The Southeast Missouri Redhawks and Central Arkansas Bears have scheduled a home-and-home football series for the 2026 and 2027 seasons, FBSchedules.com has learned. A copy of the game contract was obtained from Southeast State Missouri University via a state public records request.
The series will begin with Southeast Missouri hosting Central Arkansas at Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau, Mo., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. The series will conclude the following season when the Redhawks travel to face the Bears at Estes Stadium in Conway, Ark., on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2027.
Southeast Missouri, a member of the OVC-Big South Football Association, and Central Arkansas, a member of the United Athletic Conference (UAC), first met on the gridiron in 1953 and have played 17 contests total. The Bears won the most recent matchup, a 38-33 decision in Conway in 2023, which evened the overall series at 8-8-1.
In other non-conference action in 2026, Southeast Missouri is scheduled to visit the Iowa State Cyclones on Sept. 5 and the Southern Illinois Salukis on Sept. 12.
In 2027, the Redhawks have games scheduled against the Kansas Jayhawks in Week 1 (Sept. 2-4), which we previously reported, and a home tilt against Southern Illinois on Sept. 18.
Central Arkansas now has three non-conference opponents lined up for 2026. The Bears are slated to host the North Dakota State Bison on Sept. 12 and will also visit the Florida State Seminoles on Sept. 26.
The only other non-conference opponent currently on the docket for Central Arkansas in 2027 is Northwestern State at home on Sept. 18.
Football Schedules
Based fans from Arkansas & Missouri can enjoy this match in their, relatively speaking, obscure 63 Grants In Aid Conferences who have been on the shrinking ends of conference realignment over the past 8 years.