FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Wesleyan University head football coach Joe Prud'homme has announced the 2021 Ram football schedule. Among the eight SAC games, the team has a non-conference matchup scheduled with NCAA DI Central Arkansas.
 
The home schedule includes the opener with Arizona Christian on September 4th. The Firestorm represented the SAC in the 2020 NAIA National Championship Series, losing in the opening round to Keiser (Fla.) 63-21. The Rams won a 37-34 thriller in Phoenix over ACU on November 7th, spoiling homecoming and its first game in their newly built stadium.
 
The Rams will also host Wayland Baptist on October 2nd, SAC newcomer Louisiana College on October 23rd and will finish the home schedule with Texas College on October 30th. Find the rest of the schedule here.
 
The team had a home game lined up in August with Arkansas State Querétaro, a newly minted institution based in Mexico. However, the ASU Querétaro team had to cancel due to a government mandate shutting down contact sports. "There is talk of Mexico canceling 2021 sports seasons because of COVID-19 outbreaks," said head coach Joe Prud'homme. "We have agreed to revisit scheduling a game once the shutdown there is lifted, maybe 2022. I think it would have been awesome for both programs and we had plans to make it a big event."
 
When asked about the Arkansas State matchup on November 6th, Prud'homme says the environment will be big time, "Central Arkansas will be a formidable opponent and will be a great game for us in a big time environment, especially if we are in contention for playoffs at that time."
 
When asked about the state of the team, Prud'homme responded saying, "Things are bumpy, we lost the use of FWISD city stadiums so getting space to practice has been a big challenge. The weight room has been our focus at this time to get the offseason reps we missed in 2020. Our guys have responded well in the weight room and are making gains. The loss of the season takes a toll on everybody, but we are concentrating on what we can control. The players are getting stronger and starting to grow closer as a group."
 
When asked about any inspiring stories of perseverance during this difficult season, Prud'homme answered saying, "We have an entire team full of inspiring stories. Several of our guys have taken full-time night shift jobs to pay bills and support their families, and continue to study and work out with the team. I believe it will make us even tougher mentally once we get on the other side of this nightmare."
 
The will host the 5th annual TXWES Rams Football Golf Tournament Fundraiser on Friday, June 11th at Canyon West Golf Course in Weatherford, Texas. Check-in is at 9 a.m., shotgun start at 10 a.m. Register online here.