The North Dakota Fighting Hawks and Long Island Sharks have scheduled a home-and-home football series for the 2026 and 2027 seasons, it was announced Thursday.
In the first game of the series, North Dakota will host Long Island at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D., on Thursday, Aug 27, 2026. The series will conclude the following season when the Fighting Hawks visit the Sharks at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Brookville, N.Y., on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2027.
The University of North Dakota, a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), and Long Island University (LIU), a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC), have never met on the gridiron.
With the addition of Long Island, North Dakota now has all four of its non-conference opponents scheduled for the 2026 season. The Fighting Hawks are also scheduled to host the St. Thomas Tommies at the Alerus Center on Sept. 5 and then travel for consecutive contests against the Portland State Vikings on Sept. 12 and the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sept. 19.
LIU’s 2026 non-conference schedule now includes three contests with the addition of North Dakota. The Sharks are also scheduled to visit the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan., on Sept. 5 and host the UAlbany Great Danes on Sept. 12.
Football Schedules
