The Ole Miss Rebels and BYU Cougars have canceled their future football series, according to an announcement from BYU on Wednesday.
Ole Miss and BYU previously announced the contract for their home-and-home football series back in 2021. The series was scheduled to begin at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, in 2028 before concluding at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss., in 2029.
The 2028 matchup between the Rebels and Cougars would have marked their second contest on the gridiron following a 14-13 BYU win in Oxford in 2011.
The BYU series cancellation is the second this year for Ole Miss. This summer, it was announced that Ole Miss and USC had mutually agreed to cancel their home-and-home football series that was set to be played in 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif., and in Oxford in 2026.
Speaking to reporters in June, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter revealed the news about the series with USC. A week earlier, he hinted that the series was likely to be canceled as the SEC looks at moving to a nine-game conference schedule in 2026.
“I think that’s going to happen,” Carter said. “I think you’re seeing some of these more marquee matchups maybe coming off the books because of that. If you look at USC, they’re going into the Big 10 and they’re playing nine conference games now. I think that’s probably in our future, too.”
Ole Miss also had its return game at home against Wake Forest in 2025 axed shortly before defeating the Demon Deacons 40-6 in Winston Salem, N.C., on September 14. Wake canceled the contest and will reportedly pay the Rebels a cancellation fee.
The SEC has long discussed moving to a nine-game conference schedule, and all indications point to the league making that change beginning with the 2026 season. Earlier this year, Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte said that the league will likely move to nine games in 2026.
“We have eight games scheduled right now,” Del Conte told Inside Texas. “We’re working on going to a nine-game schedule, but we have a ways to go with that. I would say this year (2024) we have an eight-game schedule. The following year (2025), we have another eight-game schedule. Then we’ll look at going into a nine-game conference schedule.”
Although the reason for the Ole Miss-BYU cancellation wasn’t explicitly stated, it was likely mutually agreed upon. With the Cougars’ move into the Big 12 Conference last season, the Cougars have been adjusting their future schedules as well.
Football Schedules