Harvard adds future dates with Montana State, UC Davis, Wofford and Richmond

Harvard is turning its future schedule into a statement of intent. The Crimson announced on May 12, 2026 that they will play six games against four first-time opponents, including reigning national champion Montana State, 2025 quarterfinalist UC Davis, Wofford and Richmond, in a non-conference run that stretches from Cambridge to Bozeman and back again.

The headline dates give the plan its weight. UC Davis will visit Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Sept. 18, 2027, before Harvard heads to Davis, California, on Sept. 20, 2031. Montana State will host Harvard on Sept. 16, 2028. Wofford will come to Cambridge in 2028. Richmond will host the Crimson in 2032 after Harvard welcomes the Spiders to Cambridge in 2031. In a schedule built for national attention, Harvard is not simply filling openings. It is deliberately pairing itself with programs that have recent playoff credibility and recognizable FCS stature.

That approach fits where Harvard is as a program. The Crimson won their third straight Ivy League title in 2025, finished 9-2 overall and 6-1 in conference play, and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA FCS Playoffs in the Ivy League’s first postseason-eligible season. Harvard also ended the year ranked No. 20 in the Stats Perform poll and No. 23 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. Andrew Aurich, entering his third season as head coach in 2026, has already guided the Crimson to a 17-4 record across his first two years, and the rising profile is showing up in the opponents Harvard is willing to carry onto the schedule.

The matchups also carry real geographic and historical punch. UC Davis said its 2027 trip to Cambridge will be its first-ever game against an Ivy League opponent, and the Aggies’ visit will mark the first time a Big Sky team has traveled to the Northeast to face an Ivy school. Montana State brings the strongest brand of the group after beating Illinois State 35-34 in overtime to win the 2026 FCS championship. Wofford adds a veteran postseason presence as a 10-time FCS Playoff team, while Richmond has reached the playoffs in three of the last four seasons and won postseason games in two of those trips.

Harvard’s 2026 non-conference schedule already includes New Hampshire, Colgate and Holy Cross, and the Crimson will face at least one opponent coming off an FCS playoff berth for the seventh time in eight seasons, excluding 2020. That is not a passive scheduling pattern. It is a national profile built one marquee matchup at a time.