DULUTH — The Minnesota Duluth football team will open its 2026 season with a first-ever matchup against nonconference opponent Slippery Rock on Thursday, Aug. 27 in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
Slippery Rock, a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), is coming off a 6-4 season in 2025. The Rock previously reached the NCAA Division II tournament in six straight seasons, making semifinal appearances in 2019 and 2024. The Rock has developed something of a cult following in the past after their scores were originally announced as a joke at Michigan Stadium, which led to playing games there for real against Division II opponents in 1979, 1981 and 2010.
The Bulldogs will open their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) schedule the following week against Augustana at Malosky Stadium. UMD will play five home games in all, with matchups against Winona State (Sept. 19), Northern State (Oct. 10), Jamestown (Oct. 31) and Minot State (Nov. 14).
The remainder of the schedule includes road contests against Wayne State (Sept. 12), Minnesota State Moorhead (Sept. 26), Southwest Minnesota State (Oct. 3), UMary (Oct. 24) and Bemidji State (Nov. 7).
Homecoming and Military Appreciation Day games have yet to be announced.
The Bulldogs finished the 2025 season with a 10-2 record overall and an appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time since 2021. UMD lost 32-7 to Ashland (Ohio) in the opening round of the tournament.
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