The ACU football program will begin its 2018 season in Waco with a game against the Baylor Bears.

Athletic Director Lee De León made the announcement Thursday afternoon. The game is one of five non-conference games ACU has scheduled against FBS opponents from 2015-2019.

The Baylor game will be ACU’s highest-profile opponent in the programs history. The Wildcats are also scheduled to open their 2019 season with the University of North Texas, but a date has not been finalized.

“This is just a different part of the history of this university and football program,” said Ken Collums, head coach. “It’s becoming more and more the norm for FCS programs to schedule these games. We’ve played New Mexico State and two FBS teams last year in Georgia State and Troy. Now, the games are getting bigger and bigger, but so is the quality of our football program. This is a great opportunity for people to find out who we are and what we do. It’s unique, and we deserve the chance to tell our story, and people need to hear it.”

Over the next few years, the Wildcats are scheduled to play top programs from around the nation. ACU will begin its 2015 season Sept. 5 with Fresno State in Bulldog Stadium. The 2016 season will begin in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with Air Force.

In 2017, the Wildcats will open up on on Sept. 2, 2017 with the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and now Baylor will be the first team to face ACU in 2018 on Sept. 1, 2018, in the two teams’ first ever matchup.

De León also said the Wildcats have two more Power 5 conference games that are “strong possibilities” in 2020 and 2021, but contracts with those schools have yet to be signed.