Drake to make 2018 trip to China

(STATS) - The Drake football program will make a good-will trip to China next spring, the university announced Wednesday.

The trip, scheduled for May 22 to June 4, will leverage longstanding partnerships the university has in China. The team's agenda is expected to include a public celebration of American football, including youth football clinics; volunteer service work; visits to the U.S. Embassy, Forbidden City palace complex and Shijiazhuang; and a hike along the Great Wall of China.

"Our student-athletes will develop as athletes, individuals and global citizens through their experiences in China," Drake president Marty Martin said, "and will strengthen the university's partnerships in that country through a commitment to ethics and integrity both on and off the playing field."

Drake, a private university of about 5,000 located in Des Moines, Iowa, is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, but its FCS football team plays in the Pioneer Football League under coach Rick Fox.

The international trip will be the Bulldogs' second this decade. In 2011, they traveled to Tanzania for the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl, the first intercollegiate game of American football on African soil.