Bemidji State Releases 2026 100th Anniversary Football Schedule; Home Opener Aug. 29

Bemidji State University released its 2026 football schedule in a Feb. 24 athletics release by Kristin Farris, billing the campaign as the program’s "100th Anniversary" season and scheduling a home opener Aug. 29 at Chet Anderson Stadium against Michigan Tech as the annual Shrine Game in partnership with the Headwaters Shrine Club. The Shrine Game will include community engagement focused on screening clinics for children, and the release states the Beavers will play six home games in 2026.

The full schedule as published in local coverage lists game dates, opponents, times and locations: Aug. 29 — Michigan Tech, 6 p.m., home opener at Chet Anderson Stadium; Sept. 5 — Southwest Minnesota State, 2 p.m., home and designated senior day; Sept. 12 — at Minnesota State, 2 p.m.; Sept. 19 — at Concordia-St. Paul, 2 p.m.; Sept. 26 — Minot State, 2 p.m., designated Homecoming; Oct. 3 — at Northern State, 6 p.m.; Oct. 10 — Wayne State, 1 p.m.; Oct. 24 — at Jamestown, 1 p.m.; Oct. 31 — Minnesota State Moorhead, 1 p.m.; Nov. 7 — Minnesota Duluth, 1 p.m.; Nov. 14 — at U-Mary, 1 p.m. Bemidji Pioneer coverage datelined Feb. 26 reproduces these times and the ordering, while the BSU release emphasizes the six home contests and the Aug. 29 opener.

Several special designations appear across the schedule: the Aug. 29 opener is noted as the third straight season opener against Michigan Tech; Sept. 5 versus Southwest Minnesota State is labeled senior day with the Pioneer noting that the last senior day against SMSU was in 2024 when Bemidji State won 33-0; Sept. 26 is Homecoming against Minot State; and Oct. 24 is described as the program’s first trip to Jamestown. One Pioneer excerpt contains a typographical variant spelling "Jamestwon"; the opponent and location are correctly listed elsewhere as Jamestown.

The schedule release follows a 4-7 2025 campaign, and Bemidji State enters 2026 aiming to rebound and return to postseason play after making the playoffs four straight years from 2021-24, the Pioneer coverage notes. The athletics site post by Kristin Farris is timestamped Feb. 24, 2026 at 10:59 a.m., and local reporting appears under a Feb. 26 dateline; those publication dates frame the release as coming out ahead of the anniversary season.

National listings also carry the schedule: ESPN is cited as carrying the full 2026 Bemidji State Beavers schedule and as including game times, TV listings and ticket information for all games, though the athletics release and Pioneer reporting provide the game-by-game dates and kickoff times used here. Photo and multimedia assets associated with the release and local coverage include photographer credits such as Brent Cizek, Bart McAninch and Vincent Labelle for related game images.

With the calendar set and six home dates confirmed, Bemidji State’s 100th Anniversary season begins Aug. 29 at Chet Anderson Stadium, pairing a traditional opener against Michigan Tech with the Headwaters Shrine Club partnership and youth screening clinics as the program seeks to reverse a 4-7 finish in 2025 and rebuild toward postseason contention.