ORLANDO – UCF Athletics announced Thursday that the Knights have agreed to future home-and-home football series with Pitt and Northwestern, beginning with a matchup against the Panthers in 2026.
Here are the dates and sites for the series:
- Sept. 12, 2026: UCF at Pitt – Acrisure Stadium (Formerly known as Heinz Field) in Pittsburgh
- Sept. 15, 2029: Pitt vs. UCF – FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando
- Sept. 9, 2028: UCF at Northwestern – Ryan Field in Chicago
- Sept. 6, 2031: Northwestern vs. UCF – FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando
“We look forward to welcoming visitors to Orlando from Pitt and Northwestern and the road games are fantastic cities for our fans to travel,” UCF vice president and director of athletics Terry Mohajir said. “Pennsylvania is currently ranked a top-five state UCF students come from and Chicago is home to one of our top alumni communities.
“With a nine-game Big 12 schedule, we’re very strategic in how we schedule each year. Our philosophy for non-conference has been to play a Power Four, a Group of Five team and an FCS program. As we navigate the analytics of the new College Football Playoff, we will continue to evaluate how we schedule.”
UCF and Pitt have met three times in the history of the programs with the Panthers owning a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series. The two last met during the 2019 season when the Knights came up short by one point, 35-34, in Pittsburgh. UCF defeated Pitt 45-14 in Orlando in 2018 during the Knights’ historic 25-game winning streak.
The 2028 game will be the first meeting between UCF and Northwestern.
UCF also announced additional games on the Knights’ upcoming schedule. Below is a look at future seasons schedules with Big 12 opponents through 2028.
2025
Non-Conference: Jacksonville State, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina
Conference
Home: Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State, West Virginia
Away: Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Kansas State, Texas Tech
2026
Non-Conference: Bethune-Cookman, at Pitt, UMass
Conference
Home: Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Iowa State, TCU
Away: Colorado, Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State
2027
Non-Conference: at North Carolina, UT Martin, Louisiana
Conference
Home: Cincinnati, Colorado, Kansas State, Texas Tech
Away: Arizona, Baylor, Iowa State, Utah, West Virginia
2028
Non-Conference: Maine, at Northwestern, Florida Atlantic
2029
Non-Conference: James Madison, Pitt
2030
Non-Conference: Florida
2031
Non-Conference: Northwestern
2033
Non-Conference: at Florida