The Big Ten Conference has released the 2026 football schedule, confirming dates for UCLA’s nine conference games. Alongside three non-conference matchups, UCLA will play seven home games and five away games during the upcoming season.
Season tickets are now available for purchase. Game times and television broadcast details will be announced later.
Bob Chesney, entering his first year as head coach of the Bruins, will lead the team in its season opener against California on September 5 at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. The home opener follows on September 12 when UCLA hosts San Diego State.
Big Ten play begins for UCLA on September 19 with a home game against Purdue. This marks Purdue’s first visit to UCLA since 1979.
UCLA will travel outside the Pacific time zone only once in its first eight games, heading to Maryland on September 26. The last meeting between these teams saw UCLA win 20-17 at home, giving them a 2-1 advantage in their series history.
After a bye week, the Bruins face Oregon at Autzen Stadium on October 10. The long-standing rivalry between these teams began in 1928, with UCLA holding a slight edge overall.
A stretch of three consecutive home games follows: Wisconsin visits on October 17 (its first regular-season game at UCLA since 1980), Michigan State arrives October 24 (first visit since 1974), and Nevada plays on October 31 after having its matchup rescheduled from earlier in the season.
The closing part of the schedule includes an away game at Minnesota on November 7 and a home contest against Illinois on November 15. On November 21, UCLA travels to Michigan’s “Big House” for their first matchup there since 1996. The regular season concludes with a home game against USC in the annual Battle for L.A., marking their uninterrupted rivalry since 1936.
Under current scheduling guidelines, each Big Ten team plays nine intraconference games per year and faces every other conference opponent at least twice but no more than three times over five years. All eighteen conference members compete for a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game set for December 5, which grants automatic entry into the College Football Playoff to its winner.
