GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Tusculum University has released its 2026 football schedule announced head coach Billy Taylor.
For the first time since 2023, the Pioneers will face an 11-game schedule which will include nine South Atlantic Conference contests. TU will also play two non-conference games including its first meeting against neighboring East Tennessee State University in 76 years.
Tusculum will open the season on Thursday, Aug. 27 when they host Bluefield State at Pioneer Field. The Pioneers won last year’s inaugural meeting with the Big Blues, 49-23 in Bluefield. Bluefield State went 3-7 last season and tied for seventh place in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
For the first time since 1950, Tusculum and ETSU will square off on the gridiron on Sep. 5 as the Pioneers make the short 26-mile trek to Johnson City to take on the NCAA-FCS Buccaneers. ETSU leads the all-time series with Tusculum, 18-5-3 and have won 13 in a row over the Pioneers. The Bucs went 7-5 in 2025 and tied for third place in the Southern Conference. Coach Taylor is a 1988 graduate of ETSU and was a three-year starter and team captain for the Bucs. He also served on the ETSU coaching staff for nine seasons where he was associate head coach and defensive coordinator.
Tusculum opens the conference season on Sep. 12 when they travel to Emory & Henry. The Wasps are coming off an 8-3 campaign including a third-place finish in the SAC. Since the first meeting in 1915, E&H leads the series with the Pioneers, 17-4.
Anderson visits Greeneville on Sep. 19 as the Trojans posted a 5-6 record last season and finished eighth in the league. This will be the third meeting between TU and Anderson as the series is tied at 1-1.
On Sep. 26, the Pioneers welcome the Catawba Indians for the 30th meeting between the two schools. Catawba went 7-4 last year and tied for fifth place in the conference. The Catawba Indians leads the series 19-10.
Tusculum opens the month of October with back-to-back road trips to Mars Hill and Wingate. On Oct. 3, the Pioneers travel across Sam’s Gap to face Mars Hill. The Lions went 5-6 last year and finished seventh in the SAC. TU leads the series 23-17-2 which began in 1922.
Tusculum is off to Wingate on Oct. 10 to take on the Bulldogs. Wingate finished runner-up in the conference last year, went 9-3 and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs. The Bulldogs lead the series 18-9 with the Pioneers winning its last trip to Belk Stadium, 23-21 in 2023.
The Pioneers host UVA Wise on Oct. 17 for Homecoming 2026. The Highland Cavaliers went 1-9 last year and finished ninth in the league standings. This will be the 17th meeting between the two schools in a series that is tied 8-8.
Following an open date, Tusculum will play consecutive road outings at Newberry and Lenoir-Rhyne. The Pioneers go to Newberry on Oct. 31 to take on the defending SAC champions. The Wolves enjoyed its best season in school history going 12-2, winning the Super Region 2 title and advanced to the NCAA National semifinals. This will be the 26th meeting between TU and Newberry as the Wolves lead 15-11. This will be Tusculum’s first trip to Newberry since opening the spring 2021 COVID season and its first SAC road game with the Wolves since 2019.
On Nov. 7, the Pioneers go to Lenoir-Rhyne to take on the Bears. LR went 6-5 and tied for fifth in the conference. The Bears and Pioneers first met on the football field in 1924 as LR leads the series 18-11.
Tusculum closes out the regular season on Nov. 14, taking on arch rival Carson-Newman at Pioneer Field. In the second oldest collegiate gridiron rivalry in the State of Tennessee (1904), the Eagles lead the series 37-15-2. C-N went 7-3 a year ago and tied for third place in the conference.
The NCAA II Playoffs begin Nov. 21 and will be held at campus sites, culminating with the National Championship Game in December.
