We are six months away from kickoff of the 2026 college football season.<\/p>\n
With half a year to go, the American Conference released its 2026 football schedule on Thursday, Feb. 26. In an ever-evolving college football landscape, the American is at a place of stability right now. The conference is comprised of the same 14 teams for the third year in a row.<\/p>\n
There is one notable difference, however. The American Conference Championship Game returns to Saturday (Dec. 5) after a brief 2-year run of kicking off Friday night. However, the time and network are currently unannounced.<\/p>\n
Without further ado, here is the complete 2026 American Conference football schedule:<\/p>\n
2026 American football schedule<\/p>\n
WeekSaturday DateArmyCharlotteEast CarolinaFlorida AtlanticMemphisNavyNorth TexasRiceSouth FloridaTempleTulaneTulsaUABUTSA0Aug. 29BYEBYEBYEBYEat UNLV*BYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYE1Sept. 5vs. Bryant (FCS)*vs. The Citadel (FCS)*at Alabama*at Florida*vs. Arkansas State*vs. Towson (FCS)*at Indiana*vs. Houston Christian (FCS)*vs. FIU*vs. Rhode Island (FCS)*at Duke*vs. Oklahoma State*at Illinois*vs. UTRGV (FCS)*2Sept. 12vs. South Floridaat Ole Miss*vs. App State*vs. Navyat Boise State*at Florida Atlanticvs. UNLVat Notre Dame*at Armyvs. Penn State*vs. South Alabama*at Sam Houston*vs. ULM*at Texas State*3Sept. 19BYEat App State*at Old Dominion*vs. FIU*vs. UT Martin (FCS)*BYEat Texas State*vs. Western Michigan*vs. Delaware State (FCS)*at Toledo*at Kansas State*vs. East Texas A&M (FCS)*at Louisiana*at Texas*4Sept. 26at Templevs. Louisiana*vs. NC Central (FCS)*at ULM*BYEat UAB [Fri]vs. Houston Christian (FCS)*at Fresno State*at Bowling Green*vs. Armyvs. Southern Miss*at Arkansas*vs. Navy [Fri]vs. Colorado State*5Oct. 3at Louisiana Tech*vs. MemphisBYEvs. Texas Southern (FCS)*at Charlotteat Air Force*at Tulsa [Thu]vs. UTSAvs. Templeat South FloridaBYEvs. North Texas [Thu]vs. Samford (FCS)*at Rice6Oct. 10vs. Tulaneat North Texasvs. RiceBYEvs. UABvs. Tulsavs. Charlotteat East Carolinaat UTSA [Thu]vs. UConn*at Armyat Navyat Memphisvs. South Florida [Thu]7Oct. 17vs. Florida Atlanticat Templeat UAB [Thu]at Armyat Tulane [Fri]at UTSABYEvs. Tulsavs. Kent State*vs. Charlottevs. Memphis [Fri]at Ricevs. East Carolina [Thu]vs. Navy8Oct. 24at Tulsa [Fri]BYEat Memphis [Thu]vs. Ricevs. East Carolina [Thu]vs. North Texasat Navyat Florida AtlanticBYEBYEvs. UTSAvs. Army [Fri]BYEat Tulane9Oct. 31at Memphisvs. Tulane [Fri]vs. Templeat North Texas [Thu]vs. Armyvs. Notre Dame* [neutral]vs. Florida Atlantic [Thu]BYEvs. UABat East Carolinaat Charlotte [Fri]BYEat South FloridaBYE10Nov. 7vs. Air Force*at UABvs. South Florida [Fri]vs. UTSA [Thu]BYEvs. Templevs. Riceat North Texasat East Carolina [Fri]at Navyvs. Tulsaat Tulanevs. Charlotteat Florida Atlantic [Thu]11Nov. 14BYEvs. East Carolinaat Charlotteat Tulsaat South Florida [Thu]BYEat UTSAvs. Tulanevs. Memphis [Thu]vs. UABat Ricevs. Florida Atlanticat Templevs. North Texas12Nov. 21vs. East Carolinaat Tulsaat Armyvs. South Floridaat Navyvs. Memphisat Tulaneat Temple [Thu]at Florida Atlanticvs. Rice [Thu]vs. North Texasvs. Charlottevs. UTSAat UAB13Nov. 28at Ricevs. Navyvs. Florida Atlantic [Fri or Sat]at East Carolina [Fri or Sat]vs. Temple [Fri or Sat]at Charlottevs. UABvs. Armyvs. Tulane [Fri or Sat]at Memphis [Fri or Sat]at South Florida [Fri or Sat]at UTSA [Fri or Sat]at North Texasvs. Tulsa [Fri or Sat]14Dec. 5American ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican ChampionshipAmerican Championship15Dec. 12vs. Navy* [neutral]BYEBYEBYEBYEvs. Army* [neutral]BYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYE<\/p>\n
* denotes non-conference game<\/p>\n
Confirmed weeknight games<\/p>\n
There are 13 confirmed weeknight games, and all of them are conference matchups. Eight of these weeknight games transpire on Thursday night, while the other five are Friday night spectacles.<\/p>\n
Friday, Sept. 25: Navy at UABThursday, Oct. 1: North Texas at TulsaThursday, Oct. 8: South Florida at UTSAThursday, Oct. 15: East Carolina at UABFriday, Oct. 16: Memphis at TulaneThursday, Oct. 22: East Carolina at MemphisFriday, Oct. 23: Army at TulsaThursday, Oct. 29: Florida Atlantic at North TexasFriday, Oct. 30: Tulane at CharlotteThursday, Nov. 5: UTSA at Florida AtlanticFriday, Nov. 6: South Florida at East CarolinaThursday, Nov. 12: Memphis at South FloridaThursday, Nov. 19: Rice at Temple<\/p>\n
These games are typically broadcast on ESPN, sometimes ESPN2, so it\u2019s no surprise to see last year\u2019s contenders frequently appear on Thursday and Friday nights. Here\u2019s a breakdown of confirmed weeknight games by team:<\/p>\n
East Carolina \u2014 3Memphis \u2014 3South Florida \u2014 3Florida Atlantic \u2014 2North Texas \u2014 2Tulane \u2014 2Tulsa \u2014 2UAB \u2014 2UTSA \u2014 2Army \u2014 1Charlotte \u2014 1Navy \u2014 1Rice \u2014 1Temple \u2014 1<\/p>\n
After SEC on ABC moved the Egg Bowl from its traditional Thanksgiving Night slot to Black Friday, that opened the door for the American Conference to swoop in and put its stake in the ground for college football\u2019s standalone Turkey Day game. In 2024, Tulane and Memphis battled in a primetime ESPN showdown on the holiday. In 2025, Memphis and Navy took center stage on ESPN as college football\u2019s lone Thanksgiving spectacle. However, after a 2-year run, the American has discontinued the tradition.<\/p>\n
In fact, there are currently zero college games scheduled on Thanksgiving Day 2026 as of Feb. 26, with Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt as the only leagues yet to reveal their schedules. Unless one of those leagues schedules a game for Thursday, Nov. 26, this will be the first Thanksgiving without FBS college football since 1997.<\/p>\n
Also, there are four American matchups on Thanksgiving weekend assigned floating dates. These games can be played on either Friday or Saturday, and these games will be set in stone at a later date.<\/p>\n
Friday, Nov. 27 or Saturday, Nov. 28: Florida Atlantic at East CarolinaFriday, Nov. 27 or Saturday, Nov. 28: Temple at MemphisFriday, Nov. 27 or Saturday, Nov. 28: Tulane at South FloridaFriday, Nov. 27 or Saturday, Nov. 28: Tulsa at UTSA<\/p>\n
There are two neutral-site games involving American teams for the 2026 season, and both involve Navy. Both will be played at NFL venues \u2014 one at the home of the New England Patriots and another at the home of the New York Giants\/New York Jets:<\/p>\n
Saturday, Oct. 31: Navy vs. Notre Dame \u2014 Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MASaturday, Dec. 12: Army vs. Navy \u2014 MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ<\/p>\n
The Army-Navy Game remains in its usual slot on the second Saturday of December. Although Army and Navy are American Conference opponents, this historic rivalry \u2014 which transpires after conference championship weekend \u2014 is considered a non-conference matchup. The 127th Army-Navy Game on Dec. 12, 2026 will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford for the first time since 2021.<\/p>\n
2026 American Championship<\/p>\n
The 2026 American Conference Championship Game returns to Saturday and will kick off on Saturday, Dec. 5.<\/p>\n
From 2015-25, the American title game always was showcased on ABC, but the time and network have yet to be announced. The ACC Championship Game will move earlier in the day to the 12 p.m. ET ABC timeslot this coming December, while the SEC Championship Game owns the 4 p.m. ET afternoon ABC timeslot for the third-straight year. If the American Championship remains on ABC, it will likely compete against the Big Ten Championship (on FOX) in primetime.<\/p>\n
As usual, the host site is the campus stadium of the team with the best conference record. If two teams share identical records and did not play head-to-head in the regular season, then the College Football Playoff rankings determine the host site. This tiebreaker was used to set last year\u2019s conference championship at Tulane instead of North Texas.<\/p>\n
Memphis opens shop on Aug. 29 for a Week 0 matchup at UNLV. This is only the third time the American Conference has ever been featured in Week 0. In 2023, Navy traveled to Ireland to face Notre Dame. In 2017, South Florida flew to the West Coast to battle San Jose State. Also, this makes the American the only conference to play all 16 weeks of the regular season, from this Week 0 showdown through the Week 15 Army-Navy Game.The rematch of the 2025 American Championship Game between Tulane and North Texas is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21. The two did not battle in the regular season last year, but Tulane won 34-21 in New Orleans to seal a College Football Playoff bid. This late-season rematch also transpires in New Orleans at Yulman Stadium.American teams play three 2025 College Football Playoff qualifiers in the non-conference slate. North Texas opens at defending national champion Indiana in Week 1, East Carolina pays a visit to Alabama in Week 1, and Charlotte travels to Ole Miss in Week 2.For the second-straight season, Tulane is the only American team to avoid playing an FCS opponent. In 2026, the Green Wave host South Alabama and Southern Miss while traveling to road games at Duke and Kansas State. Tulane played all four of these opponents in non-conference at one point from 2023-25.UTSA waits the longest of any team before leaving its state borders. With two home games and road games at Texas State, Texas, and Rice in the first five weeks, the Roadrunners do not have to leave the Lone Star State until a Thursday, Oct. 8 matchup at South Florida.Navy goes the longest without playing a road game. The Midshipmen do not have a true road contest from their Oct. 17 matchup at UTSA until their Nov. 28 trip to Charlotte. There are three conference home games, a neutral-site matchup in New Jersey vs. Notre Dame, and a bye week in between that month-plus stretch.This is the fourth-straight year Memphis vs. Tulane has been on a Thursday or Friday night. The 2023 matchup in Memphis was a Friday night game. The 2024 Thanksgiving meeting in New Orleans transpired on Thursday night. Last year\u2019s battle in Memphis occurred on a Friday night. Now this year\u2019s Oct. 16 showcase in New Orleans is slated for a Friday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We are six months away from kickoff of the 2026 college football season. With half a year to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":779326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[48500,10159,9475,962,949,7,997,2285,963,989,6898,983,1688,28819,411,3211],"class_list":["post-779325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-american-conference","tag-army","tag-charlotte","tag-east-carolina","tag-florida-atlantic","tag-football","tag-memphis","tag-navy","tag-north-texas","tag-rice","tag-south-florida","tag-temple","tag-tulane","tag-tulsa","tag-uab","tag-utsa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116141347877973389","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=779325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/779326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=779325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=779325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}