The Western Michigan Broncos continue to welcome significant challenges at Waldo Stadium in upcoming years. Another one will start the 2018 season.

The Broncos announced Monday that they will host the Syracuse Orange to begin their 2018 season as part of a home-and-home contract. It will be the second time in four seasons that Brown and Gold will host a team from a Power 5 Conference (Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, PAC 12 and Southeastern Conference) to open a season, following their battle with the Michigan State Spartans in 2015.

This secures at least three of the four non-conference games in 2018, with one space usually reserved for a home game against a team against a Football Championship Subdivision squad. It comes almost a month after the Broncos announced a single game in Ann Arbor with the Michigan Wolverines.

The two squads have never played each other on the gridiron, but there are ties between them. Current Broncos head coach Tim Lester was a former quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator with the Orange from 2013 to 2015. Three other current Broncos staff members also worked in Syracuse.

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