Eastern Michigan football has scheduled new deals with Kentucky and San Diego State set to begin in the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The deals will have both teams coming to The Factory in 2019.
In 2017, a three-game series with Kentucky will begin where EMU travels to Lexington in exchange for $1.2 million according to the contract. In 2019, a separate home-and-home deal will start with the Wildcats coming to Ypsilanti, and EMU traveling back to Lexington in 2020.
This will be the first time in Eastern Michigan history that an SEC school or any power five conference opponent has made its way to Ypsilanti, and it will also be the first time EMU and Kentucky have ever met in football.
In 2018, EMU will begin a home-and-home deal with San Diego State. This will also be the first time these two have met in football. Eastern will travel to San Diego State to begin the series.
EMU has recently become accustomed to playing SEC schools as part of the non-conference schedule. Eastern played at Florida last year and will continue the trend of playing SEC teams for the next three seasons with LSU on the schedule for 2015, Missouri in 2016, and now Kentucky in 2017.
The 2015 season kicks off on September 5 against Old Dominion at 3PM.
