The Youngstown State football program will officially start the Bo Pelini era at 1 p.m. on Sept. 5 when the Penguins visit Pittsburgh at Heinz Field, the schools announced on Friday (May 15).
The contest between the Penguins and Panthers will be carried live on 570 WKBN and ESPN3.
The game will feature Pelini's YSU head coaching debut as well as Pitt's Pat Narduzzi's head coaching debut. Both coaches grew up in Youngstown and the contest should be one of the highlighted games on the first Saturday of the season.
YSU and Pittsburgh previously meet in September 2012 in what was the Panthers head coaching debut of Paul Chrsyt.
The Penguins won that memorable game 31-17 in what was the program's first victory over a BCS/Power Five conference foe.
In the all-time series the Panthers hold a 2-1 lead with wins in 2005 and 2009.
All but one road game time has been announced this year. YSU will play conference games at Southern Illinois (7 p.m.), Western Illinois (2 p.m.), Indiana State (1:05 p.m.) and South Dakota (TBA).
The Penguins will play six home contests - four conference games and two non-league tilts. Of those games, three are against FCS playoff qualifiers.
In 2015, season-ticket reserved packages are available for $99 while general-admission packages are $77. Season-ticket packages allow fans to save almost $5 per ticket on the regular game-day ticket price.
YSU has home games against 2014 playoff participants Illinois State (Oct. 10), South Dakota State (Oct. 17) and North Dakota State (Nov. 14). The Penguins also play host to MVFC foe Missouri State (Nov. 7) for the first time since 2011. The non-conference slate features match-ups with Robert Morris (Sept. 12) and Saint Francis, Pa. (Sept. 19).
Call the YSU Athletic Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978. The ticket office is located in north end of Stambaugh Stadium. Ticket office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Also, Penguin Club memberships for the upcoming campaign are available. Penguin Club memberships begin at $75. For fans who are interested in game-day tailgate parking the best way to secure a spot is by joining the Kingbird Level of the Penguin Club at $950. Kingbird members receive game-day parking and four season chairback seats on the 50-yard line.
