The first home game of the 2024 football season for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will feature a small school getting accustomed to a new athletic home.

UAPB will host Arkansas Baptist College at 7 p.m. on Sept. 7 at Simmons Bank Field.

This will be the first meeting between the Buffaloes and Golden Lions in football, though UAPB has hosted Arkansas Baptist in other sports in recent seasons, including basketball and baseball. UAPB and ABC are the only HBCUs in Arkansas with football teams.

Arkansas Baptist is preparing for its fourth season in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics after having previously competed at the junior college level. It is entering its second season as a football-only member of the Sooner Athletic Conference.

The Buffaloes are coming off a 3-8 campaign which saw them go 1-7 in their SAC debut. ABC scored 15.6 points per SAC game, the fewest in the conference. The Buffaloes allowed 36.5 points per SAC game, which ranked eighth out of nine teams.

The only time they scored more than 23 points was in an exhibition game against Centenary College (La.), which was playing its first football season since World War II. The Buffaloes defeated Centenary 56-23, Centenary’s only loss in its debut season.

This matchup will be ABC’s second against an NCAA Division I opponent. The Buffaloes opened last season at Houston Christian, formerly known as Houston Baptist. HCU dominated ABC 66-0 with the Huskies leading 21-0 after the first quarter and 35-0 at halftime.

Arkansas Baptist, like UAPB, was unable to settle on a single quarterback last season. In an interview last month with Joey McWilliams of Midwest Sports Net, ABC head coach Richard Wilson said two players have changed positions to compete at quarterback.

LaMonte Kelly moved from wide receiver to quarterback midseason. He completed 12 of 43 passes for 153 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Buffaloes also moved defensive back Hollis McCuien to quarterback, a position he played in high school, during the spring.

Arkansas Baptist will rely on a lot of newcomers this year, whether they be transfers, freshmen or prep school products. Among the returning players, running back Atavian Ray has been a go-to offensive weapon for the Buffaloes. He was the second-leading rusher last season with 194 yards.

At wide receiver, Desmond Wilkins returns. He was the third-leading receiver with nine catches for 157 yards but tied for the team lead in touchdown grabs with two. Freshman Jeremiah Rice had just one catch last season, but Wilson said in his interview Rice had a great spring.

When Arkansas Baptist moved up to the NAIA from junior college status, the Buffaloes brought in a large freshman class with which to build their program after many of the junior college athletes left. Since then, Wilson said he has largely been recruiting transfers to replace players who left, but this year he turned much of his focus to bringing in a larger freshman class from which to build as the core players who have been in Little Rock since the transition run out of eligibility.

Arkansas Baptist will be UAPB’s only non-Division I foe this season. UAPB defeated Division II foe Miles College 21-20 last year. The Golden Lions’ last matchup with an NAIA opponent was a 76-3 win against North American University in 2022.