 2020. Ellis also serves as TC's Director of Athletics.
 
Ellis played in the NFL for 12 seasons with the Cowboys (1998-2008) and Oakland Raiders (2009) where he was selected to the 2007 Pro Bowl while being named the 2007 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. 
 
The University of North Carolina grad was a three-time First Team All-ACC selection as well as a consensus All-American for the Tar Heels in 1997, his No. 87 jersey is honored in Chapel Hill.
 
THE SERIES
Thursday will mark the first ever meeting on the gridiron between West Texas A&M and Texas College.
 
HEAD COACH HUNTER HUGHES
Hunter Hughes enters his fifth season at the helm of the Buffaloes as the Nashville, Tennessee native holds an overall record of 20-19 during his time in Canyon. A 1991 graduate of Middle Tennessee State, Hughes has coached 21 All-Lone Star Conference selections during his time in Maroon & White. 
 
Hughes came to Canyon in December of 2016 following a decade as the Defensive Coordinator at Colorado State-Pueblo where the ThunderWolves made five NCAA Playoff appearances including a run to the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship.
 
THIS IS LSC FOOTBALL
The season kicks off Thursday, September 2 and the Lone Star Conference has eight teams set to compete in 2021. Each team will play seven conference games to determine the LSC Champion. The 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the LSC did not sponsor a spring season in the sport of football.
 
WE FINALLY MADE IT
The 2021 season will bring a new normal to college football as all eight LSC teams return to the gridiron following the COVID-19 Pandemic. WT finished their fall schedule with six contests, playing the most games in all of NCAA Division II. 
 
Those six games were made possible by the efforts of the Texas A&M University System, WT President Walter Wendler along with the WT Athletic Administration staff who implemented and executed numerous safety practices during the global pandemic that allowed student-athletes the opportunity to compete.
 
BUFFALO STADIUM
West Texas A&M is home to one of the premiere college football facilities in the country as Buffalo Stadium opened on September 7, 2019 to a capacity crowd of 10,145 fans. The state of the art facility included Hellas Matrix FusionH XP2 artificial turf along with seven ground-level suites and the Fairly Group Club.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Thursday's game will be broadcast on the LSC Digital Network. Lucas Kinsey and Brice Sheets will be in the booth with Kent Johnson providing sideline coverage. For more information, visit the Football Schedule page at GoBuffsGo.com.
 
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II. 
 
The 2020-21 season WT claim seven LSC Regular Season Championships, three LSC Tournament Titles, three Regional Championships, four Top-three track & field finishes, a men's basketball national title game appearance and the 2021 NCAA Division II Softball National Championship.
 
WT AGAINST THE SAC
Thursday marks the 43rd all-time meeting on the field (30-11-1) between the Buffs and current members of the Sooner Athletic Conference, a 12-team league that boasts 110 NAIA National Championships.
 
vs. Oklahoma City (3-3)**
... Last Meeting - 1941 - W, 34-0
vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State (18-1)
... Last Meeting - Sept. 29, 2020 - W, 58-7
vs. Texas Wesleyan (1-2)
... Last Meeting - 1937 - L, 13-6
vs. Wayland Baptist (8-5-1)
... Last Meeting - 1932 - W, 52-0
**No Longer Sponsors Football
 
ON THIS DAY
The Buffs are 1-4 all-time on September 2nd with all five contest being played in Canyon.
 
1978 - vs. Mississippi State - L, 28-10
1989 - vs. Sacramento State - L, 35-22
1995 - vs. Western New Mexico - W, 35-23
2010 - vs. Grand Valley State - L, 34-31
2017 - vs. Azusa Pacific - L, 34-13
 
Hunter Hughes coached his first ever game in Maroon & White on September 2, 2017 as the Buffs fell to then #13 Azusa Pacific (34-13) at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.