Coastal Carolina announces 2018 football schedule

On Feb. 27, Coastal Carolina football announced its schedule for the 2018 season.

The schedule features 12 total games, including six home games. The team will face eight Sun Belt Conference opponents, four of which will be home games.

The season opens with a trip to Columbia, SC to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sep. 1. Coastal last played USC back in 2013 when the Chanticleers fell 70-10 to then-11th ranked Gamecocks.

Coastal will play its home opener the following weekend on Sep. 8 against UAB. The Chanticleers fell to University of Alabama-Birmingham, 30-23, last season in Birmingham, Ala.

The Chanticleers will then host Campbell on Sep. 15 in the first-ever meeting between the two programs before going on a two-game road trip to take on Louisiana-Lafayette (Sep. 22) and Troy (Sep. 29).

Coastal will then be back at home on Oct. 13 to take on Louisiana-Monroe before traveling to Amherst, Mass. to play UMass on Oct. 20.

Coastal will then finish off the season with five straight conference games, three of which are at home.

The Chanticleers will play their final home game on Nov. 17 against Georgia Southern before traveling to Mobile, Ala. to finish off the 2018 season at South Alabama.

"I am looking forward to the schedule we are going to have for this coming year," said head coach Joe Moglia in a press release. "It is certainly going to be a challenge both in and out of conference. Once again, our guys will get a chance to see parts of the country they have not seen. We look forward to our second season in the Sun Belt, but, right now, we are solely concentrating on spring practice and working on the things that will give us a competitive advantage next fall."

The Sun Belt Conference is playing a divisional format this season, with league being split into an East Division and West Division. The East Division will feature play Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Troy. The West Division will consist of Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama and Texas State.

Last year was a rough season for Coastal Carolina as the team posted a 3-9 record and went 2-6 in Sun Belt Conference play.

The Sun Belt championship game, which will be held on Dec. 1, will be played on the campus of the division winner with the best record or, if the two teams are tied, the Sun Belt will have a tiebreaking procedure.

All times for all Coastal games have yet to be determined.