Salve Regina University football kicks off the 2025 season this Saturday, Sept. 6, with its home opener against UMass Dartmouth at Toppa Field in Newport. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
The Seahawks’ 10-game slate includes five home contests at the historic Freebody Park venue. Salve is coming off a 6-4 campaign in 2024, its second year in the NEWMAC, where the team finished 5-2 in conference play.
Head coach Kevin Gilmartin says his squad is ready for the challenge. “We have had some great success in the last couple of years,” Gilmartin said. “But this is a new year and with that come some new challenges and a lot of new players. We open up the season against a team that had an undefeated regular season in 2024 and then after our other non-conference games, we head into our highly competitive NEWMAC slate.”
Saturday’s matchup revives a rivalry last played in 2012, when the Seahawks defeated the Corsairs 51-27 on the road. The two teams met for 15 straight seasons between 1998 and 2012 as NEFC opponents, with UMass Dartmouth holding an 8-7 series lead. Salve, however, has won the last four.
The Seahawks stay home Sept. 13 for a non-conference game against Western New England, a familiar foe with whom they’ve played 30 times. Salve leads the all-time series 16-14. The team then travels to New Jersey to take on William Paterson University on Sept. 20, marking just the second meeting between the programs and the first since 2014.
With 29 wins in the past four seasons—including a 2023 New England Bowl title—the Seahawks aim to keep their momentum rolling as they enter another competitive NEWMAC schedule.
