The American Conference Football Schedule: A Comprehensive Overview

The American Conference is currently in a period of stability, maintaining the same 14 teams for the third consecutive year. The 2026 football schedule promises exciting matchups, strategic scheduling, and key changes to traditional game days. This article provides a detailed look at the upcoming season, including the complete schedule, confirmed weeknight games, Thanksgiving weekend matchups, neutral-site games, and other notable trivia.

Key Dates and Changes

A significant change for the 2026 season is the return of the American Conference Championship Game to Saturday, December 5, after a two-year stint on Friday nights. The time and network for the championship game are yet to be announced.

Complete 2026 American Conference Football Schedule

Here is the comprehensive schedule for the 2026 American Conference football season:

Week 0 (August 29)

Memphis at UNLV*

Week 1 (September 5)

Army vs. Bryant (FCS)*
Charlotte vs. The Citadel (FCS)*
East Carolina at Alabama*
Florida Atlantic at Florida*
Memphis vs. Arkansas State*
Navy vs. Towson (FCS)*
North Texas at Indiana*
Rice vs. Houston Christian (FCS)*
South Florida vs. FIU*
Temple vs. Rhode Island (FCS)*
Tulane at Duke*
Tulsa vs. Oklahoma State*
UAB at Illinois*
UTSA vs. UTRGV (FCS)*

Week 2 (September 12)

Army vs. Penn State*
Charlotte at Ole Miss*
East Carolina vs. App State*
Florida Atlantic vs. Navy
Memphis at Boise State*
Navy at Florida Atlantic
North Texas vs. UNLV
Rice at Notre Dame*
South Florida vs. South Alabama*
Temple at Army
Tulane at Sam Houston*
Tulsa vs. ULM*
UAB at Texas State*
UTSA vs. Western Michigan*

Week 3 (September 19)

Charlotte at App State*
East Carolina at Old Dominion*
Florida Atlantic vs. FIU*
Memphis vs. UT Martin (FCS)*
North Texas at Texas State*
Rice vs. Delaware State (FCS)*
South Florida at Toledo*
Temple at Kansas State*
Tulane vs. East Texas A&M (FCS)*
Tulsa at Louisiana*
UAB at Texas*
UTSA BYE

Week 4 (September 26)

Army vs. Southern Miss*
Charlotte vs. Louisiana*
East Carolina vs. NC Central (FCS)*
Florida Atlantic at ULM*
Memphis at UAB [Fri]
Navy vs. Navy [Fri]
North Texas vs. Houston Christian (FCS)*
Rice at Bowling Green*
South Florida at Arkansas*
Temple at Fresno State*
Tulane vs. Army
Tulsa vs. Colorado State*
UAB BYE
UTSA at Temple

Week 5 (October 3)

Army BYE
Charlotte at Louisiana Tech*
East Carolina vs. Memphis
Florida Atlantic vs. Texas Southern (FCS)*
Memphis at Charlotte
Navy at Air Force*
North Texas at Tulsa [Thu]
Rice vs. UTSA
South Florida vs. Temple
Temple at South Florida
Tulane BYE
Tulsa vs. North Texas [Thu]
UAB vs. Samford (FCS)*
UTSA at Rice

Week 6 (October 10)

Army at Army
Charlotte vs. Tulane
East Carolina at North Texas
Florida Atlantic vs. Rice
Memphis vs. UAB
Navy at Navy
North Texas vs. Charlotte
Rice at East Carolina
South Florida at UTSA [Thu]
Temple vs. UConn*
Tulane at Army
Tulsa vs. Tulsa
UAB at Memphis
UTSA vs. South Florida [Thu]

Week 7 (October 17)

Army at Army
Charlotte vs. Florida Atlantic
East Carolina at Temple
Florida Atlantic at Army
Memphis at Tulane [Fri]
Navy at UTSA
North Texas BYE
Rice vs. Tulsavs. Kent State*
South Florida vs. Charlotte
Temple vs. Memphis [Fri]
Tulane at Rice
Tulsa vs. East Carolina [Thu]
UAB vs. UAB [Thu]
UTSA vs. Navy

Week 8 (October 24)

Army vs. Army [Fri]
Charlotte at Memphis [Thu]
East Carolina vs. North Texas
Florida Atlantic vs. Rice
Memphis at East Carolina [Thu]
Navy at Navy
North Texas at Florida Atlantic
Rice BYE
South Florida BYE
Temple BYE
Tulane vs. Tulsa [Fri]
Tulsa BYE
UAB at Memphis [Thu]
UTSA vs. UTSA

Week 9 (October 31)

Army vs. Army
Charlotte at Memphis
East Carolina at North Texas [Thu]
Florida Atlantic vs. Florida Atlantic [Thu]
Memphis vs. Army
Navy vs. Notre Dame* [neutral]
North Texas vs. Notre Dame* [neutral]
Rice BYE
South Florida at East Carolina
Temple vs. UAB
Tulane vs. Tulane [Fri]
Tulsa at Charlotte [Fri]
UAB at East Carolina
UTSA BYE

Week 10 (November 7)

Army vs. Air Force*
Charlotte at UAB
East Carolina vs. South Florida [Fri]
Florida Atlantic vs. UTSA [Thu]
Memphis BYE
Navy at Temple
North Texas vs. Rice
Rice at Navy
South Florida at Navy
Temple at East Carolina [Fri]
Tulane vs. Tulsa
Tulsa at Tulane
UAB vs. Tulsa
UTSA at Florida Atlantic [Thu]

Week 11 (November 14)

Army BYE
Charlotte vs. East Carolina
East Carolina at Charlotte
Florida Atlantic at Tulsa
Memphis at South Florida [Thu]
Navy BYE
North Texas at UTSA
Rice vs. Tulane
South Florida vs. Memphis [Thu]
Temple vs. UAB
Tulane at Rice
Tulsa vs. Florida Atlantic
UAB at Temple
UTSA vs. North Texas

Week 12 (November 21)

Army at Rice
Charlotte vs. East Carolina
East Carolina at Tulsa
Florida Atlantic at Army
Memphis at Navy
Navy vs. Memphis
North Texas at Tulane
Rice at Temple [Thu]
South Florida at Florida Atlantic
Temple vs. Rice [Thu]
Tulane vs. North Texas
Tulsa vs. Charlotte
UAB at UAB
UTSA vs. UTSA

Week 13 (November 28)

Army vs. Navy
Charlotte at Rice
East Carolina vs. Navy
Florida Atlantic at East Carolina [Fri or Sat]
Memphis vs. Temple [Fri or Sat]
Navy vs. Florida Atlantic [Fri or Sat]
North Texas at Charlotte
Rice vs. UAB
South Florida at UTSA [Fri or Sat]
Temple at Memphis [Fri or Sat]
Tulane at South Florida [Fri or Sat]
Tulsa at North Texas
UAB at Army
UTSA vs. Tulsa [Fri or Sat]

Week 14 (December 5)

American Championship

Week 15 (December 12)

Army vs. Army* [neutral]
Charlotte BYE
East Carolina BYE
Florida Atlantic BYE
Memphis BYE
Navy vs. Navy* [neutral]
North Texas BYE
Rice BYE
South Florida BYE
Temple BYE
Tulane BYE
Tulsa BYE
UAB BYE
UTSA BYE

(* denotes non-conference game)

Confirmed Weeknight Games

There are 13 confirmed weeknight games, all of which are conference matchups. Eight of these games are on Thursday nights, while the other five are Friday night games.

Read also: Week 1 Recap

Friday, Sept. 25: Navy at UAB
Thursday, Oct. 1: North Texas at Tulsa
Thursday, Oct. 8: South Florida at UTSA
Thursday, Oct. 15: East Carolina at UAB
Friday, Oct. 16: Memphis at Tulane
Thursday, Oct. 22: East Carolina at Memphis
Friday, Oct. 23: Army at Tulsa
Thursday, Oct. 29: Florida Atlantic at North Texas
Friday, Oct. 30: Tulane at Charlotte
Thursday, Nov. 5: UTSA at Florida Atlantic
Friday, Nov. 6: South Florida at East Carolina
Thursday, Nov. 12: Memphis at South Florida
Thursday, Nov. 19: Rice at Temple

East Carolina, Memphis, and South Florida each have three confirmed weeknight games, while Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB and UTSA each have two. Army, Charlotte, Navy, and Temple each have one.

Thanksgiving Weekend

There are currently no college games scheduled on Thanksgiving Day. However, there are four American matchups on Thanksgiving weekend with floating dates:

Friday, Nov. 27 or Saturday, Nov. 28: Florida Atlantic at East Carolina
Friday, Nov. 27 or Saturday, Nov. 28: Temple at Memphis
Friday, Nov. 27 or Saturday, Nov. 28: Tulane at South Florida
Friday, Nov. 27 or Saturday, Nov. 28: Tulsa at UTSA

Neutral-Site Games

There are two neutral-site games involving American teams in the 2026 season, both involving Navy:

Saturday, Oct. 31: Navy vs. Notre Dame - Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Saturday, Dec. 12: Army vs. Navy - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

The Army-Navy Game will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford for the first time since 2021.

2026 American Championship

The 2026 American Conference Championship Game will be held on Saturday, December 5. The time and network are yet to be announced. 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, the College Football Playoff rankings determine the host site.

Other Schedule Trivia

Memphis opens the season on August 29 for a Week 0 matchup at UNLV.
The rematch of the 2025 American Championship Game between Tulane and North Texas is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21.
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.
UTSA waits the longest of any team before leaving its state borders, with their first game outside of Texas on October 8 at South Florida.
Navy goes the longest without playing a road game, from their Oct. 17 matchup at UTSA until their Nov. 28 trip to Charlotte.
Memphis vs. Tulane is on a Thursday or Friday night for the fourth straight year.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

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