ANGOLA, Ind.-- The Trine football team has released its 2016 regular-season schedule, the team announced Friday.
The 2016 season kicks off with the traditional opening-night rivalry with Manchester. This season, the Thunder hit the road to face the Spartans under the lights on Thursday, Sep. 1 at 7:30 p.m. The in-state rivals have met in the season opener every year since 2006. Trine finished last season 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the MIAA. The Thunder produced 10 All-MIAA performers and one D3Football.com All-North Region performer.
The home opener comes Saturday, Sep. 10 with a 6 p.m. kickoff against nonconference foe Bluffton. The Beavers finished last season 6-4 overall and 5-3 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Trine will then travel to face Aurora. The Spartans finished last season 3-7 overall.
Homecoming will put the Thunder against the final nonconference foe of the season, Concordia Chicago. The Cougars finished last season 2-8 and dropped both of their contests against MIAA opponents.
The MIAA conference portion of the schedule will feature home games against Albion, Adrian and Alma. Last season's matchup with Albion was one of the most exciting games of the season as the Thunder overcame a late 17-point deficit to deal the Britons their lone conference loss of the season. The traditional Black and Blue Border Brawl with Adrian is scheduled for Oct. 29.
The Thunder will travel to face conference foes Kalamazoo, Hope and Olivet. The game at Olivet wraps up the regular season Nov. 12.
The complete schedule is listed below and can also be viewed HERE.
| Date | Opponent | Time |
| Sep. 1 | Manchester | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sep. 10 | BLUFFTON | 6 p.m. |
| Sep. 17 | Aurora | 2 p.m. |
| Oct. 1 | CONCORDIA CHICAGO! | 1 p.m. |
| Oct. 8 | ALBION* | 1 p.m. |
| Oct. 15 | Kalamazoo* | 2 p.m. |
| Oct. 22 | Hope* | 5 p.m. |
| Oct. 29 | ADRIAN* | 1 p.m. |
| Nov. 5 | ALMA* | 1 p.m. |
| Nov. 12 | Olivet* | 1 p.m. |
ALL CAPS denotes HOME event
!- denotes Homecoming
*- denotes MIAA conference game
All kickoff times EST.