The Wake Forest Demon Deacons have added the Merrimack Warriors to their 2026 football schedule, it was announced Tuesday.
Wake Forest will host Merrimack at Allegacy Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. The game will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.
The Merrimack Warriors currently compete as an Independent in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Merrimack moved up to the FCS from Division II in 2019 and competed as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) for five seasons before going Independent in 2024.
With the addition of Merrimack, Wake Forest now has all three non-conference opponents set for the 2026 season. The Demon Deacons are scheduled to open the 2026 season at home on Thursday, Sept. 3 against the Akron Zips before traveling to face the Purdue Boilermakers nine days later on Saturday, Sept. 12.
The ACC also announced the opponents for each league member on Tuesday, and Wake Forest will be one of 12 league teams that will play nine conference games next season. Wake will host Duke, Miami, Stanford, and Virginia, and will visit California, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, and SMU.
Merrimack now has four known contests for its 2026 slate. The Warriors are scheduled to visit Maine on Sept. 12 and Delaware on a date to be announced, while also hosting New Haven on a date to be announced. Merrimack can schedule up to a total of 12 games.
Football Schedules
