The Mid-American Conference unveiled its football schedules for 2026 on Tuesday.
The date to circle, at least locally, is Oct. 17, when rivals Central Michigan and Western Michigan will play in Mount Pleasant. The game will be on a Saturday for the second year in a row, as the MAC looks to get its rivalries back in the Saturday rotation to boost campus crowds.
The 2025 CMU-WMU game, in Kalamazoo, drew a crowd of 29,299, Western’s largest in a decade, which watched the Broncos win a thriller, 24-21, en route to a MAC championship.
WMU may be the MAC champion, though the conference didn’t do the Broncos many favors. Three of their first four MAC games and four of their first six are on the road. Most of their MAC home schedule comes on the back end, in midweek MACtion, likely in colder weather, which is no great deal for selling tickets.
“We are always prepared competitively for any schedule,” Western Michigan athletic director Dan Bartholomae said Tuesday. “This was an odd surprise.”
In the other state rivalry games in 2026, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan will play at Ford Field in Detroit on Wednesday, Nov. 17 – the teams also will play in Detroit in 2027 – while Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan will play in Kalamazoo on Tuesday, Nov. 17.
In notable nonconference games this season: Western Michigan plays at Michigan and against Boise State at home, Eastern Michigan plays at Michigan State and Wisconsin, and Central Michigan plays at Miami (Fla.).
Eastern Michigan opens the season Saturday, Aug. 29, at home against Sacramento State, a new MAC member, as the conference loses Northern Illinois to the Mountain West Conference for football. (Northern Illinois basketball will join the Horizon League.)
The MAC championship game will be at Ford Field for the 23rd time, on Saturday, Dec. 5.
Western Michigan was 10-4 with a bowl win in Lance Taylor’s third season as head coach in 2025, and has most starters back on offense and defense, while Central Michigan was 7-6 with a bowl loss (in what might’ve been the last bowl game in Detroit) in Matt Drinkall’s first season. Eastern Michigan was 4-8, the Eagles’ third consecutive losing season, in Chris Creighton’s 12th year, but does get veteran QB Noah Kim back in 2026.
Here’s a look at the schedules for Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Central Michigan in 2026:
Who does Eastern Michigan football play in 2026?
➤ Aug. 29: vs. Sacramento State
➤ Sept. 4: at San Jose State
➤ Sept. 12: at Michigan State
➤ Sept. 19: at Wisconsin
➤ Sept. 26: vs. Lindenwood
➤ Oct. 3: at UMass
➤ Oct. 10: at Akron
➤ Oct. 17: vs. Toledo
➤ Oct. 24: at Ohio
➤ Nov. 4: vs. Central Michigan, at Ford Field
➤ Nov. 17: at Western Michigan
➤ Nov. 24: vs. Kent State
Who does Western Michigan football play in 2026?
➤ Sept. 5: at Michigan
➤ Sept. 12: vs. Monmouth
➤ Sept. 19: at Rice
➤ Sept. 26: vs. Boise State
➤ Oct. 3: at Buffalo
➤ Oct. 10: vs. Kent State
➤ Oct. 17: at Central Michigan
➤ Oct. 24: at Toledo
➤ Oct. 31: vs. Bowling Green
➤ Nov. 10: at Akron
➤ Nov. 17: vs. Eastern Michigan
➤ Nov. 24: at Miami (Ohio)
Who does Central Michigan football play in 2026?
➤ Sept. 5: at New Mexico
➤ Sept. 12: vs. Colgate
➤ Sept. 19: vs. Wyoming
➤ Sept. 26: at Miami (Fla.)
➤ Oct. 3: vs. Akron
➤ Oct. 10: at Ohio
➤ Oct. 17: vs. Western Michigan
➤ Oct. 24: vs. Miami (Ohio)
➤ Nov. 4: vs. Eastern Michigan, at Ford Field
➤ Nov. 11: vs. Sacramento State
➤ Nov. 18: at Buffalo
➤ Nov. 28: at Ball State
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: CMU-WMU on a Saturday, rivalry at Ford Field highlight MAC football schedule
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
