ESPN Events announces 17-game college football bowl schedule for 2026-27 season
- Cricket Celebration Bowl kicks off Bowl Season on Saturday, Dec. 12
- ESPN Events’ 2026-27 schedule will feature 10 FBS and two FCS conferences and four early-season kickoff games
- Inaugral Liberty Mutual Music City Kickoff debuts Sept. 6 in Week 1 ACC-SEC early-season matchup
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, has unveiled its schedule of 17 owned-and-operated bowl games for the 2026-27 college football postseason, which will feature 10 FBS conferences and two FCS conferences.
Bowl Season will begin Saturday, Dec. 12, with ESPN Events’ 11th edition of the Cricket Celebration Bowl (noon ET, ABC) as the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) face off in the National Championship for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Following a pair of thrilling shootouts last season, the 21st annual Isleta New Mexico Bowl (2:30 p.m., ESPN) and the 23rd annual Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl (7 p.m., ESPN) return for a Christmas Eve bowl doubleheader on Dec. 24.
Celebrating a milestone 20 years, the JLab Birmingham Bowl (2 p.m., ESPN) returns to Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 29 featuring teams from the Southeastern Conference, American Conference or Atlantic Coast Conference.
On Dec. 31, a New Year’s Eve doubleheader kicks off with the Las Vegas Bowl (3:45 p.m., ESPN), returning to Allegiant Stadium as it celebrates 35 years, followed by the Kinder’s Texas Bowl (7:30 p.m., ESPN), returning to Reliant Stadium in Houston to help ring in the New Year.
The ESPN Events bowl schedule concludes on Jan. 2 with the 17th edition of the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (3:30 p.m., ABC) returning to Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas. This marks the second time in three seasons the bowl has been played in the new calendar year.
ESPN Events Kickoff Games
Last week, ESPN announced its early-season schedule, which included four ESPN Events kickoff games, featuring the FCS Kickoff (7 p.m., ESPN) – East Texas A&M vs. Mercer in ESPN’s first primetime college football telecast of the ‘26 season – from Macon, Ga., on Saturday, Aug. 29. That same night, the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff takes center stage in Atlanta as Alabama A&M faces Howard in primetime (7:30 p.m., ABC). On Sunday, Aug. 30, ESPN Events’ Red Tails Classic (8 p.m., ESPN2) will feature a matchup between West Alabama and Tuskegee from Montgomery, Ala., continuing to celebrate the tradition, legacy and values of HBCUs as part of ESPN’s season-long commitment to HBCU football.
During Labor Day Weekend and Week 1 of the college football season, the inaugural Liberty Mutual Music City Kickoff in Nashville features a marquee ACC-SEC matchup between ESPN.com’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 teams No. 21 Louisville and No. 9 Ole Miss on Sunday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Schedules are subject to change. Please continue to check @ESPNPR and ESPN Press Room for more information. Additional scheduling details, including commentator assignments for each bowl game, will be announced following bowl selections in December.
2026-27 ESPN Events College Football Bowl Schedule:
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup | Network |
| Sat, Dec. 12 | Noon | Cricket Celebration Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Ga.) |
ABC |
| Tue, Dec. 15
|
5:30 p.m. | IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl
Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.) |
ESPN |
| 9 p.m. | Frisco Football Classic
The Star at Ford Center (Frisco, Texas) |
ESPN | |
| Fri, Dec. 18 | 11 a.m. | Boca Raton Bowl
Flagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Fla.) |
ESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Fla.) |
ESPN | |
| Mon, Dec. 21 | 11 a.m. | Myrtle Beach Bowl
Brooks Stadium (Conway, S.C.) |
ESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho) |
ESPN | |
| Tue, Dec. 22 | 5 p.m. | StaffDNA Cure Bowl
Acrisure Bounce House (Orlando, Fla.) |
ESPN |
| Wed, Dec. 23 | 5:30 p.m. | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas) |
ESPN |
| 9 p.m. | Frisco Bowl
The Star at Ford Center (Frisco, Texas) |
ESPN | |
| Thu, Dec. 24 | 2:30 p.m. | Isleta New Mexico Bowl
University Stadium (Albuquerque, N.M.) |
ESPN |
| 7 p.m. | Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu, Hawaii) |
ESPN | |
| Sat, Dec. 26 | 2 p.m. | Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Fenway Park (Boston, Mass.) |
ESPN |
| Tue, Dec. 29 | 2 p.m. | JLab Birmingham Bowl
Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Ala.) |
ESPN |
| Thu, Dec. 31 | 3:45 p.m. | Las Vegas Bowl
Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, Nev.) |
ESPN |
| 7:30 p.m. | Kinder’s Texas Bowl
Reliant Stadium (Houston, Texas) |
ESPN | |
| Sat, Jan. 2 | 3:30 p.m. | SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas, Texas) |
ABC |
2026 ESPN Events College Football Kickoff Games:
| Sat, Aug. 29 | 7 p.m. | FCS Kickoff
East Texas A&M vs. Mercer Five Star Stadium (Macon, Ga.) |
ESPN |
| 7:30 p.m. | Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff
Alabama A&M vs. Howard Center Parc Stadium (Atlanta) |
ABC | |
| Sun, Aug. 30 | 8 p.m. | Red Tails Classic
West Alabama vs. Tuskegee Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.) |
ESPN2 |
| Sun, Sep. 6 | 7:30 p.m. | Liberty Mutual Music City Kickoff
Louisville vs. Ole Miss Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tenn.) |
ABC |
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About ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In the 2025-26 academic year, the 35-event schedule included three early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, two college volleyball events, the premier regular-season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events accounted for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
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Media Contacts:
Danny Chi, [email protected]
Michael Skarka, [email protected]