Southwestern Oklahoma State University, a member of the Great American Conference, announced the 2020 schedule for the Bulldogs. The Great American Conference (GAC) determined and approved changes to the league’s football and basketball schedules for this year. Alterations to the conference’s championship format were also made.

The 2020 football season will now consist of a 10- game conference for GAC’s 12 member schools. Competition can begin on Thursday, Sept. 10. Earlier in June, the NCAA Division II Presidents Council made changes to the maximum playing seasons and the 10- game format the GAC adopted follows suit with those changes.

“I’m appreciative our leadership identified ways to retain championship experiences for as many teams and individuals as possible,” GAC Commissioner Will Prewitt said. “These decisions are not pleasant to make, but our presidents, athletic directors and additional administrators have worked hard to balance the financial realities that we are battling with allowing student-athletes to compete for championships.”

With the changes in place, the SWOSU Bulldogs will begin their season Saturday, Sept. 12 against Harding in the ASAP Kickoff Classic. It will be the first of five home games to be played at ASAP Energy Field this season, the Bulldogs stated. Beggs former football player Easton Davis will enter his first season as a Bulldog, filling in the shoes of Tyler Marr. As a senior quarterback, Marr played 11 games his final year with SWOSU.

In 2019, the Bulldogs capped the season with an overall record of 3-8. SWOSU took down Southeastern Oklahoma State University and East Central University (ECU) in the first two games of the 2019 season, but then fell into a six-game losing streak. They held onto that lead by the teeth throughout the rest of the game.

Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SOSU) couldn’t hold down SWOSU, who controlled the field in the first half. Marr carried the ball in for the first touchdown, earning a 27-yard run to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard, 7-0. The Bulldogs depended heavily on their running backs to secure the rest of their points. Marr was able to drop a 55-yard pass to DJ Hicks in the 3rd quarter to make it a 21-3 team.

Sweeping SOSU 35-17, the Bulldogs took down ECU 24-21 in Week 2. The Bulldogs dominated in the 1st quarter against the ECU Tigers, pulling off a 21-7 lead. Marr was vital to the Bulldogs touchdowns, carrying the first with a four-yard run, 7-0. ECU answered with their own rushing touchdown that tied the game 7-7, but Marr found SWOSU wide receivers Jared Rayburn and Justin Bailey open for 65 and 63-yard touchdown receptions.

Despite getting the jump on ECU 21-7, the Bulldogs were only able to score three more points from a 24- yard field goal in the 2nd quarter. Up 24-7, the Bulldogs were kept off the scoreboard in the 3rd quarter with ECU scoring a 22-yard run, 24-14.

ECU intercepted the ball with 4:07 left to go. Covering 62 yards in 10 plays, the Tigers made it a threepoint game, 24-21. The Bulldogs’ offense ran down the clock to garner a 24-21 victory.

The Bulldogs might have bitten off a two-game winning streak at the start of the season but soon found themselves with a 2-6 record. They would earn one more win in 2019 against Southern Nazarene University, 28-7. Returning to their roots, the Bulldogs focused on running the ball into the end zone. The Bulldogs secured four touchdown drives of 11 plays or more, controlling the time of possession for more than 36 minutes. Rushing touchdowns from SWOSU Bulldogs Donnell Hawkins, Jermaine Mask and Kenny Graham put the Bulldogs up 21-9 going into the fourth quarter. Marr also connected with Hicks for a 25-yard touchdown pass that sealed the Bulldogs’ 28-7 win.

SWOSU ended the season with two losses to Oklahoma Baptist University and Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

Davis will be joining the Bulldogs as an offensive linebacker and will be playing alongside freshman running back Jared Sutter, who also got his start at Beggs High School.