Furman Unveils 2026 12-Game Football Schedule Featuring Tennessee Trip

Furman Athletics unveiled a 12-game 2026 football schedule that mixes a four-game nonconference slate with a full Southern Conference rotation, and it places a high-profile trip to Tennessee at the center of the Paladins' offseason headlines. The release noted "Six home games, including a night home opener, and a matchup against Tennessee highlight Furman’s 2026 football schedule, which was released today. The 12-game slate, split evenly with six home and six away."

The Paladins will open at Paladin Stadium on Aug. 29 against Division II Anderson, a game Furman described as a newly added matchup. Furman then travels to Neyland Stadium to face Tennessee on Sept. 5, a fixture that carries FBS-caliber visibility and game-day revenue; an ESPN schedule snippet listed "Tickets as low as $85" for the Tennessee contest. Furman follows with SoCon road action at Mercer on Sept. 12 before returning home Sept. 19 to host South Carolina State. The nonconference slate closes at Richmond on Sept. 26.

Conference play accelerates in October, with Wofford visiting Oct. 3 and Tennessee Tech traveling to Greenville Oct. 10, followed by a scheduled off week on Oct. 17. Homecoming is slated for Oct. 24 against Samford, with Western Carolina visiting Oct. 31. Furman finishes November with road trips to The Citadel on Nov. 7 and VMI on Nov. 21, sandwiched around a Nov. 14 home date with Chattanooga. The schedule page from FBSchedules flags Mercer, Wofford, Tennessee Tech, Samford (Homecoming), Western Carolina, The Citadel, Chattanooga, and VMI as SoCon contests and notes kickoff times and TV will be added as announced.

Athletic and coaching context frames the schedule. Clay Hendrix enters his 10th season leading the Paladins in 2026, carrying a 60-43 overall mark and a 45-25 SoCon record. Furman finished 2025 at 6-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play, leaving Hendrix and staff with an even ledger to improve. The Tennessee date offers both a recruiting showcase and a balance-sheet opportunity that mid-major programs rely on to fund scholarships and operations; the Anderson game, by contrast, provides a home opener designed to tune the roster before the SoCon grind.

Fans on the Gopaladins forum have already been parsing the calendar and the broader scheduling landscape. User apaladin wrote Dec. 18, 2025, "Teams had not scheduled four ooc games for 2026 as it was to be an 11 game season before it was changed to 12. I think a lot of AD’s was counting on TTU for being the 12th game. Now it will be hard to find a 12th game, most likely a d2 game for the 12th." Another user, FUATT, noted Dec. 19, 2025, that "breaking contracts on scheduled 4th games was definitely an issue for several teams in the conference," reflecting how financial and contractual realities shape nonconference scheduling.

For Paladins supporters, the immediate implications are clear: a marquee road test, six home dates to energize season-ticket sales and campus life, and the stability of a veteran head coach with conference success on his résumé. What comes next will matter as much as the opponents: Furman and FBSchedules will announce kickoff times and TV windows, and the program will need to confirm which game is the promised night home opener and finalize ticket plans. The 2026 slate gives Clay Hendrix a compact, modern challenge, and fans plenty of dates to circle as the Paladins look to turn 6-6 into a step forward.