The Wash. U. Bears will open their 2021 fall football season on September 4, with a road game against the University of Chicago. (Photo courtesy Wash. U. Athletics)
by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
After sitting out both the 2020 fall and 2021 spring seasons due to the Covid pandemic, the Washington University football team will be back in action this fall with a full 10-game schedule, beginning in September.
Like most NCAA Division III teams, Wash. U. didn’t play last fall because it was just too dangerous to have a full roster of football players and coaches practicing and playing games against strangers while the pandemic was still running rampant across the country.
After only Division I teams played in the fall, some Division II and Division III teams did decide to play in the spring. But Wash. U. wasn’t one of them, as the Bears chose to sit out the spring as well, making that the first full school year the Wash. U. program didn’t play any football in nearly 75 years.
Things have gotten much better since. And because of that, the Bears will be back on the field this fall, beginning with their season opener on Saturday, September 4, against longtime rival Chicago.
Kickoff for that day at the historic Amos Alonzo Stagg Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Following an open date the next week, Wash. U. will host its home opener at Francis Olympic Field on September 18, against North Park.
Kickoff time for that game has not been set, but that will be the first of five home games for the Bears this season.
Wash. U. will also play five road games, with the final nine contests all being University Athletic Association conference games.
The Bears’ five home games will be against North Park, Wheaton, Illinois Wesleyan, Carroll, and North Central, while the five road games will be against Chicago, Elmhurst, Augustana, Millikin, and Carthage.
After sitting a year out, Wash. U. will be looking for its third straight winning season, after going 7-3 in 2019 and 8-2 in 2018.
The Bears will be an almost completely new-look team in 2021, as most of the club’s primary players have graduated since the 2019 season and this season’s roster features 34 new players.
Wash. U.’s new offense will likely feature junior quarterback Max Schieferdecker, who was the team’s primary backup in 2019, while the defense will be led by senior safety Andrew Whitaker, who was a finalist for UAA Defensive Player of the Year and was named an All-American in 2019.
2021 Washington University Football Schedule
Sept. 4 at Chicago 1 pm
Sept. 18 vs. North Park TBA
Sept. 25 at Elmhurst 2 pm
Oct. 2 vs. Wheaton 6 pm
Oct. 9 vs. Illinois Wesleyan 1 pm
Oct. 16 at Augustana 1 pm
Oct. 23 at Millikin 6 pm
Oct. 30 vs. Carroll 1 pm
Nov. 6 vs. North Central 12 pm
Nov. 13 at Carthage 12 pm