National power Boise State will visit Oxford on Sept. 3, 2011 for the football season opener, the first time the perennial non-BCS conference power will visit Oxford.

The game will serve as the Rebels’ 2011 season opener. Boise State is the nation’s winningest team since 1999 and boasts two undefeated seasons in the past four years.

“We have been strengthening our non-conference schedule, and we certainly want to thank ESPN for helping make this possible,” Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone said. “Boise State has a great tradition in football, and Coach Chris Petersen has built the Broncos into a national power. I expect a great deal of anticipation from our fans.

The game will hold special meaning for Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt, who served as the Broncos’ head coach during the 1997 season. It was Nutt’s first Division I-A head coaching assignment.

“Diane and I had a wonderful experience there, and we’re glad they’re coming to Oxford,” Nutt said. “Boise State is one of the top programs now, and we have an awesome respect for them. It really takes our schedule to another level.”

The Broncos finished No. 4 in the nation in 2009 and posted a 14-0 record, its seventh Western Athletic Conference Championship and its second Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Championship in four years. Boise State also went undefeated in 2006, ending the season with another win at the Fiesta Bowl.

Ole Miss’ other non-conference games scheduled for 2011 include a home game on Sept. 10 against Southern Illinois and a road trip to play Fresno State on Oct. 1.