Northeastern State football ushers in a new era as an independent under-head coach Darrin Chiaverini with the 2024 season.

InNovember2023,the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) approved NSU’s request to temporarily pause its football membership with the conference to compete as an independent. Eight of the team’s 11 foes on the 2024 schedule hail from the MIAA.

NSU will open the season with a 6 p.m. kickoff on Thursday, Aug. 29 at Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium in Tahlequah against Missouri Western. The matchup’s game sponsor is Tahlequah Lumber.

The RiverHawks travel the following week to Warrensburg, Mo. to clash with Central Missouri on Sept. 7. After an off week, NSU returns to the field at Hays, Kan. to face Fort Hays State on Sept. 21, and returns to Green Country on Sept. 28 to host Missouri Southern. Northeastern State opens its October slate of games with a road battle in Kansas against Emporia State on the fifth before opening a slate of three consecutive games in Tahlequah. They encounter Lincoln (Mo.) in week six on Oct. 12. The homestand continues on the following Saturday with the President’s Cup game, presented by the Cherokee Nation, with in-state rival Central Oklahoma.

A fresh matchup looms large for Northeastern State’s 100th Homecoming on Oct. 26, as the RiverHawks host Lincoln (Ca.) for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The game is presented by TTCU Federal Credit Union.

NSU enters the closing weeks of the season with a road test in week nine at Northwest Missouri on Nov. 2 in Maryville. The program’s final regular season road trip is scheduled for Nov. 9 with its first-ever meeting with Mississippi College.

The regular season finale occurs with Senior Day in Tahlequah on Nov. 16 against Washburn, with the official game sponsor being Local Bank.