KENT, Ohio – The Kent State Department of Athletics announced Wednesday its non-conference football schedules for 2012-13. The slate features a pair of home dates as well as opponents from four of the six BCS automatic qualifying conferences.

"I'd like to commend Tom Kleinlein for all his hard work in putting together these schedules," says Kent State Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen. "We had to walk a fine line between competitiveness and the ability to help the department from a budgetary standpoint, and that's not an easy task. Obviously, we would rather have more than one home non-conference game in 2012 and 2013, but we inherited contracts that limited our flexibility in that area."

In 2012, the Golden Flashes will open at home on a Thursday night with Football Championship Subdivision foe Towson and hit the road to face Kentucky, Rutgers and Army. It will mark the first meeting with Towson, while Kent State has squared off with the other three schools a total of 10 times, including six previous contests with Kentucky – the last of which came in 2007.

The Flashes will play a similar schedule in 2013, opening at home against FCS opponent Liberty on a Thursday night, before traveling to take on Clemson, Penn State and South Alabama. Kent State hosted Liberty in 2004 and has been to State College on three different occasions, including this past season. The game at South Alabama will complete a home-and-home series that will see the Jaguars come to Dix Stadium this fall, while the trip to Death Valley will mark the first meeting with Clemson.

Including the 2011 game at Kansas State, the Golden Flashes will play a member of every BCS conference but the Pac-10 over the next three seasons. Under the direction of first-year head coach Darrell Hazell, Kent State opens the 2011 campaign at Alabama Sept. 3, before kicking off its six-game home slate Sept. 10 against Louisiana. Call (330) 672-2244 for season ticket information.

Kent State Future Non-Conference Schedules

2012

8/30 TOWSON – First meeting

9/8 at Kentucky – Kentucky leads, 6-0 (last meeting in 2007)

9/15 at Rutgers – Rutgers leads, 2-0 (last meeting in 2004)

10/13 at Army – Army leads, 2-0 (last meeting in 2010)

2013

8/29 LIBERTY – Kent State leads, 1-0 (last meeting in 2004)

9/14 at Clemson – First meeting

9/21 at Penn State – Penn State leads, 3-0 (last meeting in 2010)

10/19 at South Alabama – First meeting in 2011