NEW ORLEANS — Following back-to-back losing seasons for the first time during its Sun Belt tenure, App State will aim to get back to its winning ways when it opens the 2026 campaign against Maine on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+. 
 
The Black Bears lead the all-time series 2-0, with FCS playoff victories over the Mountaineers in 2002 and 2011. The matchup is the first between the two programs since App State joined the FBS—and the Sun Belt—in 2014. 
 
App State’s non-conference schedule also features three in-state matchups, as the Mountaineers visit East Carolina (Sept. 12), host Charlotte (Sept. 19) and travel to NC State (Sept. 26) to round out the first month of the season. Alongside annual matchups with their East Division foes, the Mountaineers will host ULM (Nov. 21) and visit South Alabama (Nov. 27) in cross-division clashes.
 
The Mountaineers were picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt East Division in last month’s 2026 Sun Belt Conference Football Preseason Coaches Poll. 
 
Second-year head coach Dowell Loggains will guide a roster that returns one All-Sun Belt selection from 2025 and had three players named to the 2026 Preseason All-Sun Belt Teams. 
 
App State went 5-8 in 2025, dropping six of their final seven games following a 4-2 start. The Mountaineers were part of the Sun Belt’s 10-team Bowl Season contingent that paced the non-autonomy conferences for the fourth-straight year. 
 
In 12 seasons of FBS football in the Sun Belt, the Mountaineers are 105-49-0 and have appeared in nine bowl games. 
 
To listen to head coach Dowell Loggains, redshirt junior quarterback Malachi Singleton and redshirt junior linebacker Colton Phares’ comments from the 2026 Sun Belt Football Media Days, visit the Sun Belt Conference YouTube page. 



2026 SCHEDULE

9/5	Maine
9/12	at East Carolina
9/19	Charlotte
9/26	at North Carolina State
10/10	Old Dominion*
10/16	at Coastal Carolina*
10/22	James Madison*
10/31	at Georgia Southern*
11/7	Georgia State*
11/14	at Marshall*
11/21	ULM*
11/27	at South Alabama*

 
* Sun Belt Conference Game 
 
2025 ALL-SUN BELT RETURNERS
Second Team
LB – Colton Phares, App State (RS Jr., LB – Beaufort, S.C.) 

2026 PRESEASON ALL-SUN BELT SELECTIONS
First Team
DL – Aiden Benton, App State (RS Jr., DL – Clayton, Ga.) 
LB – Colton Phares, App State (RS Jr., LB – Beaufort, S.C.) 

Second Team
OL – Tyriq Poindexter, App State (RS Sr., OL – Roanoke, Va.)