Cullowhee, N.C. – The Southern Conference today announced its 2026 conference football schedule for its 10 member schools, prompting Western Carolina to unveil its full 12-game football calendar.
 
Riding the momentum from its fourth-consecutive winning season – and program-best, third-straight seven-win campaign – WCU's 12-game Catamount football schedule again features six home games at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field and six on the road. The schedule opens in Week 0 with a visit from Eastern Kentucky, with the Catamounts playing eight-straight league games from the end of September through November, interrupted once by the Oct. 17 bye week.
 
Kickoff times and additional game day promotions for WCU's six home dates, as well as a full broadcast schedule, will be announced later. All nine SoCon schools are slated to broadcast home games on ESPN+, if the game is not selected for national or regional broadcast. 
 
Western Carolina's nonconference schedule features a pair of home matchups and two on the road, including a return to in-state foe Campbell and visiting Big 12 member, Cincinnati, in just the second all-time meeting – and first since 2005. EKU out of the United Athletic Conference (UAC) and Presbyterian from the Pioneer Football League (PFL) visit Cullowhee among the first four weeks of the schedule.
 
Combined, WCU faces a pair of NCAA FCS playoff teams from a season ago and a pair of double-digit win teams, as seven of the 12 opponents finished .500 or better in 2025. With the realigned SoCon scheduling, the Catamounts and VMI Keydets will not meet in 2026 as the league will keep its eight conference games for one season before adjusting to a nine-game league slate in 2027.
 
The Catamounts kick off the season against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Aug. 29, unveiling the football facility improvements that include the Western Skybox and new turf, among others. WCU won the most recent series meeting by three, 27-24, in Richmond, Ky., back in 2023, and seeks its first home victory over the Colonels since 2006.
 
WCU's four-game September schedule opens with a return trip Down East, as the Catamounts travel to Buies Creek, N.C., looking for a second consecutive road win over Campbell after earning its first series win last fall, 42-35, at Barker-Lane Stadium. The Labor Day weekend match-up is slated for Sept. 5. The next weekend, the Catamounts remain on the road with a visit to Big 12 foe Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium, site of WCU's closest call against an NCAA FBS opponent. The Bearcats survived a fourth-quarter Catamount would-be go-ahead touchdown by Lamont Reid that was negated by a holding call on the way to a 7-3 victory in the only other series meeting in 2005.
 
Coming off a 10-win season in 2025, Presbyterian comes up the mountain on Saturday, Sept. 19, for WCU's second nonconference home game, and fourth out-of-league contest on the season. The Catamounts have won back-to-back meetings over the Blue Hose, with six of their 11 series victories coming in Cullowhee. The month concludes with the annual gridiron grudge match as Western Carolina travels to Johnson City, Tenn., for the "Blue Ridge Border Battle" against ETSU to open SoCon play. The ultra-tight series stands tied at 27 wins apiece with one tie, as the Buccaneers have retained the traveling trophy, "the Rock," in consecutive seasons.
 
A new month sees the Catamounts welcome the newest member of the SoCon as a battle between Purple & Gold squads commences in Cullowhee when Tennessee Tech makes its first visit as a league foe. The Oct. 3 meeting halts a 25-year hiatus between the two, the first series meeting since 2000—a 37-35 Golden Eagles victory in Cullowhee, as WCU missed a 44-yard game-winning field goal late in that most recent head-to-head series meeting. Tech is coming off an 11-win, OVC-Big South Football Association championship season a year ago.
 
Western Carolina rekindles its rivalry with two-time defending league champion Mercer on Saturday, Oct. 10, with a visit to Five Star Stadium in Macon, Ga. The Catamounts look to snap a 10-game drought in the series ahead of its scheduled bye week on Oct. 17. Last season, WCU came within a field goal of snapping the slide and overtaking the Bears for first place in an epic matchup in Cullowhee.
 
The remaining five regular-season games see the Catamounts play three at home and two on the road through the end of November, with WCU riding series win streaks against all five conference opponents.
 
Western Carolina welcomes Chattanooga to Cullowhee on Saturday, Oct. 24, seeking an unprecedented fifth-straight series win over the Mocs. That last home date of October has also been billed as Homecoming 2026, as WCU welcomes home its alumni and friends for a full week of activity. The Catamounts visit Furman in Greenville, S.C., in the annual "Battle for Purple Supremacy" on Halloween, Oct. 31, looking for a third-straight series win, before hosting Wofford on Sat., Nov. 7, looking to extend a five-game series win streak against the Terriers.
 
The Catamounts take their longest road trip in SoCon play on Saturday, Nov. 14, traveling to Birmingham, Ala., to face Samford and first-year head coach John Grass at Pete Hanna Stadium. WCU is riding its longest series win streak against the Bulldogs, winners of three straight.
 
Western Carolina's regular season concludes against long-time SoCon rival, The Citadel, in second game of back-to-back battles against Bulldog monikers, likewise looking for a fourth-straight victory in the head-to-head matchups. The Catamounts look to even the series with The Citadel in Cullowhee at 13 wins apiece with the 2026 meeting.
 
Season tickets for the six-game home schedule will go on sale in early 2026 and feature several changes around the stadium. The Catamount football team is expected to move to the West sideline below the new Western Skybox, among other anticipated changes. Catamount Club members should renew their annual memberships to keep priority access and be part of the momentum heading into next season.
 
Additional key dates for Catamount football include Saturday, Jan. 3, as redshirt sophomore quarterback Taron Dickens will attend the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Ceremony as a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. The new-look transfer portal for college football includes a single, two-week window that opens on Jan. 2 and closes on Jan. 16, followed by National Signing Day and the traditional signing period that begins on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026.
 
WCU is scheduled to open its annual Spring Drills on Monday, March 2, 2026, and will culminate on Saturday, April 11.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports, FB.com/WesternCarolinaFootball), Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountsFB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountsfb).
 
Western Carolina 2026 Football Schedule
Sat., Aug. 29 – EASTERN KENTUCKY – CULLOWHEE
Sat., Sept. 5 – at Campbell – Buies Creek, N.C.
Sat., Sept. 12 – at Cincinnati – Cincinnati, Ohio
Sat., Sept. 19 – PRESBYTERIAN (Family Weekend) – CULLOWHEE
Sat.,. Sept. 26 – at ETSU * (Blue Ridge Border Battle) – Johnson City, Tenn.
Sat., Oct. 3 – TENNESSEE TECH * – CULLOWHEE
Sat., Oct. 10 – at Mercer * – Macon, Ga.
Sat., Oct. 17 – Bye Week
Sat., Oct. 24 – CHATTANOOGA * (Homecoming) – CULLOWHEE
Sat., Oct. 31 – at Furman * – Greenville, S.C.
Sat., Nov. 7 – WOFFORD * – CULLOWHEE
Sat., Nov. 14 – at Samford * – Birmingham, Ala.
Sat., Nov. 21 – THE CITADEL * – CULLOWHEE
Sat., Nov. 28 – NCAA FCS Playoffs
 
BOLD – Home Games
* - Southern Conference game
 
2026 Nonconference Opponents:
Campbell Camels (Coastal Athletic Association)
2025: 2-10, 2-6 CAA
Series vs. WCU: Catamounts trail, 1-3 (W-1)
Last meeting: WCU won, 42-35 (2024)
 
Cincinnati Bearcats (Big 12 Conference)
2025: 7-5, 5-4 Big 12
Series vs. WCU: Catamounts trail, 0-1 (L-1)
Last meeting: WCU lost, 7-3 (2005)
 
Eastern Kentucky Colonels (United Athletic Conference)
2025: 5-7, 3-5 UAC
Series vs. WCU: Catamounts trail, 3-5 (W-1)
Last meeting: WCU won, 27-24 (2023)
 
Presbyterian Blue Hose (Pioneer Football League)
2025: 10-2, 6-2 PFL
Series vs. WCU: Catamounts lead, 11-9 (W-2)
Last meeting: WCU won, 77-21 (2022)
 
2026 Southern Conference Opponents:
Chattanooga Mocs
2025: 5-7, 4-4 SoCon
Series vs. WCU: Catamounts trail, 21-30 (W-4)
Last meeting: WCU won, 35-28 (2025)
 
The Citadel Bulldogs
2025: 4-8, 3-5 SoCon
Series vs. WCU: Catamounts trail, 22-27-1 (W-3)
Last meeting: WCU won, 45-38 (2025)
 
East Tennessee State Buccaneers
2025: 7-5, 5-3 SoCon
Series vs. WCU: Series tied, 27-27-1 (L-2)
Last meeting: WCU lost, 52-35 (2025)
 
Furman Paladins
2025: 6-6, 4-4 SoCon
Series vs. WCU: Catamounts trail, 15-36-2 (W-2)
Last meeting: WCU won, 52-7 (2025)
 
Mercer Bears
2025: 9-3, 8-0 SoCon
Series vs. WCU: Catamounts trail, 2-10 (L-10)
Last meeting: WCU lost, 49-47 (2025)
 
Samford Bulldogs
2025: 1-11, 1-7 SoCon
Series vs. WCU: Catamounts trail, 6-17 (W-3)
Last meeting: WCU won, 50-35 (2025)
 
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
2025: 11-2, 8-0 OVC-BigSouth
Series vs. WCU: Catamounts trail, 6-7-1 (L-2)
Last meeting: WCU lost, 37-35 (2000)
 
Wofford Terriers
2025: 6-6, 5-3 SoCon
Series vs. WCU: Catamounts trail, 19-28 (W-5)
Last meeting: WCU won, 23-21 (2025)