Valparaiso to Host Lawrence Tech in Historic First Meeting Aug. 29

Brown Field, the 5,000-seat home of Valparaiso football, will stage a matchup that has never happened before. The Beacons compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision as a member of the Pioneer Football League, while Lawrence Tech's football team competes in the Mideast League of the Mid-States Football Association in the NAIA — making this a rare cross-level scheduling addition that gives Valparaiso fans an early-season home game to circle.

Valparaiso confirmed on March 19, 2026 that it will host the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, at Brown Field in Valparaiso, Ind. The game will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs on the gridiron. Lawrence Technological University is a private university in Southfield, Michigan, situated in the suburban Detroit corridor. Lawrence Tech announced in January 2017 that it would resume intercollegiate football competition after a hiatus of more than 70 years, and began playing a full varsity schedule in the MSFA in the fall of 2019. The Blue Devils finished the 2025 season at 2-8, going 1-4 in MSFA Mideast play.

The Lawrence Tech addition is the third non-conference game on Valparaiso's 2026 slate. The Beacons will also travel to face Murray State on Sept. 12 and Indiana State on Sept. 19. Should Valparaiso add a fourth non-conference opponent, that game would slot into either Week 1 (Sept. 3-5) or Week 9 (Oct. 29-31).

Andy Waddle has served as Valparaiso's head coach since 2025, a debut season that ended 1-9 overall and 0-6 in conference play. The Lawrence Tech game opens the 2026 season at home before the schedule turns demanding on the road.

Valparaiso's eight-game Pioneer Football League slate was revealed in January. The Beacons open PFL action at home against Butler on Sept. 26, then travel to Morehead State on Oct. 3. Home dates against Drake (Oct. 10) and Presbyterian (Oct. 24) follow, before road trips to San Diego (Oct. 17) and Dayton (Nov. 7). The conference schedule closes with an away game at Stetson on Nov. 14 and a home finale against St. Thomas on Nov. 21.

The Aug. 29 kickoff against Lawrence Tech gives Waddle's program its first home gate of the fall against an opponent it has never faced, a blank-slate matchup that opens a season with four home PFL games and significant road mileage to Murray State, Indiana State, San Diego, Dayton, and Stetson.