UCF football announced on Thursday that the Knights have agreed to schedule future home-and-home football series with Pitt and Northwestern, beginning with a matchup against the Panthers in 2026.
In a press release from UCF Athletics, the Knights announced the dates and locations for each of the four future matchups, which will take place from 2026 to 2031.
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 to,” UCF Athletic Director Terry Mohajir said. “Pennsylvania is currently ranked a top-five state from which UCF students come, 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.”
According to the press release, UCF and Pitt have met three times in the history of the programs, with the Panthers having 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.
