PEMBROKE – A full 11-game slate for the first time since the 2007 season, including six contests in the friendly confines of Grace P. Johnson Stadium, highlight the 2018 UNC Pembroke football schedule announced by Director of Athletics Dick Christy on Thursday.
 
Season tickets for the 2018 season will go on sale March 1 and can be purchased for $107. More ticket information can be obtained by visiting UNCPBraves.com/Tickets. Tickets can also be purchased by printing a mailable order form. Like the 2017 season, parking privileges at football games for Braves Club members will be awarded based on giving levels for the next fiscal year.
 
"Our student-athletes love playing at Grace P Johnson Stadium," Christy said. "I'm excited for them and our fans and community at the expanded home football weekends this year. This will be a great showcase for the game experience and fan engagement work that our football program and external staff have worked on to create the home field advantage that we enjoy here in Pembroke."
 
The Braves open the campaign against a pair of opponents out of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) for the sixth-straight season. UNCP will travel to Winston-Salem State on September 1 for a 6 p.m. contest at Bowman Gray Stadium, before opening the home portion of its 2018 slate with a 7 p.m. Military Appreciation Night contest against Elizabeth City State on September 8. That contest will mark the first of three games under the lights of Grace P. Johnson Stadium.
 
The Braves will hit the road for matchups against South Atlantic Conference (SAC) foes the following two weeks, traveling to Salisbury on September 15 to face Catawba and then wrapping up the season-long road trip at Tusculum on September 22. The Black & Gold will return home for two weeks after that, first with a  Parents & Families Weekend contest against Newberry on September 29, and then with a Robeson County Schools Night outing against Wingate on October 6. The contests with Newberry and Wingate have both been tagged with 7 p.m. start times.
 
UNCP will load the buses for a long road trip on October 13 when it makes the trek to Wilberforce, Ohio, for a region contest against Central State out of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), but will put their travel woes to rest on October 20 when it caps off Homecoming week on campus with a 4 p.m. kickoff against Concord.
 
The Braves will wrap up the road portion of their 2018 schedule on October 27 at Lenoir-Rhyne, before closing out the regular season with a pair of home games. UNCP will lock horns with Mars Hill on November 3 as part of American Indian Heritage Day at Grace P. Johnson Stadium, and will celebrate Senior Day on November 10 against Carson-Newman. Both of those home outings are slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
 
"The more opportunities that we have to play in front of our great fans and be in our home stadium is a benefit. Our team takes a lot of pride in playing at home," said head coach Shane Richardson. "We are also thrilled to have an eleventh game on the schedule because this gives us one more opportunity to play college football on a Saturday to maximize what we work so hard for year round. We are thrilled for the 2018 season, however, we will stay true to our focus and it remains a program goal on the field – 'It's How We Play, Not Who We Play.'"