Mercer football lines up two games with Alabama

The Mercer football team announced Thursday that is has reached an agreement to play at Alabama in 2017 and 2021. Alabama won the national championship this month with a win over Clemson.

"We are excited to add one of the elite college football programs to our schedule in 2017 and 2021," Bears head coach Bobby Lamb said in a release. "This will be a great opportunity to test ourselves against a championship program in one of the most storied game-day environments in the country."

The Bears also are scheduled to play Auburn in 2017.

Mercer will play its first FBS opponent this season when it travels to Georgia Tech on Sept. 10. The Bears' 2016 season kicks off Sept. 3 against The Citadel in a Southern Conference game.

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Mercer football lines up two games with Alabama ."