The North Dakota State Bison and UIW Cardinals have scheduled a home-and-home football series for the 2026 and 2028 seasons, it was officially announced Tuesday.
In the first game of the series, North Dakota State will travel to face UIW at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. Two seasons later, the Bison will host the Cardinals at the Fargodome in Fargo, N.D., on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2028.
Both games will be played in Week Zero, which is the unofficial name for the Saturday prior to Labor Day weekend. Beginning in 2026, all Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams will be eligible to play in Week Zero, which will essentially become the new Week 1 in the FCS.
The Bison and Cardinals have played twice previously, which includes a 58-0 NDSU win at home in 2014 and a 35-32 NDSU victory in the 2022 FCS semifinals, also in Fargo.
With the addition of UIW, North Dakota State has completed its non-conference football schedule for the 2026 season. The Bison are also scheduled to host the ETSU Buccaneers on Sept. 5, visit the Central Arkansas Bears on Sept. 12, and host the Austin Peay Governors on Sept. 19.
In Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) action, the Bison are slated to host Southern Illinois, South Dakota State, Indiana State, and Illinois State. Road tilts include Northern Iowa, South Dakota, Youngstown State, and North Dakota.
UIW’s non-conference slate for the 2026 season now includes four opponents with the addition of North Dakota State. The Cardinals are tentatively scheduled to host the Samford Bulldogs on Sept. 5 and play road contests at the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Sept. 12 and Texas State Bobcats on Sept. 26.
Football Schedules
With the Southland Conference reportedly expanding to a 9 game schedule in 2026, UIW will need to drop one game.
https://herosports.com/fcs-southland-football-9-game-conference-schedule-bzbz/
I think the Samford game is off, that’s why I said tentatively. They were supposed to play in 2025 and 2026, but the 2025 game was dropped.
Word. (Incarnate.)