Southern Miss schedule, featuring Sun Belt opponents, is revealed

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WLBT) - Which football schedule will Southern Miss play in 2022?

The school currently has two announced schedules: one featuring the C-USA that they are trying to exit as soon as possible, and another featuring a swath of Sun Belt Conference opponents.

On February 15, the C-USA unveiled their football schedules for 2022, including Southern Miss with 8 games against C-USA teams.

Also on the schedule is UAB, Florida Atlantic, UNC Charlotte, North Texas, Rice and UTSA. Each of these teams have also announced their intent to leave the C-USA.

In October, USM officials announced their intent to jump ship and join the Sun Belt.

Last month, days before the C-USA’s football schedule was revealed, USM notified the conference they intend to sever ties as soon as June 30, 2022.

The intent was to skip out on a final year of C-USA athletics and join the Sun Belt before the 2022 football season.

The school released a statement, saying the C-USA was unwilling to work with the school on an amicable split.

“The Conference’s unwillingness to discuss the concept of separation this year creates confusion and doubt for all concerned. The remaining members of Conference USA deserve certainty about their schedules as they plan for competition next year. For their sake, the University makes public its intent,” the school said in a statement.

On March 1, the Sun Belt revealed their 2022 football schedule, and it features USM with eight games against Sun Belt opponents.

This comes amid threats that the C-USA will take legal action against Southern Miss, as well as Marshall and Old Dominion.

“Conference USA intends to conduct the 2022-23 athletic year with the full 14 institution membership intact,” the league’s board said in a statement to ESPN. “The C-USA Board of Directors will exhaust all necessary legal actions to ensure all members meet their contractual obligations as defined by and agreed to in the Conference USA Bylaws.”

Regardless of how the legal issues shape up, Southern Miss considers itself a member of the Sun Belt conference for the 2022 season. Their schedule as announced is:

Sept. 3 Liberty | Hattiesburg, Miss.

Sept. 10 Miami (Fla.) | Miami, Fla.

Sept. 17 Northwestern State | Hattiesburg, Miss.

Sept. 24 Tulane | New Orleans, La.

Oct. 8 Troy* | Troy, Ala.

Oct. 15 Arkansas State* | Hattiesburg, Miss.

Oct. 22 Texas State* | San Marcos, Texas

Oct. 27 (Thu.) Louisiana* | Hattiesburg, Miss.

Nov. 5 Georgia State* | Hattiesburg, Miss.

Nov. 12 Coastal Carolina* | Conway, S.C.

Nov. 19 South Alabama* | Hattiesburg, Miss.

Nov. 26 ULM* | Monroe, La.