The Rice Owls have added the Prairie View A&M Panthers to their 2018 football schedule, it was announced on Monday.
Rice will host PVAMU at Rice Stadium in Houston on August 25, 2018. The game will be played in Week Zero, which is allowed under NCAA rules because Rice plays at Hawaii that season.
NCAA rules also allow Rice to play a fifth non-conference game since the Owls visit Hawaii that season.
Rice and Prairie View A&M have met only once on the gridiron. In that game played at Rice in 2016, the Owls won 65-44.
Prairie View A&M is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in the Football Championship Subdivision. Last season, the Panthers finished 7-4 overall and 7-2 in SWAC play.
Rice has now tentatively completed their non-conference schedule for 2018. After opening vs. PVAMU, the Owls host Houston on Sept. 1.
The remaining three non-conference games for Rice are all on the road: Hawaii (Sept. 8), Wake Forest (Sept. 15), and LSU (Nov. 17).
Conference USA opponents for Rice in 2018 include Old Dominion, UAB, UTEP, and UTSA at home and FIU, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, and Southern Miss on the road.