GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Six home games, including a night home opener, and a matchup against Tennessee highlight Furman's 2026 football schedule, which was released today.

The 12-game slate, split evenly with six home and six away contests, features eight Southern Conference matchups.

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Furman, coming off a 6-6 campaign last year, expects to return 11 starters, led by defensive end and 2025 consensus All-American and FCS Defensive Player of the Year Joshua Stoneking.
 
The Paladins kick off the season at home on Aug. 29 with a night contest against NCAA Division II upstart Anderson in a matchup of former Commerce (Ga.) High School and Paladin teammates Clay Hendrix '86 and Bobby Lamb '86.  The contest will be Furman's first gridiron meeting with Anderson, which started its football program in 2024 under Lamb, who served as the Paladins' head coach from 2002-10 and later the head mentor at Mercer (2013-19).  Hendrix claimed victories in 2017, '18, and '19 contests during Lamb's tenure at Mercer.
 
Furman's early season schedule includes challenges at both Tennessee (Sept. 5) and defending SoCon champion Mercer (Sept. 12), a home date against 2025 Celebration Bowl champion South Carolina State (Sept. 19), and a road contest versus Richmond (Sept. 26).
 
Furman last played Tennessee in 1942 and will look to turn the tables on Mercer, which had its way with the Paladins last fall in Greenville.
 
South Carolina State makes its first appearance on the schedule since 2015, marking the start of a two-game set between the Paladins and Bulldogs in a series Furman leads 12-5.
 
Furman and Richmond, for many years Southern Conference rivals, last clashed in NCAA FCS playoff action in 2005 in a contest the Paladins won, 24-20, in Richmond.  The Paladins sport a three-game series winning streak against the Spiders.
 
Wofford pays a visit to Paladin Stadium on Oct. 3 for Family Weekend and the 100^th meeting of the Deep South's oldest football rivalry that began in 1889.  Furman holds a 56-36-7 lead in the series.
 
An Oct. 10 road matchup will follow against Tennessee Tech, which begins SoCon play this fall.  Furman blanked the Golden Eagles, 26-0, in 2021 in its last trip to Cookeville and rolled to a 45-10 win in 2023 in Paladin Stadium.
 
Following an Oct. 17 bye week, Furman will play the remainder of its regular season schedule over the final five weeks, beginning with home games versus Samford (Oct. 24), which will highlight Furman's Bicentennial/Homecoming Weekend, and Western Carolina (Oct. 31).
 
The Paladins have gone 5-1 in their last six clashes against Samford, including a 31-13 triumph last year, and own a 36-15-2 all-time series record versus Western Carolina despite dropping the last two meetings.
 
Three games dot the November schedule beginning with a Nov. 7 contest against The Citadel in Charleston in the 106^th renewal of the SoCon's oldest and most played football rivalry.  Furman, which has claimed the last five meetings with the Bulldogs, leads the all-time series 65-37-3.
 
The Paladins conclude their home campaign versus Chattanooga (Nov. 14) and wrap up the regular season at VMI (Nov. 21).
 
Furman will not play East Tennessee State in 2026 following the SoCon's addition of Tennessee Tech as the league's 10^th football playing member institution and planned eight-game league schedule this fall.
 
2026 Furman Football Schedule
Aug. 29 Anderson
Sept. 5 @ Tennessee
Sept. 12 @ Mercer
Sept. 19 South Carolina State
Sept. 26 @ Richmond
Oct. 3 Wofford (Family Weekend)
Oct. 10 @ Tennessee Tech
Oct. 17 Bye
Oct. 24 Samford (Bicentennial/Homecoming)
Oct. 31 Western Carolina
Nov. 7 @ The Citadel
Nov. 14 Chattanooga
Nov. 21 @ VMI