Cullowhee, N.C. – Riding the momentum of four consecutive winning seasons and the most successful four-year stretch in program history, Western Carolina opens the 2026 football season Saturday night, hosting Eastern Kentucky under the lights at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
The 7 p.m. kickoff also serves as the centerpiece of "Blackout Whitmire," as Catamount fans celebrate the beginning of a new era featuring nearly $40 million in facility upgrades and the debut of the Phillips Football Center.
Setting the Stage:
After averaging more than 450 yards per game last season, Western Carolina enters 2026 looking to maintain one of the nation's most productive attacks. The Catamounts surpassed 5,000 yards of total offense for a fifth consecutive season under
Kerwin Bell, setting a fourth-straight program record with 5,920 total yards in 2025.
One of the biggest storylines entering 2026 is the reshaped Catamount defense, led by first-year defensive coordinator
Nick Reveiz and four new defensive position coaches. Reveiz is the fourth different coordinator in the past six years for the Catamounts.
Western Carolina University celebrates the culmination of the "Fill the Western Sky" comprehensive campaign this weekend with the opening of the Phillips Football Center, which includes the
Steve White Media Center, Crawford Football Operations Suite, and the Western Skybox Chancellor's Club, among numerous other named spaces. The nearly $40 million renovations at the stadium include new LED lights, state-of-the-art artificial turf on the playing surface of Bob Waters Field, and an upgraded video board display.
By the Numbers:
- 27 wins since 2022 (best four-year stretch in program history)
- 4 consecutive winning seasons
- 3 straight seven-win campaigns
- 5 consecutive 5,000-yard offensive seasons
- Nearly $40 million in facility enhancements
- Ninth all-time meeting with EKU
Catamounts to Watch 4:
- SPUR Ken Moore Jr. – Preseason All-Southern Conference selection who also appeared on the preseason Buck Buchanan Award Watch List … Three-time preseason FCS All-America selection, including a first-team nod from FCS Football Central and second-team honors from Stats Perform and Phil Steele;
- WR AJ Colombo – Preseason All-Southern Conference selection … Returns from injury that sidelined him in 2025 … He was a first-team All-SoCon receiver back in 2024, pacing the league with 61 catches for 590 yards and five of his 10 career scores;
- OL Zach Watson – Preseason All-Southern Conference selection … Veteran offensive lineman who earned second-team All-SoCon plaudits last fall, logging around 757 snaps;
- QB Lex Thomas – NC State transfer who emerged out of a three-player preseason battle to be named the opening day starter … He will be backed up by third-year signal-caller Isaac Lee and freshman Patrick Harding, who came to Cullowhee last spring;
Football Time in Cullowhee!
The best game-day atmosphere in The Southern Conference roars back to life through the valleys of western North Carolina on Saturday night as WCU opens its highly anticipated six-game home schedule against Eastern Kentucky.
Fans are encouraged to wear their black WCU gear to the stadium and the first 3,500 fans in attendance will receive a free black WCU T-shirt, while 4,000 Blackout thunder sticks, courtesy of The Everson, will also be distributed in the WCU student section. Ahead of kickoff, the
15th Annual Freshmen Run returns as members of WCU's Class of 2030 – the largest incoming class in school history – lead the Catamounts onto the field.
Saturday's 2026 football season opener will be capped by the first-ever drone light show, presented by Vannoy Construction. The game is presented by Ingles, and iHeartMedia media partners 99.9 Kiss Country and Star 104.3. Catamount football is presented all-season long by Depot Pizza by Foragers Canteen in Dillsboro.
Limited tickets and game-day parking passes are still available for purchase through the Catamount Athletics ticket office, online at CatamountSports.com, in person at the Ramsey Center on the first floor, or by phone at (828) 227-2401. Fans should check out
"Things to Know Before You Go" for additional game day details surrounding Saturday's opener.
Game 1: Saturday, August 29, 2026 • 7:02 p.m.
Location: Cullowhee, N.C. (Bob Waters Field at E.J. Whitmire Stadium)
Records: -/RV Eastern Kentucky (0-0) at RV/RV Western Carolina (0-0)
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Video Stream: ESPN+ (
subscription required) / Watch ESPN app
Announcers: Daniel Hooker and John Brannon III
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
PxP: Gary Ayers
Producer / Analyst: Jeff Bryson
2026 CSN Radio Affiliates:
Sylva – 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC – wrgc.com
Franklin – 104.9 FM / 1050 AM WFSC – 1050wfsc.com
Asheville – 1310 AM WISE Sports Radio – wisesportsradio.com
Marion – 103.9 FM / 1250 AM Bigfoot Country (bigfoot1039.com)
Online:
CatamountSports.com
Social Media: @catamounts; @catamountsfb
About Saturday's Opponent – Eastern Kentucky Colonels:
EKU embarks on its 113th season of varsity football, dating back to 1909. The Colonels have a strong football tradition that includes playing in four national championships with two titles and 22 total conference championships.
WCU represents the first of three Southern Conference teams on the EKU 2026 schedule, as the Colonels will also face Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech. EKU is 3-1 against the SoCon under head coach Walt Wells, with the lone loss coming against the Catamounts in a rain-soaked meeting back in 2023. The Catamounts are also EKU's first NCAA FCS opponent in a season opener since 2021.
EKU put four players on the preseason All-United Athletic Conference team, headlined by the preseason Defensive Player of the Year, linebacker Kaden Smith. The Colonels were picked to finish fourth in a very competitive UAC after finishing 5-7 last season.
Colonels to Watch 4:
- LB Kaden Smith – Preseason All-United Athletic Conference selection who is EKU's second-leading returner with 77 tackles a season ago … Named the UAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year … On the Stats Perform FCS Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List;
- RB Brayden Latham – Preseason All-United Athletic Conference selection who led EKU with 667 rushing yards and three touchdowns a season ago … Enters the year with 12 consecutive starts;
- QB Tyler Travers – named the EKU starter on Friday morning … Mount Juliet, Tenn., product will make his first collegiate start on Saturday against WCU after redshirting last year under the NCAA's previous participation model;
- DB Derek Taylor – Preseason All-United Athletic Conference selection … Top returner with 78 tackles last season … Started his career at Tennessee, transferred to Cumberlands (Tenn.) before landing at EKU, who recruited him originally.
Western Carolina vs. Eastern Kentucky – All-Time Series:
The Catamounts and Colonels meet for the ninth time on Saturday with WCU trailing in the all-time series, 3-5. Three of the eight series meetings have been decided by a field goal, including the last two – 31-28 EKU in Cullowhee in 2021 and 27-24 by WCU in the most recent meeting in 2023.
The two teams meet for the fourth time in Cullowhee with EKU having won two of the previous three meetings. Saturday is the first meeting in Cullowhee since 2021, when the Colonels escaped with a 31-28 victory. WCU's lone home win over EKU came back under former head coach, the late Kent Briggs, in 2006, when the Catamounts upset then No. 19 EKU, 20-17.
Catamounts Against the United Athletic Conference:
Western Carolina has only played two teams currently in the United Athletic Conference, which officially started play in 2023 as a football-only partnership between the Western Athletic and Atlantic Sun Conferences. WCU has played EKU eight times and has one meeting with North Alabama back in 1974, the first year that UNA transitioned from Florence State University. WCU is 4-5 against teams currently in the UAC.
Both season and single-game tickets for the six home dates in #CatamountCountry remain on sale now through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office, located on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, or by phone at (828) 227-2401. Fans can also purchase tickets and game day parking in advance online at
CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. A reminder that game day parking is $15 in advance and $20 on game days.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports; FB.com/catamountsportsnetwork) and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountsFB).
