Alabama announced Friday that it would play host to FCS program Mercer in the 2017 and 2021 seasons.
Mercer, located in Macon, Ga., will play Auburn in 2017 as well.
Mercer, which is in the Southern Conference, resurrected its football program in 2013; the school had discontinued the sport after the 1941 season. The Bears are 21-13 the past three seasons; they played a mix of Division II and FCS schools in 2013 and ’14 and played an all-FCS schedule in 2015. Mercer’s first game against an FBS school comes this fall, on September 10 at Georgia Tech.