Abilene Christian Adds Mercer, Begins Four-Game Home-and-Home Series with Lamar

Abilene Christian announced on March 6, 2026 that it has added Mercer to its home schedule and will open a new four‑game home‑and‑home series with Lamar, beginning Saturday, Aug. 29 at Provost Umphrey Stadium in Beaumont, Texas, per the ACU athletics release by Evan Nemec. The Mercer home date is set for Saturday, Sept. 26 at Wildcat Stadium with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff listed on the ACU schedule.

FBSchedules noted the Aug. 29 game “marks the 25th all‑time meeting” between ACU and Lamar; BigCountryHomepage traces the series back to 1953 and reported that ACU has won the last four matchups, including a 38-20 victory in the first round of the 2025 FCS Playoffs. The 2026 contest in Beaumont will open the Wildcats’ season on the road and begins a series that sends ACU home in 2027, back to Beaumont in 2028, and home again in 2029 under the four‑game plan.

The Mercer date completes ACU’s non‑conference slate, which already includes a Sept. 5 trip to Texas Tech in Lubbock, a Sept. 12 home game against Stephen F. Austin at Wildcat Stadium with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff, and a Sept. 19 road trip to Idaho in Moscow. FBSchedules characterized the additions as rounding out Abilene Christian’s 2026 non‑conference slate. Two open dates remain on the ACU calendar on Oct. 3 and Oct. 24.

ACU’s meeting with Mercer will be just the second all‑time matchup between the programs. BigCountryHomepage recalled the only prior meeting was a 20-17 ACU win in Macon, Ga., during the COVID‑shortened 2020 season, when ACU scored ten points in the final six minutes and Blair Zepeda’s 38‑yard field goal on the game’s final snap produced the victory. The Sept. 26 return to Wildcat Stadium gives ACU a chance to host Mercer for the first time.

Conference play had been previously released by the United Athletic Conference and remains on the ACU schedule. Home UAC dates listed on ACU’s site include Oct. 10 vs Central Arkansas (7:00 p.m.), Oct. 31 vs West Georgia (3:00 p.m.), and Nov. 21 vs Eastern Kentucky (1:00 p.m.). Road conference trips include Oct. 17 at North Alabama (6:00 p.m.), Nov. 7 at Tarleton State (time TBA), and Nov. 14 at Austin Peay (time TBA). Several kickoff times on the overall schedule are listed as TBA.

Local coverage has framed the additions with conference context; BigCountryHomepage described ACU as the “back-to-back United Athletic Conference defending champion” and reported that both Lamar and Mercer finished the 2025 season ranked in the Top 25 nationally. ACU’s March 6 release and the FBSchedules listing together finalize a 2026 calendar that mixes high‑profile road tests at Texas Tech and Idaho with regional rivalry dates against Lamar and Mercer and positions ACU’s conference stretch to begin in October.