Delaware football team announces future opponents

NEWARK — Even though it is moving up to the FBS level, the Delaware football team will continue to play some FCS opponents.

Today, the Blue Hens annouced they’ve added three FCS foes to future schedules as non-conference home matchups.

Delaware is slated to host Merrimack in 2026, Long Island in 2027 and Bucknell in 2029. Each game completes the nonconference schedule for those seasons.

The contest against Merrimack will take place on Sept. 19, 2026, and will be the first-ever matchup between the Hens and Warriors. Delaware will open the season with a home game against Coastal Carolina on Sept. 3 and will also play road games at Vanderbilt (Sept. 12) and Virginia (Sept. 26).

The Blue Hens will play another first-time opponent when they welcome LIU to Delaware Stadium for the season opener on Sept. 2, 2027. It is the fourth game on the slate for 2027 as UD will also travel to Penn State (Sept. 11) before hosting James Madison (Sept. 17) and closing the season at UConn (Nov. 27).

The game against Bucknell will be played on Sept. 8, 2029, and is the home opener for Delaware. The two programs have met 33 times in their series history, with UD holding a 22-11 advantage including winning 11 of the past 12 meetings.

Delaware will open the season at Pitt (Sept. 1) and then will open a home-and-home series with Buffalo (Sept. 15) in Newark before wrapping up the series with the Chanticleers (Sept. 22) in Conway, S.Sc,’

Delaware has also completed its nonconference schedule for its inaugural FBS season in 2025. The Blue Hens will open the season at home against Delaware State (Aug. 28) before traveling to Colorado (Sept. 6) for a matchup with the Buffs.

UConn makes the trip to Newark on Sept. 13. Delaware’s previously-announced game at Wake Forest in 2025 has been moved back a couple of months and will now be played on Nov. 22, 2025.