MACOMB, Ill. - The 2006 Western Illinois University football schedule has been finalized with the addition of Kentucky Wesleyan, which replaces the original September 16 home date against Stephen F. Austin. The 11-game schedule also includes a Thursday night opener at home and trips to Wisconsin and Northern Colorado during non-conference season.The Leathernecks will open the 2006 slate on a Thursday night (Aug. 31 vs. Morehead State, 6:05 p.m.) for the second consecutive season and will open with a home game for the second time in three years. Western Illinois is 3-0 when opening the season at home under eighth-year head coach Don Patterson.Western Illinois will then travel to Wisconsin (Sept. 9) to face the Badgers in Bret Bielema?s first game at Camp Randall Stadium. Patterson, who spent 20 years as an assistant at Iowa, coached Bielema as a walk-on freshman tight end in 1988. Bielema spent nine seasons (1993-01) as an assistant coach at Iowa, six of them alongside Patterson.?Camp Randall is one of the most exciting atmospheres in all of college football,? Patterson said. ?We understand that it will be a huge challenge to play well against a solid Badgers team coming off an incredible season.?The Badgers, who have an 11-1 record at home in the last two seasons, finished the 2005 campaign with a 10-3 record and a 24-10 win over Auburn in the Capital One Bowl.Western will cap its Hall of Fame ceremonies a week later with a Sept. 16 (1:05 p.m.) game against Kentucky Wesleyan. The home date was originally filled by Stephen F. Austin, which was allowed to postpone its visit to Macomb in order to play Arizona. Western Illinois and SFA still have three years remaining in the four-year home-and-home contract.A September 23 visit to Northern Colorado, the back end of a home-and-home series, ends the non-conference schedule but begins a three-game road trip. The Leathernecks will play four of their seven Gateway Conference games on the road this season, starting with Western Kentucky (Sept. 30) and Southern Illinois (Oct. 7). Homecoming is scheduled for Oct. 14 (1:05 p.m.) against Youngstown State, and Illinois State visits Hanson Field Oct. 21 (6:05 p.m.) for the only back-to-back home games of the season.The final three games of the regular season have the Leathernecks playing on the road at Northern Iowa (Oct. 28), home for Family Weekend, November 4 (1:05 p.m.) against Indiana State, and at Missouri State (Nov. 11). The I-AA playoffs begin November 25.?It?s always our goal to play a full Division I schedule,? Patterson remarked, ?but the reality of scheduling, especially at our level, is that the majority of I-AA teams are simply not interested in either a guarantee arrangement or a home-and-home agreement. We?re very grateful to the schools with which we have those arrangements already in place, and hopefully it will open up the doors for future agreements.?Spring practices are scheduled to officially open Saturday, March 25 and conclude with the annual spring scrimmage Saturday, April 22 at 1:05 p.m.