The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will play at the Georgia Bulldogs in 2026 and will host the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in 2024, the school announced on Monday.
Western Kentucky will travel to face Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens on September 12, 2026. Georgia will pay WKU a $1.9 million guarantee for the game in 2025, according to a copy of the contract obtained from Western Kentucky via a state open records request.
The 2026 WKU-Georgia game will be only the second meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. In their first matchup on Sept. 2, 2006 in Athens, the Bulldogs defeated the Hilltoppers 48-12.
“We always seek to compete against the best, and there’s no doubt that traveling to Georgia and playing in that kind of environment is a tremendous and exciting challenge,” WKU Director of Athletics Todd Stewart said. “The state of Georgia is a recruiting hotbed and strong focus for our coaching staff, so this is a significant opportunity for everyone involved. We’re also very pleased to face one of the nation’s top programs in a regional matchup that will allow our fans to travel with us and support the program, which is always one of our key factors when scheduling future games.”
Georgia is the second scheduled non-conference opponent for Western Kentucky in 2026. WKU is also slated to play at Cincinnati on Sept. 26.
Western Kentucky is the third scheduled non-conference opponent for Georgia in 2026. The Bulldogs are slated to open the season against the UCLA Bruins in Athens on Sept. 5 and will host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Nov. 28 to close out the regular-season.
Eastern Kentucky will travel to take on the WKU Hilltoppers at Houchens-Smith Stadium in Bowling Green on Sept. 7, 2024. The game will be the 86th overall meeting between the two schools.
Western Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky first met on the gridiron in 1914. The Hilltoppers have won three consecutive contests, most recently 31-17 in 2017, and now lead the overall series 47-35-3.
Eastern Kentucky is the second announced non-conference opponent for Western Kentucky for the 2024 season. The Hilltoppers are scheduled to open the season at USF on Aug. 31.
EKU also has two non-conference opponents scheduled for 2024. The Colonels are slated to open the season at Mississippi State on Aug. 31 before traveling to take on WKU.
Football Schedules