The 2025 season puts the Blue Hens on a new path. Gone are the days of being one of the bigger fish in the Football Championship Subdivision or FCS - with aspirations of making the playoffs and competing for an NCAA Championship.
In the Football Bowl Subdivision, otherwise known as FBS, Delaware is an underdog and in its first year will be ineligible for its new goals -a Conference USA title and a postseason bowl bid - goals it can shoot for starting in 2026.
The Blue Hens have been laying the groundwork for the change since accepting an invitation to Conference USA in 2023. While some other UD sports will compete in Conference USA, football is the headliner and UD’s decision to make the jump is a bold one.
“It’s a really exciting moment for us because this is an opportunity for our whole university to get more exposure, more visibility. We’ve really been able to think through a lot of different mediums and channels to connect with people and get them excited about this change from FCS to FBS and going to conference USA and really aligning our athletics with the great academics here at the university,” said Jordan Skolnick, Interim Director of UD Athletics.
Despite the opportunity to generate increased interest in UD football and the university, the promotion to Conference USA comes with some changes at odds with UD football tradition, including the loss of some of UD’s long-standing rivalries. While some will remain through non-conference games, a number of the Blue Hens most important rivalries - such as Villanova - will fall dormant.
The Blue Hens will also contend with playing some weeknight games -deviating from their standard Saturday game days of the past. This year, 4 of UD’s games will be played on days other than Saturday - and two mid-season games will be played on Wednesday nights including a Oct. 22nd home game with Western Kentucky.
Rob Barrow, director of the Blue Hen Touchdown Club fan organization, says he realizes these types of shifts can be hard for some to accept, especially for some old guard fans.
“So there are some that are resistant to the change. They think that we should be a small time program and just be good at that - small time football, division two, FCS - Whatever you wanna call it,” he said.
It’s also a dynamic that could reduce interest and attendance initially among UD students.
News Journal/DelawareOnline sports reporter Kevin Tresolini has covered Blue Hen football for over 25 years and is a UD alum. He is uncertain if students will rally to weeknight games and opponents like Middle Tennessee and Louisiana Tech.
“Well they certainly need to respond better than they have. I’ve been really disappointed in Delaware students' response to athletics teams,” said Tresolini
But the changes are not all challenges. There are also opportunities to build a stronger fan base.
The Hens will play more games against high profile teams that fans recognize. This year they travel to face Colorado and its head coach Deion Sanders while hosting UConn. Future schedules include Penn State, Virginia, Maryland, Pittsburgh and Indiana. They will also see the return of past rivals James Madison and Temple.
“We’ve got UConn, and JMU, and Buffalo, and Temple, Coastal Carolina, all those teams scheduled to come to Delaware Stadium," said Skolnick. "That renewal of rivalries from a non-Conference standpoint is something that I think people are really really excited about.”
“There is more that’s the same than that’s different. They are ready to go and compete to win games. That doesn’t change."Jordan Skolnick, Univ. of Delaware Interim Director of Athletics
And those weeknight games? They will be on national TV - broadcast by ESPN,
Getting on ESPN is one of the biggest wins for Delaware to come out of joining Conference USA, allowing fans from all over the country to view Blue Hen games from the comfort of their living room. And their games will also be on ESPN+, which Barrow sees as a major upgrade from paying to stream games on Flosports as fans needed to do up until now.
“Turning on ESPN or ESPN+ and saying ‘Hey the Hens are on’ and being an alumni that lives in NY, FL or whatever they can be like ‘ok we’re on here, we’re on TV, let’s watch the game.’ I think that’s really gonna help the program a lot and I think that’s gonna bring more crowds into the games as well,” said Barrow.
Skolnick also sees ESPN as a way to draw students to UD games- offering a chance to show off their UD pride on a much bigger stage.
“Now they get to be on national TV, so I can’t wait to see some of our students painting their faces, having signs and really making it fun, and I know Delaware students are gonna rise to that occasion,” Skolnick says.
And Skolnick says UD also plans to do its part to create an atmosphere that students and other fans want to be a part of whenever the Hens take the field at Delaware Stadium.
“One of the new things we’re doing this year is called the flight path. We’re gonna have the team, the bus is gonna drop off the team in front of our hospitality space, it’s powered by the Shell brother, it's called the Hen House. The team will walk out, we’ll have the band , we’ll have spirit, cheer, mascot all down there. So we’re hoping that people are gonna come down and welcome the team as they come down into the stadium and get ready for the game,” he said.
It’s clear that with the move up to Conference USA that UD is diving headfirst into deeper waters, but seasoned Blue Hen observers like Barrow and Tresolini think now is the time for the shift. FCS served its purpose for a time, but UD is ready to take the FBS plunge.
And they agree, if they’re right, UD fans will get on the bandwagon.
“I’m not sure how well it’s gonna do at first when we do this. But I think when people recognize, as long as we’re winning games I think people will recognize, hey Delaware’s there and that will spur the average guy from Middletown, Smyrna, Dover, or Wilmington to say hey we got a college football team here now, let’s go to the games,” said Barrow
“How many games they have will be the indicator, and I certainly think they have the capability to win several this year,” Treseloni said.
Skolnick is optimistic too. He’s seen the work the players are putting in - and says they - and all those supporting them - are waiting with bated breath for the chance to show Delaware what they’re made of.
“There is more that’s the same than that’s different. They are ready to go and compete to win games. That doesn’t change,” said Skolnick.
