Drake Football Announces 2026 Schedule Under Latest Head Coach
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University football team has announced its schedule for the 2026 season. The Bulldogs, entering their first year under head coach Matt Walker, will face a challenging schedule including a trio of non-conference games before beginning their pursuit of a fourth consecutive Pioneer Football League (PFL) title.
The season kicks off with a Thursday night game on August 27th against South Dakota Mines. Both teams shared a common opponent in Upper Iowa University, with Drake defeating UIU 41-7 and South Dakota Mines falling to UIU 58-14 last season.
Drake will then travel to Missoula, Montana, on September 5th to face the University of Montana Grizzlies. Montana finished the 2025 season ranked third in the FCS after reaching the semifinals. Drake and Montana previously met in 2018, with Montana winning 48-16.
The Bulldogs’ non-PFL schedule concludes on September 12th with an in-state rivalry game against the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Panthers in Cedar Falls. This will be the first meeting between Drake and UNI since 2013 and Drake will be seeking their first win against the Panthers since 1985. The game is scheduled on a busy football day in Iowa, coinciding with the annual Cy-Hawk rivalry game between Iowa and Iowa State.
A bye week on September 19th will provide a break before the start of the PFL schedule.
Drake will begin its PFL title defense on the road against Davidson on September 26th. The Bulldogs will then return home to Des Moines for their conference home opener against Dayton on October 3rd.
The remainder of the PFL schedule includes road games at Valparaiso (October 10th) and Morehead State (October 31st), and home matchups against Marist (October 17th) and Butler (October 24th).
Drake will close out its PFL schedule with a home game against San Diego on November 7th and a rematch against St. Thomas on November 14th. St. Thomas handed Drake their only PFL loss in the previous season.
The Bulldogs have a second bye week in Week 12, the only PFL team idle that week.
“We are so excited to announce our schedule,” said Coach Walker. “It provides some great opportunities for our football team that will test us in the non-conference, especially on the road. Traveling to Montana and UNI are exciting challenges that our team looks forward to. The PFL continues to be very balanced and competitive. We capture pride in having a target on us as back-to-back-to-back champs. We know we’ll get everyone’s best shot and relish the opportunity to defend this great conference.”
Season tickets for the 2026 Drake Football season are now available. Renewal information for 2025 season ticket holders can be found here, and new season ticket deposits can be placed here.
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