The Drake Bulldogs have announced their 2026 football schedule, which features five home games and 11 contests overall.
The Bulldogs open the campaign on Thursday, August 27 at home against South Dakota Mines, marking their earliest season start since 2019. Drake then heads west for consecutive non‑conference road matchups, visiting Montana on September 5 and Northern Iowa on September 12.
The Bulldogs enter their first open date on September 19 before beginning Pioneer League play on September 26 with a road trip to Davidson. Drake returns to Drake Stadium on October 3 to host Dayton in its conference home opener, followed by an October 10 visit to Valparaiso as league play continues.
Drake remains in Des Moines on October 17 to host Marist and stays home the following week on October 24 for a matchup with Butler, marking the team’s only back‑to‑back home stretch of the season. The Bulldogs close October on the road at Morehead State on October 31.
The final month of the season begins on November 7 with a home contest against San Diego before Drake travels to St. Thomas on November 14 for its final PFL road game. The Bulldogs are idle on November 21.
Below is Drake’s complete schedule for the 2026 season, plus a link to their schedule page which will be updated with kickoff times and TV as they are announced:
08/27 – South Dakota Mines (Thu)
09/05 – at Montana
09/12 – at Northern Iowa
09/19 – OFF
09/26 – at Davidson*
10/03 – Dayton*
10/10 – at Valparaiso*
10/17 – Marist*
10/24 – Butler*
10/31 – at Morehead State*
11/07 – San Diego*
11/14 – at St. Thomas*
11/21 – OFF
* PFL contest.
“We are so excited to announce our schedule,” first-year Drake head coach Matt Walker said. “It provides some great opportunities for our football team that will test us in the non-conference, especially on the road. Traveling to Montana and UNI are exciting challenges that our team looks forward to. The PFL continues to be very balanced and competitive. We take pride in having a target on us as back-to-back-to-back champs. We know we’ll get everyone’s best shot and relish the opportunity to defend this great conference.”
View Comments (4)
On a trip out west last fall and my wife and I attended a game at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City Had fun, stadium has only one side and the other side is a 2 level drive up where you can park your car to watch. We saw Western Colorado at Mt Rushmore on Friday who was playing SD Mines the next day so we decided to go since we were fairly flexible.
1 of the only benefits 1AA "F Championship SubDiviSion FOOTBALL Teams can use = You don't *have to* schedule & play 11 or 12 Matches.
Drake = a poster Adult for this.
10 Games versus 'fbs' opponents.
1 Game versus a JV Division 2 opponent.
ZERO Games vs. 1A "F Bowl SubDiviSion Franchises.
The Ivy League = a Poster Model of 8.
They compete for the 24 Playoffs Slots, they stay @ a 10 Game schedule.
That's a tough schedule---they're going to get slaughtered at Montana, and at Northern Iowa--they don't give athletic scholarships---
@Knaupp: Are you complaining about this schedule?
This is a perfect opportunity for Drake to start offering scholarships and join the Missouri Valley Conference in football. Less travel means regional rivalries and better opportunities to play FBS opponents to secure a large payday.