MURRAY, Ky. – A return to the gridiron is in order for the Presbyterian College football team, officially kicking off the 2023 campaign on Saturday evening in the central time zone for a first-time-ever matchup against the Murray State Racers.

Second-year head coach Steve Englehart directs his program to the first-ever meeting between PC and MSU in any sport, with the opening boot scheduled for 7:00 PM EST. As is the case for all of Presbyterian's home events later in the fall, Saturday's affair will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Blue Hose will take part in their fourth season (third in the fall) affiliated with the Pioneer Football League, the nation's lone non-scholarship football-only conference at the FCS level. Prior to the eight-game divisional slate, however, PC will progress through a trio of non-conference dates beginning tomorrow in Kentucky.
 
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Presbyterian (0-0) at Murray State (0-0)
WHERE: Roy Stewart Stadium (Murray, Ky.)
WHEN: Saturday, September 2 – 6:00 PM CST / 7:00 PM EST
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
TWITTER: @BlueHoseFtball
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes | Murray State Notes | PFL Notes
 
YEAR 2 OF ENGLEHART ERA
 
• The 17th head coach in the history of Presbyterian College football, Steve Englehart guides a more experienced and deeper roster into the '23 campaign.
 
• In year two, the former Florida Tech director returns 58 letter-winners and 15 starters. Additionally, the Blue Hose brought in 19 transfers from around the United States (including a pair from FBS programs in Florida State's Zane Smith and Memphis' Zach Switzer).
 
• A grand total of 39 upperclassmen can be seen throughout Presbyterian's club, eight of which are listed as seniors and will be going through their final season donning the blue and
garnet.
 
KIBBY ON PRESEASON ALL-PFL ROSTER
 
 • Incoming sophomore wide receiver Dominic Kibby was chosen to the 2023 All-Pioneer Football League team, one of just three at his position to earn the all-conference spotlight.
 
• A 6'1" rising star from Catonsville, Maryland, Kibby was the most prolific offensive weapon during Englehart's debut season after posting a 796-yard campaign, the highest number among all Pioneer Football League players.
 
• The only receiver in the 11-team division to grasp four separate 100-yard outings – completing that feat as a rookie, nonetheless – Kibby's 72.4 yards per game and 19.4 yards per catch were both conference-leading numbers.
 
• Due to this and much more, the newbie was given a post­season second-team nod from the PFL and a spot on the Hero Sports FCS Freshman All-America team.
 
OPPONENT PROFILE
 
• Selected in 11th place in the preseason Missouri Valley Football Conference poll (a league which they are brand-new additions to), Murray State will look to bounce back from a 2-9 resume last fall.
 
• Entering his fourth season with the Racers in 2023, head coach Dean Hood brings Murray State to its 99th season of competitive football with a 13-16 record behind him.
 
• Phil Steele magazine placed five Racers on the preseason All-MVC roster - one number higher than PC's representa­tion on the All-PFL units - with three of those members on the offensive side of the ball (DJ Jones, Jacob Frye, & Taylor Shields).
 
• Saturday will denote the 1,000th game in Murray State's football history, while also becoming the first time that Presbyterian will meet the Racers in any sport.
 
• MSU possesses an all-time record of 170-98-2 when competing at their home venue, Roy Stewart Stadium.
 
 
AROUND THE PFL
 
• The 2023 season marks the 31st year for the Pioneer Football League – the nation's only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference.
 
• St. Thomas, the defending Pioneer Foot­ball League champion, was the choice to win the league's 2023 title as selected in the league's Preseason Coaches' poll.
 
• The Tommies received 98 of the maximum 100 points available, with coaches unable to vote for their teams. Davidson followed closely with 92 points – putting the Tommies and Wildcats as the league's clear frontrunners entering the 2023 season.
 
• Eighty-six student-athletes recognized on the 2022 All-PFL Teams and honorable mention lists return for the 2023 season, including 12 returning First Team All-PFL selections and 15 returning Second Team All-PFL honorees.
 
• The PFL's Presidents Council named Greg Walter the league's second commissioner, effective August 1. Walter, who served as the PFL's associate commissioner since 2013, brings two decades of collegiate athlet­ics experience, including an extensive background in leadership roles within the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), into his new role with the league.
 
 
TEAM #111
 
• Presbyterian is set to begin its 111th season of football in 2023. The program has fielded a football team every season since its inaugural year in 1913 and has won 510 games since its inception.
 
• The Blue Hose will play an eight game PFL schedule in 2023 after beginning the campaign against three consecutive non­conference opponents.
 
• PC has managed 53 winning seasons throughout its history with the last coming in the delayed spring 2021 campaign.
 
• Prior to turning Division I in 2007, PC was a member of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) for 32 seasons from 1975 to 2006.
 
 
OFFSEASON ASSISTANT HIRES
 
• Coach Englehart reeled in four new full-time assistants to his staff approaching his second year in Clinton, adding running backs coach Leroy Wilson, offensive line coach Blake Stone, defensive line coach Liam Smith, and inside linebackers coach Quinton Lee.
 
• In addition, Englehart brought in Jake Maggio, recently graduated from West Liberty, to assist in the development of the special teams unit.
 
• Wilson, a standout back for West Florida where he received his degree, previously coached two years at his alma mater where he helped the Argonauts win a national championship in 2019.
 
• Stone, a former player under Englehart at Florida Tech while also spending time at Charleston Southern, was a USA College Football All-American and second-time All- Gulf South honoree in 2015.
 
• The following year, Stone featured on a roster that advanced to the NCAA Division II Playoffs (a feat that Englehart realized twice in a three-year span).
 
• Smith, a 2013 graduate from Rutgers University, has offered assistance to seemingly every area of the defense over a decade of coaching, spending time at Georgia State, Fordham, The Citadel, and under Englehart at Florida Tech where he helped the Panthers claim 13 wins over a two-year period.
 
• Lee, a hybrid back at Hampton University and analytics advisor for the National Football League, received the Big South Conference Presidential Award in 2019 while grabbing a W in each of his last six appearances as a student-athlete.