View the Western Carolina Catamounts 2026 football schedule, including game dates, opponents, kickoff times, TV and streaming information, scores and results throughout the season.
🏟️ Home Stadium: Bob Waters Field at E.J. Whitmire Stadium
📍 Location: 291 Catamount Road, Cullowhee, NC 28723
👥 Capacity: 13,742
🏈 Conference: Southern Conference
Western Carolina Football Schedule 2026
| Date | H/A | Opponent | Score | Time | TV/Stream | W-L (Conf) | Notes | Week # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat,4/11 | Spring Game | 12:00 p.m. ET | Spring | |||||
| Sat,8/29 | vs | Eastern Kentucky | 7:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | “Whitmire at Nite” | Week 0 | ||
| Sat,9/5 | at | Campbell | 3:30 p.m. ET | FloSports | Week 1 | |||
| Sat,9/12 | at | Cincinnati | 7:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Week 2 | |||
| Sat,9/19 | vs | Presbyterian | 2:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | WCU Family Weekend | Week 3 | ||
| Sat,9/26 | at | East Tennessee State* | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Blue Ridge Border Battle | Week 4 | ||
| Sat,10/3 | vs | Tennessee Tech* | 🏟️ Preview | 6:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Football Alumni Weekend | Week 5 | |
| Sat,10/10 | at | Mercer* | 3:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Week 6 | |||
| Sat,10/17 | BYE | Week 7 | ||||||
| Sat,10/24 | vs | Chattanooga* | 2:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | WCU Homecoming 2026 | Week 8 | ||
| Sat,10/31 | at | Furman* | 2:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Week 9 | |||
| Sat,11/7 | vs | Wofford* | 1:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Heroes Day | Week 10 | ||
| Sat,11/14 | at | Samford* | ESPN+ | Week 11 | ||||
| Sat,11/21 | vs | The Citadel* | 1:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Hall of Fame / Senior Day | Week 12 | ||
| Sat,11/28 | FCS Playoffs | Week 13 | ||||||
| * SoCon game |
All games hosted by Southern Conference teams, including WCU, will be streamed on ESPN+ in 2026.
Western Carolina Football Schedule 2025: Scores & Final Record
| Date | H/A | Opponent | Score | Time | TV/Stream | Record | Conf. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 30 | vs | Gardner-Webb | L, 45-52 | 6 p.m. | ESPN+ | 0-1 | 0-0 | |
| Sept. 6 | at | Wake Forest | L, 10-42 | 2 p.m. | ACCNX | 0-2 | 0-0 | |
| Sept. 13 | vs | Elon | L, 31-37 | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN+ | 0-3 | 0-0 | |
| Sept. 20 | vs | Samford* | W, 50-35 | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN+ | 1-3 | 1-0 | |
| Sept. 27 | at | Campbell | W, 42-35 | 3:30 p.m. | FloFootball | 2-3 | 1-0 | |
| Oct. 4 | at | Wofford* | W, 23-21 | 1:30 p.m. | ESPN+ | 3-3 | 2-0 | |
| Oct. 11 | vs | Furman* | W, 52-7 | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN+ | 4-3 | 3-0 | |
| Oct. 18 | at | The Citadel* | W, 45-38 | 2 p.m. | ESPN+ | 5-3 | 4-0 | |
| Nov. 1 | at | Chattanooga* | W, 35-28 | 4 p.m. | ESPN+ | 6-3 | 5-0 | |
| Nov. 8 | vs | Mercer* | L, 47-49 | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN+ | 6-4 | 5-1 | |
| Nov. 15 | vs | East Tennessee State* | L, 35-52 | 12 p.m. | ESPN+ | 6-5 | 5-2 | |
| Nov. 22 | at | VMI* | W, 48-6 | 12 p.m. | ESPN+ | 7-5 | 6-2 | |
| * SoCon game |
WCU Future Non-Conference Opponents
2026: Eastern Kentucky (Aug. 29), at Campbell (Sept. 5), at Cincinnati (Sept. 12), Presbyterian (Sept. 19)
2027: at East Carolina (Sept. 4), Campbell (Sept. 18), at North Carolina Central (Sept. 25)
2028: at Eastern Kentucky (Aug. 26), at Appalachian State (Sept. 2), North Carolina Central (Oct. 7)
2029: at Elon (Sept. 15)
2030: at Charlotte (Aug. 31), Elon (Sept. 7)
2031: at Georgia (Sept. 6)
- Source: Western Carolina University athletics, FBSchedules.com
Western Carolina and Appalachian State will rekindle their Battle for the Old Mountain Jug with a non-conference meeting in 2028. The former SoCon rivals haven’t played in football since 2013, App State’s final year as an FCS school before moving to the FBS and the Sun Belt Conference. WCU will visit Boone in an attempt to regain the Old Mountain Jug.
Looking for more North Carolina college football schedules?
🏫 Team Schedules Hub – Browse full-season schedules by school
🗓️ Weekly Master Schedule – View all games organized by week
