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1/13/2026 11:58:00 AM







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2026 OVC-Big South Schedule



BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The OVC-Big South Football Association has announced its league schedule for the 2026 season. 

Southeast Missouri will play a seven-game conference schedule next fall.  

SEMO begins OVC-Big South action with the Game Ball Brawl at Lindenwood on Oct. 10. The Redhawks home conference opener is the following week vs. Western Illinois (Oct. 17). SEMO then travels to Eastern Illinois (Oct. 24) before hosting Gardner-Webb (Oct. 31) on Halloween. The Redhawks hit the road for back-to-back games at Tennessee State (Nov. 7) and Charleston Southern (Nov. 14), and close out their conference slate at home vs. UT Martin (Nov. 21). 

 

The first week of the season will see a league matchup when Charleston Southern travels to Lindenwood. The rest of the conference play begins on October 3 and goes until the final week of the regular season on November 21. 

Below is the 2026 composite OVC-Big South schedule, which is subject to change.

Thursday, August 27

Charleston Southern at Lindenwood

Saturday, October 3

Gardner-Webb at Charleston Southern

Tennessee State at Western Illinois

Saturday, October 10

Eastern Illinois at Gardner-Webb

Southeast Missouri at Lindenwood

UT Martin at Tennessee State

Saturday, October 17

Lindenwood at Eastern Illinois

Gardner-Webb at UT Martin

Western Illinois at Southeast Missouri

Saturday, October 24

Charleston Southern at Tennessee State

Southeast Missouri at Eastern Illinois

UT Martin at Western Illinois

Saturday, October 31

Western Illinois at Charleston Southern

Eastern Illinois at UT Martin

Gardner-Webb at Southeast Missouri

Tennessee State at Lindenwood

Saturday, November 7

UT Martin at Charleston Southern

Western Illinois at Eastern Illinois

Lindenwood at Gardner-Webb

Southeast Missouri at Tennessee State

Saturday, November 14

Southeast Missouri at Charleston Southern

Eastern Illinois at Tennessee State

Gardner-Webb at Western Illinois

Lindenwood at UT Martin

Saturday, November 21

Charleston Southern at Eastern Illinois

Tennessee State at Gardner-Webb

Western Illinois at Lindenwood

UT Martin at Southeast Missouri

 

 

ABOUT THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE-BIG SOUTH ASSOCIATION

In February 2022, the Ohio Valley Conference and the Big South Conference announced the creation of an association of their football member institutions, which began in the 2023 NCAA Division I football season and has an initial term of at least four years. In June 2024 the Presidents and Chancellors solidified their commitment to each other with a new enhanced agreement that will provide an opportunity to extend the original partnership through 2030 and beyond. 

 

This agreement, which strengthens the structure between the FCS-committed institutions, is intended to provide all members’ access to the automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Playoffs, long-term stability, and a competitive league schedule. In creating the association, presidents from each of the multisport conferences pointed to the similarities of the OVC and the Big South, with their complementary geographies and intercollegiate athletic philosophies, as key to making this association possible.

 

Schools comprising the Association are Charleston Southern University (Charleston, SC), Eastern Illinois University (Charleston, IL), Gardner-Webb University (Boiling Springs, NC), Lindenwood University (St. Charles, MO), Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau, MO), Tennessee State University (Nashville, TN), University of Tennessee at Martin (Martin, TN) and Western Illinois University (Macomb, IL). 

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