NEW ORLEANS – Heading into the 2026 season, the Sun Belt Conference joins ESPN in announcing updates to its 2026 football schedule on Wednesday. 
 
The announcement includes both kickoff times and network designations for all games during the first three weeks of the season and all mid-week games throughout the 2026 campaign. 2026 marks the 15th-consecutive year that every Sun Belt home game will appear on an ESPN platform or another linear network. 
 
“We are excited to build on a 2025 season in which the Sun Belt earned its first-ever berth into the College Football Playoff (CFP) and led all non-autonomy conferences in Bowl Season representation for the fourth-straight year,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill. “This schedule acknowledges the continued rise of Sun Belt Conference football and the strength of our long-term partnership with ESPN.”
 
The Sun Belt will have four linear appearances on Saturday, Sept. 5—the first full Saturday of the college football season—Coastal Carolina at West Virginia at 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT on TNT; Liberty at James Madison at 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT on ESPNU; Marshall at Penn State at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT on FS1 and ULM at Mississippi State at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU. 
 
     

The Sun Belt schedule will include five linear appearances on Saturday, Sept.12—App State at East Carolina at 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT on ESPNU; Old Dominion at Virginia Tech at 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT on The CW; Georgia Southern at Clemson at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on ACC Network; Southern Miss at Auburn at either 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU or 7:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. CT on SEC Network; and Louisiana at USC at 11:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network. 
 
The Saturday slate on Sept. 19 will also feature five linear broadcasts—Coastal Carolina at Delaware at 11:30 a.m. ET/10:30 a.m. CT on CBS Sports Network; Louisiana Tech at Baylor at 4:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. CT on ESPNU; Marshall at Missouri State at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network; Arkansas State at TCU at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT on ESPNU; and James Madison at San Diego State at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT on The CW. 

          
 
Ten Sun Belt mid-week games will air on linear networks during the 2026 season, with Liberty at Coastal Carolina at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Sept. 25, receiving flagship billing on ESPN. 
 
Five other games—South Alabama at Arkansas State at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 8; Georgia Southern at Old Dominion at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 15; Troy at James Madison at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 29; James Madison at Southern Miss at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 5; and Louisiana at ULM at 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 12—will air on either ESPN or ESPN2. 
 
Southern Miss at Troy at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Oct. 6; App State at Coastal Carolina at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 16; and South Alabama at Marshall at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Oct. 20, will air on ESPN2. James Madison at App State at 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 22, will be broadcast on ESPNU, while App State at South Alabama at 3:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. CT on Friday, Nov. 27, will air on ESPN+. 
 
The Arkansas State at Louisiana Tech game originally listed as Thursday, Nov. 19; Friday, Nov. 20; or Saturday, Nov. 21, will be contested on Saturday, Nov. 21. 
 
All other games will fall into the traditional 12-day selection process for kickoff times and networks. 
 
For the second-straight year, the Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship presented by Visit Pensacola will be played on Friday, Dec. 4, and will air on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT. The primetime matchup will feature the champions of the conference’s East and West Divisions and will be played at the site of the divisional winner with the best overall conference record.  


 
The Sun Belt is coming off a 2025 season in which it earned its first-ever berth into the College Football Playoff (CFP) after having six teams listed in the CFP Selection Day Rankings over the past seven seasons. The Sun Belt also paced all non-autonomy conferences in Bowl Season representation for the fourth-straight year. 
 
For the eighth-straight season, the Sun Belt boasted multiple 10-win teams in Sun Belt champion and CFP participant James Madison and Old Dominion. 
 
The Sun Belt continues to lead all non-autonomy conferences with a .548 bowl winning percentage during the College Football Playoff era, trailing only the Big Ten and SEC. 
 
SUN BELT CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 4 
North Carolina A&T at Georgia State, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+ 
 
Saturday, Sept. 5
Coastal Carolina at West Virginia, 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT – TNT/HBO Max
Liberty at James Madison, 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT – ESPNU
Maine at App State, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Marshall at Penn State, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – FS1
Alcorn State at Southern Miss, 5:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Norfolk State at Old Dominion, 6:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Arkansas State at Memphis, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Charleston Southern at Georgia Southern, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+ 
Southeastern Louisiana at South Alabama, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+ 
Sam Houston at Troy, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
ULM at Mississippi State, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m CT – ESPNU 
Northwestern State at Louisiana Tech, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Lamar at Louisiana, 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
 
Saturday, Sept. 12
App State at East Carolina, 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT – ESPNU 
Old Dominion at Virginia Tech, 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT – The CW
Wagner at James Madison, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+
ULM at UAB, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Alabama State at Troy, 4:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
West Georgia at Arkansas State, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+ 
Georgia State at Kennesaw State, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Middle Tennessee at Marshall, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
South Alabama at Tulane, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Fordham at Coastal Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+ 
Georgia Southern at Clemson, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ACC Network 
Louisiana Tech at LSU, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+/SEC Network+ 
Southern Miss at Auburn, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPNU or 7:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. CT – SEC Network
Louisiana at USC, 11:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. CT – Big Ten Network

Saturday, Sept. 19
Coastal Carolina at Delaware, 11:30 a.m. ET/10:30 a.m. CT – CBS Sports Network
Troy at Missouri, 12:45 p.m. ET/11:45 a.m. CT – ESPN+/SEC Network+
Louisiana Tech at Baylor, 4:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. CT – ESPNU
Southeastern Louisiana at ULM, 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Charlotte at App State, 6:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+ 
East Carolina at Old Dominion, 6:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Marshall at Missouri State, 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT – CBS Sports Network
Georgia Southern at Jacksonville State, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+ 
Georgia State at UCF, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Ohio at South Alabama, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+ 
UConn at Southern Miss, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Arkansas State at TCU, 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT – ESPNU 
UAB at Louisiana, 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+
James Madison at San Diego State, 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT – The CW
 
Thursday, Sept. 24
Liberty at Coastal Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN 
 
Tuesday, Oct. 6
Southern Miss at Troy*, 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT – ESPN2 
 
Thursday, Oct. 8
South Alabama at Arkansas State*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN/ESPN2
 
Thursday, Oct. 15
Georgia Southern at Old Dominion*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN/ESPN2
 
Friday, Oct. 16
App State at Coastal Carolina*, 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT – ESPN2 
 
Tuesday, Oct. 20 
South Alabama at Marshall*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2
 
Thursday, Oct. 22
James Madison at App State*, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPNU
 
Thursday, Oct. 29 
Troy at James Madison*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN/ESPN2
 
Thursday, Nov. 5
James Madison at Southern Miss*, 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT – ESPN/ESPN2
 
Thursday, Nov. 12
Louisiana at ULM*, 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT – ESPN/ESPN2 
 
Saturday, Nov. 21
Arkansas State at Louisiana Tech*, TBD – TBD 
 
Friday, Nov. 27 
App State at South Alabama*, 3:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. CT – ESPN+ 
 
Friday, Dec. 4
Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship presented by Visit Pensacola, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT – ESPN 

* Sun Belt Conference Game