In 1923, Stephen F. Austin squared off with Sam Houston in Huntsville, TX. That game, as it turned out, would end up being the first of nearly 100 played between the two storied FCS programs. From year to year, conference to conference and division to division, the Bearkats and the Lumberjacks have remained alongside each other. In fact, their streak of annual meetings was only interrupted twice over the last century, once due to World War II and once for the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020.
Saturday, though, will mark a poignant day in the long history of this rivalry.