MAC 2026 schedule release: Michigan MAC slates, takeaways for CMU, EMU, WMU

The Mid-American Conference released football schedules for the 2026 season on Tuesday morning, revealing for the first time the slates of games for the three Michigan MAC programs, among others. 

It’s one of the later schedule releases for any of the conferences, largely a virtue of the league adding Sacramento State as a five-year football member. The MAC championship is scheduled for Dec. 5, in Detroit at Ford Field. 

The schedules for the trio of Mitten teams in the MAC are below, followed by some takeaways.

2026 schedules for CMU, EMU and WMU

Dates are Saturdays unless otherwise noted.

Central Michigan
Week 1 — at New Mexico, Sept. 5
Week 2 — vs. Colgate, Sept. 12
Week 3 — vs. Wyoming, Sept. 17
Week 4 — at Miami (FL), Sept. 26
Week 5 — vs. Akron, Oct. 3
Week 6 — at Ohio, Oct. 10
Week 7 — vs. Western Michigan, Oct. 17
Week 8 — vs. Miami, Oct. 24
Week 9 — Idle
Week 10 — at Eastern Michigan (Ford FIeld), Nov. 4 (Wednesday #MACtion)
Week 11 — vs. Sacramento State, Nov. 11 (Wednesday #MACtion)
Week 12 — at Buffalo, Nov. 18 (Wednesday #MACtion)
Week 13 — at Ball State, Nov. 28

Eastern Michigan
Week 0 — vs. Sacramento State, Aug. 29
Week 1 — vs. San Jose State, Sept. 4 (Friday)
Week 2 — at Michigan State, Sept. 12
Week 3 — at Wisconsin, Sept. 19
Week 4 — vs. Lindenwood, Sept. 26
Week 5 — at UMass, Oct. 3
Week 6 — at Akron, Oct. 10
Week 7 — vs. Toledo, Oct. 17
Week 8 — at Ohio, Oct. 24
Week 9 — Idle
Week 10 — vs. Central Michigan (Ford Field), Nov. 4 (Wednesday #MACtion)
Week 11 — Idle
Week 12 — at Western Michigan, Nov. 17 (Tuesday #MACtion)
Week 13 — vs. Kent State, Nov. 24 (Tuesday #MACtion)

Western Michigan
Week 1 — at Michigan, Sept. 5
Week 2 — vs. Monmouth, Sept. 12
Week 3 — at Rice, Sept. 19
Week 4 — vs. Boise State, Sept. 26
Week 5 — at Buffalo, Oct. 3
Week 6 — vs. Kent State, Oct. 10
Week 7 — at Central Michigan, Oct. 17
Week 8 — at Toledo, Oct. 24
Week 9 — vs. Bowling Green, Oct. 31
Week 10 — Idle
Week 11 — at Akron, Nov. 10 (Tuesday #MACtion)
Week 12 — vs. Eastern Michigan, Nov. 17 (Tuesday #MACtion)
Week 13 — vs. Miami, Nov. 24 (Tuesday #MACtion)

Takeaways

Consternation in Kalamazoo: Western Michigan has no Saturday home games in November, and just two home Saturdays in the entire conference slate: vs. Kent State on Oct. 10 and vs. Bowling Green on Halloween, Oct. 31.

And the reigning MAC champion is coming off a season averaging more than 20,000 in home attendance, getting a home MAC slate of Kent State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan and Miami. The last two are Tuesday MACtion games in November. It’s not something that athletic leadership at WMU is too happy about, as evidenced by the following quotes from athletic director Dan Bartholomae. 

“From a fan experience standpoint, to have 4 of our first 6 conference games on the road (and 3 of the first 4) presents a unique challenge for us,” Bartholomae said in prepared comments, in response to WMU's schedule. “Particularly when you consider that we are coming off a championship season, and we have built a non-conference schedule that should elevate the league’s profile, this was an odd surprise.  Bronco Nation is known for its grit and its support of our championship programs and we will provide them a great experience this season at Waldo Stadium.  We have two non-conference home games within the first month of the season and have plans to not only celebrate our championship, but also our football history, and we can’t wait for September.”

Bartholomae added more.

“At a time when our league’s profile can and should elevate, it seems like a missed opportunity for the league to showcase one of the league’s best home environments and a program that has invested to retain both coaches and student-athletes from its reigning champion,” he said.

Sacramento State opens MAC tenure trying to survive a quarter in Ypsi: The first any of us will see of Sacramento State as a MAC football member will be a Week 0 game on Aug. 29 at Rynearson Stadium. Thus begins the jokes about Sacramento State, the MACcoon, and surviving a quarter in Ypsilanti. One small nugget: Western Michigan apparently pitched the Week 0 contest to the league, hoping to host Sacramento State in Waldo, but the game went to EMU. 

None of the Michigan MAC teams are going to Sacramento in 2026: They have all been spared, though EMU and CMU host the Hornets. WMU does not play Sacramento State in 2026. What this means, though, is one or multiple Michigan MAC programs are likely to be making the trip to California in 2027. All of them will have played at least once there by the end of the 2028 season. 

Good non-conference matchups: A lot of G5 home-and-homes series have a game this year, which should result in some good matchups. Central Michigan visiting New Mexico and hosting Wyoming in the first three weeks will be great tests for the Chippewas. Western Michigan is hosting Boise State, bringing a Mountain West power to Western Michigan in Week 3. EMU hosts San Jose State, the second year in a row the Spartans have faced a Michigan MAC team, losing to CMU in the 2025 opener. There are the usual buy games going up and down  — EMU at MSU and Wisconsin, WMU at UM, CMU at Miami (FL), plus games against FCS opponents — but the rest of the non-conference slate for the three directional Michigan schools stacks up well. 

Victory Cannon rivalry remains on Saturday: It’s been a popular tweak, moving the rivalry for the Victory Cannon between CMU and WMU back to a Saturday, as 20,000-plus came to Waldo Stadium last fall for a thrilling WMU victory, 24-21. The game returns to Mt. Pleasant, set for Saturday, Oct. 17, which sets up nicely both for the MAC title race, potentially, but also for the chance of a good crowd on a pleasant fall Saturday. 

EMU’s late-season gauntlet: Most of the three schedules for the Michigan MAC teams are fairly balanced, playing a mix of MAC teams expected to contend and others further down the totem pole. But Eastern Michigan’s run starting in mid-October is particularly brutal. The run of games, starting Oct. 17, goes as follows: vs. Toledo, at Ohio, vs. Central Michigan, at Western Michigan. The Eagles do have idle weeks on either side of the Central Michigan game, but that’s four games in a row against teams that finished in the top half of the league last season. A Kent State squad coming off a feisty season to cap the regular season might not be much easier, either. 

EMU draws late #MACtion idle weeks again: It’s the same bug that showed up in Eastern Michigan’s 2025 schedule, with no idle weeks until well into the season. EMU will play nine games in nine weeks to open the season before going idle-MACtion-idle, then two MACtion games to end the year. It’s a tough draw, not getting a reprieve until November, and a repeat of last year.

Free November Saturdays: Outside of Central Michigan playing on the final Saturday of the regular season, as it did in 2025, none of the Michigan MAC teams play another Saturday game in November. All the games are slated for midweek MACtion kickoffs, including the Ford Field matchup between CMU and EMU on Nov. 4.