George Ivory's teams are used to less than ideal nonconference schedules. Challenging Novembers and Decembers at Arkansas-Pine Bluff are regularly put together in hopes of more pleasing results in January and February.
It's been only three games, but so far, the payoff has been as good as any other for Ivory's Golden Lions.
After going 1-13 in the nonconference, UAPB enters this weekend 3-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, one of just two SWAC teams without a league loss and it matches the best start to the SWAC schedule in nine seasons under Ivory. A victory Saturday at Southern would be UAPB's first 4-0 start since rejoining the SWAC in 1997.