The Lindenwood football team announced today that its 2010 season opener will take place at home on Thursday, Sept. 2, at 6 p.m. versus Evangel. The game will be the first time in school history that the Lions have played on Thursday night.

Lindenwood will bring a 19-game home winning streak and a 19-game conference winning streak into that contest with Evangel. Last season, Lindenwood outscored Evangel 42-0 in the second half on the way to a 63-6 victory over the Crusaders.

The Lions will return many of the key parts of last year's team which went 13-1 and advanced to the NAIA National Championship game. The Lions are ranked second in this year's NAIA national spring poll and will likely keep that ranking in next season's preseason ranking.

Other highlights on the 2010 schedule include a Sept. 18 home game versus Missouri Valley, who are ranked 10th in the spring poll, and road contests at two other top 25 teams on Sept. 25 at MidAmerica Nazarene, and Oct. 9 at Baker.