Welcome back, college football! The 2026 North Carolina college football schedule kicks off this week with 20 games involving FBS, FCS, Division II and junior college teams.
UNC opens the season against TCU in Dublin, Ireland, while NC State visits Virginia in another nationally televised matchup on Saturday.
The small-college schedule launches Thursday night, highlighted by an in-state matchup between Wingate and UNC Pembroke. Lenoir-Rhyne will host Virginia Union on Friday. Western Carolina christens improvements to Whitmire Stadium on Saturday night against visiting Eastern Kentucky.
Below is the full North Carolina college football schedule for Week 0, including kickoff times and TV or streaming information for games played Aug. 27-29.
North Carolina College Football Schedule: Week 0 Games
Thursday, August 27, 2026
Barton at Virginia State – 6 p.m., CIAA Sports Network
Wingate at UNC Pembroke – 6 p.m., Conference Carolinas Digital Network
Concord at Davidson – 7 p.m., ESPN+
Gardner-Webb at Austin Peay – 7 p.m., ESPN+
Glenville State at Elon – 7 p.m., FloSports
Friday, August 28, 2026
Virginia Union at Lenoir-Rhyne – 6 p.m., FloFootball
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Georgia Knights at Louisburg College – 11 a.m., YouTube
Chowan at West Virginia State – 12 p.m., MEC-TV
UNC vs TCU (Dublin, Ireland) – 12 p.m., ESPN
Fort Valley State at Elizabeth City State – 1 p.m., CIAA Sports Network
NC State at Virginia – 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Johnson C. Smith at Benedict – 5 p.m., SIAC-TV
Campbell at East Tennessee State – 5:30 p.m., ESPN+
Allen at Livingstone – 6 p.m., CIAA Sports Network
Catawba at Ferrum – 6 p.m., Conference Carolinas Digital Network
Morgan State at North Carolina A&T – 6 p.m., FloSports
Shaw at Fayetteville State – 6 p.m., CIAA Sports Network
Winston-Salem State at Norfolk State – 6 p.m., ESPN+
Eastern Kentucky at Western Carolina – 7 p.m., ESPN+
North Carolina Central at Texas Southern – 7 p.m., HBCU GO
📺 How to Watch This Week’s Games
ESPN/ESPN+ – ESPN is available through participating TV providers; ESPN+ requires a subscription.
FloCollege/FloFootball – Paid subscription streaming service carrying CAA, South Atlantic Conference, USA South and ODAC football, among other college sports.
CIAA Sports Network – Free streaming home for CIAA athletics.
Conference Carolinas Digital Network – Free streaming home for Conference Carolinas athletics.
SIAC Network – Streaming home for SIAC athletics.
MEC-TV – Mountain East Conference’s digital streaming network.
HBCU GO – Free, ad-supported streaming service carrying selected HBCU football games.
YouTube – Some schools, including Louisburg College this week, provide free game streams through their official channels.
More North Carolina College Football
🏈 Game Day Central – Your dashboard for following college football action from around the state
📊 NC College Football Scoreboard – Scores and results from every level
📅 2026 NC College Football Master Schedule – Every game involving a North Carolina college team, organized by week
