Arizona Football adds Northern Illinois to 2026 schedule

The 2023 Arizona Football season may be months away, but future scheduling is still ongoing as the Wildcats have added Northern Illinois for 2026.

We are now entering year three of the Jedd Fisch era, and already the future of Arizona Football is taking shape as the Wildcats are continuing to schedule out their non-conference opponent’s in the coming years.

Well, making news on Friday afternoon, FBSchedules.com reportedly announced that the Wildcats will play host to Northern Illinois in 2026.

A respectable football program from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), NIU’s campus sits in DeKalb, Illinois, and the Huskies are set to come to Tucson on Sept. 19, 2026, this reportedly just one week after the Wildcats take on the BYU Cougars in Provo, UT.

With the addition of Northern Illinois, Arizona Football has filled its 2026 non-conference schedule, with the Huskies taking the last spot.

As we should all be aware of by now, it is that scheduling for football games is a confusing and complicated process that is done well in advance, and already, the Wildcats have their three, non-conference games scheduled for 2026, with the matchup against Northern Illinois being the final non-conference game.

Beyond that, Arizona already has a majority of its scheduling done in other years, with very few spots left open in their future non-conference schedules.

As for Northern Illinois, this is a solid program that has seen plenty of success over the years.

Led by head coach Thomas Hammock, the Huskies had a rough 2022, finishing 3-9, but will look to bounce back in 2023!

For fans looking for some exciting matchups for the Wildcats  in the coming seasons, start marking your calendars now! The Wildcats will take on Mississippi State (’23), Kansas State (’24 & ’25), Nebraska (’28 & ’31), Virginia Tech (’29 & ’30), and Alabama (’32 & ’33).

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