Bucknell Football Posts 2026 Spring Ball Schedule, Practices Begin March 21

Bucknell football opened its 2026 spring ball Saturday at the Pascucci Family Athletics Complex in Lewisburg, with the first practice of a 15-session schedule that runs through April. The athletics department published the full spring schedule on March 16, five days before the opening session.

The 2026 slate adds one practice to last year's total. The 2025 spring schedule comprised 14 practices beginning March 18 and concluded with the annual Spring Game at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on April 18 at 6 p.m. This year's schedule stretches across March and April as well, with a Junior Day set for April 11 as a notable addition to the calendar.

The Bison carry momentum from a decorated 2024 season into this spring. Quarterback Ralph Rucker IV earned Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year honors and was named a Walter Payton Award finalist. Running back Tariq Thomas took home Patriot League Rookie of the Year, and center John Ohnegian was named Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Ten Bison landed on the All-Patriot League teams, and a league-high four players earned Academic All-Patriot League recognition.

Head coach Dave Cecchini, who entered his eighth season at the helm this spring after the program noted he was beginning his seventh in 2025, has built one of the Patriot League's more decorated academic and on-field programs in recent years.

The 2025 spring schedule offered a blueprint for what Bucknell's spring ball typically looks like: weekday practices at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday sessions in the morning, all held at the Pascucci Family Athletics Complex and open to the public free of charge. Whether the same public access policy applies to the 2026 sessions has not been confirmed in the schedule announcement.

The full 15-practice schedule for 2026, including individual dates and times beyond the March 21 start, had not been released publicly as of the announcement date.