Fall 2026 Is Already Heating Up
Women’s and men’s soccer are underway, volleyball is opening with major national matchups, field hockey is returning, and college football is right around the corner.
Big Ten Women’s Soccer
The Big Ten women’s soccer season is already providing plenty of exciting matchups.
Illinois responded well after opening with a scoreless draw against Georgia. The Fighting Illini earned their first win of the season with a 2-1 comeback victory over Cincinnati. Illinois controlled much of the early action before Cincinnati briefly took the lead, but the Illini found a way to turn the match around late.
The schedule doesn’t get much easier. Illinois will face UIC before welcoming a very good Saint Louis team to Champaign. That matchup could be one of the most intriguing games of the early season.
Penn State began its season with a statement result, playing No. 2 Notre Dame to a 2-2 draw on the road. The Nittany Lions then faced another difficult opponent in West Virginia.
The Mountaineers came away with a 2-1 victory, giving Penn State its first loss of the season. West Virginia entered the match ranked No. 22, while Penn State was No. 23, making this another high-level early-season test for the Nittany Lions.
Now, Penn State finally gets to return home. The Nittany Lions will welcome Bucknell and Brown to the newly revamped Jeffrey Field, giving the program and its fans a chance to celebrate the return of home soccer.
UCLA finally has its first victory of the season.
After opening with a loss to BYU and a draw against Duke, the Bruins defeated San Diego 2-0. It was also the first win for new head coach Gof Boyoko, giving UCLA some momentum heading into a very challenging stretch.
The next challenge is a big one: a road trip to Stanford. After that, UCLA will travel to face Santa Clara. The Bruins are about to find out a lot about themselves.
Men’s College Soccer
UCLA men’s soccer couldn’t have asked for a much better start.
The Bruins went on the road and defeated No. 11 Virginia 2-1. Winning at one of the nation’s top programs is an excellent way to begin a season, and UCLA immediately has momentum heading into its home opener.
The Bruins will now welcome CSU Bakersfield and Denver as they begin their home schedule.
Penn State opened its men’s season with a 3-2 home victory over Mercyhurst. The Nittany Lions will now hit the road against Missouri State before returning home for a rivalry matchup with Pittsburgh.
They’ll also face Division III Westminster, giving the team a busy stretch of games as it continues to build momentum.
SIUE men’s soccer got a very difficult introduction to the season, falling 5-0 on the road at Kansas City.
The Cougars have little time to dwell on the result, though. Their schedule gets even more challenging with road games at Michigan State and Michigan before the annual Bronze Boot matchup against Saint Louis at Korte Stadium. After that, SIUE travels to Loyola Chicago.
That’s about as challenging an opening stretch as a team could ask for.
Saint Louis, meanwhile, looked excellent in its opener. The Billikens dominated Seattle 4-0, giving them plenty of momentum heading into the rest of the nonconference schedule.
And the Bronze Boot matchup against SIUE is already looming as one of the most anticipated local games of the season.
North Carolina
North Carolina continues to look like a national championship contender.
The Tar Heels defeated Arkansas 2-0 before suffering their first setback of the season, a 3-2 loss against a strong Michigan State team.
On the men’s side, North Carolina opened with a 1-1 draw on the road against Georgetown. The Tar Heels will continue their road trip against Memphis before finally returning home to face VCU.
Florida State
Florida State has looked every bit like the defending national champion early in the season.
The Seminoles began with a perfect road trip before returning home and defeating Florida Atlantic 3-0. They then traveled to Gainesville for the latest chapter of the rivalry with Florida.
That rivalry produced a major surprise, as Florida handed Florida State its first loss of the season, winning 3-1. It was Florida’s first victory over the Seminoles since 2017 and ended Florida State’s eight-game winning streak in the rivalry.
BYU
BYU opened with a narrow 1-0 loss at Wisconsin before returning home and responding with a 2-0 victory over USC.
The Cougars now turn their attention to Minnesota as they continue a schedule that will provide plenty of opportunities to make a statement.
Illinois State
Illinois State continued its strong start with a 1-0 victory over Lindenwood.
The Redbirds will now return home to face UT Martin before hitting the road for games against Northwestern and Loyola Chicago.
Texas A&M
Texas A&M had a disappointing opening result, falling 3-2 to Texas State.
The Aggies responded exactly how you’d expect from a team looking to bounce back, dominating Sam Houston 5-0. The atmosphere surrounding Texas A&M soccer was another reminder of just how much support these teams receive in College Station.
The Aggies will close out the month with Air Force coming to town.
College Volleyball Arrives
If you thought soccer was providing enough action, college volleyball has now joined the party.
The 2026 season opened with the Jeep AVCA First Serve in Milwaukee, bringing together some of the nation’s best programs. The field includes the four teams that reached the 2025 national semifinals — defending champion Texas A&M, Kentucky, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin — along with Arizona State, Louisville, SMU, Texas, Marquette and Xavier.
And the tournament has already delivered.
Texas A&M, the defending national champion, fell to Louisville 3-1 in its opener. Wisconsin split its first two matches, losing to Kentucky before bouncing back with a sweep of Louisville.
The final day brings Pittsburgh against Xavier and Texas against Marquette, giving fans two more nationally relevant matchups before the showcase concludes.
It is an incredible way to start the volleyball season.
Spikes Under the Lights
And the biggest volleyball spectacle may still be ahead.
Nebraska, Penn State, SMU and Florida will participate in the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
Nebraska will face Florida, while Penn State will meet SMU. The winners will meet for a $1 million prize, with each participating team receiving an appearance payment as part of the event.
Turning the home of the Dallas Cowboys into a volleyball venue is already a spectacle by itself. Putting four major programs on the court with tens of thousands of fans expected makes this one of the most unique events in college volleyball history.
For Nebraska, Penn State, SMU and Florida, this is about much more than simply opening a season. It’s an opportunity to showcase college volleyball on an enormous stage.
Volleyball Around the Country
Once the opening showcases are finished, the rest of the country gets going.
BYU will begin with a road tournament featuring Florida Gulf Coast and Florida State.
Illinois will host a tournament featuring Cincinnati and Syracuse.
Illinois State will travel for a tournament featuring Seton Hall, NJIT and Fairleigh Dickinson.
Missouri will open at home against Western Illinois, Towson and Idaho.
Nebraska will continue its season after Spikes Under the Lights with a matchup against Texas, while Penn State will face UConn, High Point and Hofstra.
Saint Louis will open at home against Buffalo, UIC and Lindenwood.
SIUE will travel to Arkansas for a tournament against Arkansas, UTSA and UT Arlington.
And UCLA will have one of the most unique starts of all, playing a home-and-home rivalry series against Long Beach State.
There will be no shortage of volleyball to watch.
College Field Hockey Returns
College field hockey is also preparing to return, creating another sport for fans to follow alongside volleyball.
North Carolina, the most successful program in the sport, has another challenging opening weekend. The Tar Heels will face Michigan before taking on Iowa in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. North Carolina has opened against those two programs for much of the past two decades, making the matchups a familiar but extremely difficult start to the season.
Iowa will face Wake Forest before meeting North Carolina, meaning the Hawkeyes will immediately be thrown into a pair of major tests.
Penn State will open its regular season at home against Virginia before hosting Lock Haven.
Saint Louis also has a challenging opening stretch, with the Billikens set to face Michigan State and Ohio.
With volleyball and field hockey arriving at nearly the same time, the fall sports calendar is about to get extremely busy.
College Football Is Almost Here
And then there’s college football.
The sport that completely takes over the fall is almost back.
Packed stadiums. Fight songs. Tailgates. Rivalries. Marching bands. Student sections. Traditions. Crazy fans. And those moments that make college football unlike anything else in sports.
Several of the programs we follow will welcome fans back to their stadiums.
BYU will open against Utah Tech.
Illinois State, coming off an FCS national championship runner-up finish, will open against St. Francis.
Florida State will begin against New Mexico State.
Illinois will host UAB.
Iowa will open against Northern Illinois.
Penn State will welcome Marshall.
UCLA will begin its season on the road against California. The Bruins’ schedule has them opening away from the Rose Bowl before returning home.
Missouri will open against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
And Texas A&M will begin its season against Missouri State.
Every one of these programs has something different that makes its football atmosphere special. From the traditions of Iowa and Penn State to the energy of BYU, Illinois, Illinois State, Missouri, Florida State, UCLA and Texas A&M, college football is about to bring an entirely different level of excitement.
Fall Sports Are Just Getting Started
The best part about this time of year is that there isn’t just one sport to follow.
Women’s soccer is already producing major matchups.
Men’s soccer is getting underway.
Volleyball has arrived with some of the biggest programs in the country immediately facing one another.
Field hockey is preparing for its return.
And college football is waiting right around the corner.
There are national championship contenders, rivalries, new seasons, new stadium experiences and plenty of opportunities for teams to make early statements.
College sports are back, and the fall is only getting started.