The early-season TV schedule for the upcoming college football season was announced on Wednesday, and the Arizona Wildcats have a blend of afternoon and late-night games to begin the 2026 season.
In addition to all three of Arizona's nonconference opponents, the Wildcats have kickoff times and TV broadcasts scheduled for two Big 12 games.
Arizona's season-opening matchup with Northern Arizona at Casino Del Sol Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5, will kick off at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
The Wildcats' Week 2 matchup — and Big 12 opener — against BYU in Provo will be on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 12:30 p.m. on Fox.
Arizona returns to its nonconference schedule the following week against Northern Illinois in Tucson on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m. on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max, then concludes nonconference play on the road against former Pac-12 foe Washington State on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 4:30 p.m. on CBS.
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The Wildcats' conference game against TCU on Friday, Nov. 6, in Tucson will kick off at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN.
Kickoff times for Arizona's other Big 12 games will be announced the week before the games — or moved to a six-day window.
BYU was previously a nonconference opponent for Arizona for the '26 and '27 seasons, but it was moved to a Big 12 game, with the final nonconference slot being replaced by the Washington State home-and-home series.
The Wildcats are 12-14-1 all-time against BYU dating back to 1936. Arizona and BYU have matched up as nonconference opponents in recent years, and the Wildcats lost their two conference games to BYU since joining the Big 12 two years ago, including a 41-19 beatdown in Provo in 2024.
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita gestures skyward as he and the Wildcats celebrate his touchdown run in the first quarter vs. Kansas State, Sept. 12, 2025, at Arizona Stadium.
Arizona kicked off the 2016 season against BYU in Glendale, then opened up the Kevin Sumlin era in 2018 with a loss in Tucson, and started the Jedd Fisch era against BYU in Las Vegas, with the Cougars winning, 24-16.
Since Arizona beat BYU in the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl, the Wildcats have lost five straight games to the Cougars. BYU's most recent win was a double-overtime thriller in Tucson in 2025.
Arizona returns to nonconference action to play against Northern Illinois on Sept. 19 and Washington State in Pullman on Sept. 26. The Wildcats and Cougars are starting a home-and-home series that will continue in Tucson in 2027. The first matchup between Arizona and WSU will be at Gesa Field in Pullman in 2026.
Washington State was one of two teams to stay in the Pac-12 in 2024 despite conference realignment, along with the Oregon State Beavers. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah bolted for the Big 12, while USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon joined the Big Ten. Cal and Stanford left the “Conference of Champions” to compete in the ACC.
Arizona is 28-19 all-time against Washington State since the first contest in 1963. The Wildcats won the previous contest, a 44-6 drubbing in Pullman, which kick-started Arizona’s seven-game winning streak to end the 2023 season.
Arizona's only bye of the season is on Oct. 17, before the Wildcats return to Casino Del Sol Stadium to play Iowa State — one of four losses for the Wildcats in 2025 — on Oct. 24.
This upcoming season will be the fourth all-time meeting between Arizona and TCU. The Wildcats lost their first conference matchup against TCU in 2024, when former wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan set Arizona's all-time receiving yards record. Arizona beat TCU in overtime in Tucson in 2003. TCU is led by fifth-year head coach and former UA offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes.
All of Arizona's games will be broadcast on either ESPN's family of networks, Fox, FS1, TNT, TruTV and HBO Max.
Contact Justin Spears, the Star's Arizona football beat reporter, at jspears@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports
Justin Spears
Sports Reporter
