The Samford Bulldogs and Southern Illinois Salukis have scheduled a home-and-home football series for the 2026 and 2029 seasons, it was announced Thursday.
In the first game of the series, Samford will host Southern Illinois at Pete Hanna Stadium in Homewood, Ala., on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. The series will conclude three seasons later when the Bulldogs visit the Salukis at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Ill., on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2029.
Samford, a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon), and Southern Illinois, a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), have never met on the gridiron.
With the addition of Southern Illinois, Samford now has three non-conference opponents scheduled for the 2026 season. The Bulldogs are also scheduled to make in-state trips to face the UAB Blazers on Oct. 3 and the Auburn Tigers on Nov. 21.
The game against Auburn was announced in conjunction with the release of the 2026 SEC football schedule Thursday evening.
Southern Illinois’s 2026 non-conference schedule also includes three contests with the addition of Samford. The Salukis are also scheduled to host the Southeast Missouri Redhawks on Sept. 12 before traveling to Champaign, Ill., to face the Illinois Fighting Illini on Sept. 19.
Football Schedules
