Villanova Football Releases 2026 Schedule

Villanova Football will join the Patriot League ahead of the 2026 season after spending close to two decades as a member of the CAA. They’ll get off to a hot start in conference play next season, hosting William & Mary in their conference opener on Saturday, Aug. 29, per a league announcement.

The Tribe also departed the CAA for the Patriot League heading into 2026.

The Wildcats, who made the national semifinals in 2025, will then begin a three game road trip, playing their Patriot League road opener at Bucknell on Sept. 5 before a Friday, Sept. 11 buy game at Louisville with a reported $500,000 payout. Villanova will continue with an out-of-conference road game against Long Island (Sept. 19) before home dates against Colgate (Patriot League, Sept. 26) and Morgan State (out-of-conference, Oct. 3).

After a bye week the meat of the Wildcats’ conference schedule begins, with a road game at Fordham (Oct. 17), a home date against Lehigh (Oct. 24), who won the Patriot League last season before Villanova beat them in the second round of the playoffs. They’ll alternate road and home games the rest of the way, travelling to Lafayette (Oct. 31) and Holy Cross (Nov. 14) and hosting Richmond (Nov. 7) and Georgetown (Nov. 21).

Kickoff times aren’t available yet.

The Wildcats will need to replace much of their starting 22 ahead of next season, with quarterback Pat McQuaide, receivers Luke Colella and Lucas Kopecky and offensive linemen Jake Picard, Temi Ajirotutu and Stephane Voltaire all set to graduate. Key defensive losses include linebackers Shane Harzell and Richie Kimmel, while defensive backs Zahmir Dawud and Anthony Hawkins and running backs David Avit and Isaiah Ragland all hit the transfer portal.