Select 2026 CUSA kickoff times, networks revealed
· Yahoo Sports
The college football schedule reveal isn’t an event like the NFL’s. But each year around Memorial Day Weekend, the networks and kickoff for the first three weeks of the season, along with select other games, are made public.
One of the more comprehensive schedule releases belonged to Conference USA. Given the CUSA’s abundance of midweek and standalone games, the league revealed a bulk of its kickoff times and networks on Wednesday, May 27 — almost exactly three months before Jacksonville State and New Mexico State commence their seasons in Week 0.
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In total, 56 kickoff times and 39 broadcast networks were confirmed, including all 18 “Weekday CUSA” games that run from Oct. 1 through Oct. 28, as well as the CUSA Championship Game which will air on CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 4.
As of May 27, here are all the revealed kickoff times and networks for the CUSA’s 10 members in this upcoming 2026 season:
Week 0
Saturday, Aug. 29
- Jacksonville State at North Dakota State — 5:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
- New Mexico State at Florida State — 7 p.m. ET (The CW)
Week 1
Thursday, Sept. 3
- Merrimack (FCS) at Delaware — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- West Georgia (FCS) at Kennesaw State — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Saturday, Sept. 5
- Liberty at James Madison — 12 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
- Missouri State at Texas A&M — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
- FIU at South Florida — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Eastern Kentucky (FCS) at Jacksonville State — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Murray State (FCS) at Middle Tennessee — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Sam Houston at Troy — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Mercyhurst (FCS) at New Mexico State — 9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- WKU at Nevada — 10:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Week 2
Saturday, Sept. 12
- WKU at Georgia — 12:45 p.m. ET (SEC Network)
- Delaware at Vanderbilt — 4:15 p.m. ET (SEC Network)
- Buffalo at FIU — 6 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Jacksonville State at Ohio — 6 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Gardner-Webb (FCS) at Liberty — 6 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Georgia State at Kennesaw State — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Middle Tennessee at Marshall — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Lindenwood (FCS) at Missouri State — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Tulsa at Sam Houston — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Kennesaw State at Tennessee — 7:45 p.m. ET (SEC Network)
- New Mexico State at Hawaii — TBD (Mountain West+)
Week 3
Saturday, Sept. 19
- Coastal Carolina at Delaware — 11:30 a.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
- WKU at Indiana — 4 p.m. ET (Peacock)
- Ball State at Liberty — 4 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- FIU at Florida Atlantic — 6 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Marshall at Missouri State — 6:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
- Georgia Southern at Jacksonville State — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Nevada at Middle Tennessee — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Nicholls (FCS) at Sam Houston — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Week 4
Thursday, Sept. 24
- Liberty at Coastal Carolina — 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Saturday, Sept. 26
- New Mexico at New Mexico State — 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
- Long Island (FCS) at FIU — 6 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Middle Tennessee at Jacksonville State — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Mercyhurst (FCS) at WKU — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Kennesaw State at Arkansas State — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- Delaware at Virginia — TBD (ESPN platform)
- Missouri State at SMU — TBD (ESPN platform)
Remaining weeks
Thursday, Oct. 1
- WKU at New Mexico State — 8 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Friday, Oct. 2
- Liberty at Delaware — 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Wednesday, Oct. 7
- Jacksonville State at Kennesaw State — 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
- New Mexico State at FIU — 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Thursday, Oct. 8
- Sam Houston at Liberty — 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
- Missouri State at WKU — 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Tuesday, Oct. 13
- Delaware at Middle Tennessee — 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
- FIU at Jacksonville State — 8 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Wednesday, Oct. 14
- WKU at Sam Houston — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
- Kennesaw State at Missouri State — 7:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Tuesday, Oct. 20
- Middle Tennessee at FIU — 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
- Missouri State at Delaware — 8 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Wednesday, Oct. 21
- New Mexico State at Sam Houston — 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Thursday, Oct. 22
- Liberty at Kennesaw State — 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Tuesday, Oct. 27
- Delaware at WKU — 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
- Sam Houston at Missouri State — 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Wednesday, Oct. 28
- Jacksonville State at New Mexico State — 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
- Kennesaw State at Middle Tennessee — 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Saturday, Oct. 31
- FIU at Liberty — 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Saturday, Nov. 7
- Delaware at Kennesaw State — 3 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- WKU at Middle Tennessee — 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- Missouri State at FIU — 4 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- Liberty at New Mexico State — 5 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- Sam Houston at Jacksonville State — 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Saturday, Nov. 14
- Kennesaw State at Sam Houston — 2 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- FIU at Delaware — 3 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- New Mexico State at Missouri State — 3 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- Middle Tennessee at Liberty — 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
- Jacksonville State at WKU — 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
Saturday, Nov. 21
- WKU at Liberty — 1 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- Missouri State at Jacksonville State — 2 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- Middle Tennessee at Sam Houston — 2 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- FIU at Kennesaw State — 3 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- Delaware at New Mexico State — 3 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
Saturday, Nov. 28
- Kennesaw State at WKU — 1 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- Sam Houston at FIU — 2 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- New Mexico State at Middle Tennessee — 2 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- Liberty at Missouri State — 2 p.m. ET (ESPN platform)
- Jacksonville State at Delaware — 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Friday, Dec. 4
- CUSA Championship Game — 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
Network breakdown
The CUSA agreed to a 5-year media rights deal with ESPN and CBS Sports Network, which runs from the 2023 through the 2027 season. Thus, the majority of CUSA games — including all conference matchups — are showcased on CBS Sports Network or an ESPN platform.
- ESPN+ — 23
- CBS Sports Network — 20
- ESPN2 — 5
- ESPNU — 4
- SEC Network — 3
- ESPN — 1
- The CW — 1
- Peacock — 1
- Mountain West+ — 1
Note that an additional 20 games are confirmed to be televised on an “ESPN platform” (such as ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, or ESPN+), but their exact network has yet to be revealed. Of the 20 games designated for a to-be-determined “ESPN platform”, 17 are Saturday contests in November. The remaining three are Week 4 matchups on Saturday, Sept. 26. These games will be subject to a 12-day selection process to determine their network.
At the moment, the CUSA does not have a game slated for network television (CBS, FOX, ABC) in 2026. One of the most significant draws the league receives is Missouri State’s opener at Texas A&M, which kicks off on ESPN on Saturday, Sept. 5. at 7 p.m. ET.
Schedule update
One game changed dates since the CUSA’s Apr. 29 schedule release. The Liberty at Kennesaw State game originally slated for Wednesday, Oct. 21 was moved to Thursday, Oct. 22. It will kick off at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
That makes New Mexico State at Sam Houston a standalone game on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Liberty at Kennesaw State will share the airwaves with James Madison at Appalachian State (7 p.m. ET on ESPNU) and East Carolina at Memphis (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2) on Thursday, Oct. 22.