Tarleton State Texans Football TV Schedule, Channels, Times
How to watch live stream Tarleton State Texans football game today, tonight, or tomorrow? What channel & time?
The Tarleton State Texans compete in the United Athletic Conference, and most of their 2026 schedule streams on ESPN+ — all seven UAC games plus the non-conference dates at Bowling Green, McNeese and the home meetings with Merrimack and Chicago State. The exception is the one that matters most for casual viewers: the August 29 season opener against Prairie View A&M airs live on ESPN2, an 8:00 PM local kickoff under the lights at Memorial Stadium. Todd Whitten enters his 17th season in Stephenville off a 12-2 campaign that produced a share of the UAC title and a run to the FCS quarterfinals. Home games follow a simple pattern — every one after the opener starts at 6:00 PM local time.
| Tarleton State Texans TV Schedule 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Game | Time ET | TV |
| Week 1 (Sat, Aug. 29) | vs Prairie View A&M (Chancellor's Cup / Purple Out) | 9:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| Week 2 (Sat, Sept. 5) | @ Bowling Green | 12:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 3 (Sat, Sept. 12) | @ McNeese | 7:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 4 (Sat, Sept. 19) | vs Merrimack (Family Weekend) | 7:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 5 (Sat, Sept. 26) | BYE WEEK | — | — |
| Week 6 (Sat, Oct. 3) | vs Chicago State (Legends Game / Pink Out) | 7:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 7 (Sat, Oct. 10) | @ Austin Peay * | 7:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 8 (Sat, Oct. 17) | vs Central Arkansas * (Homecoming) | 7:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 9 (Sat, Oct. 24) | @ West Georgia * | 2:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 10 (Sat, Oct. 31) | vs Eastern Kentucky * (Military Appreciation) | 7:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 11 (Sat, Nov. 7) | vs Abilene Christian * (Senior Day) | 7:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 12 (Sat, Nov. 14) | @ West Florida * | 3:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 13 (Sat, Nov. 21) | @ North Alabama * | 4:00 PM | ESPN+ |
* United Athletic Conference game. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville, Texas.
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Which Tarleton State Texans games are worth watching in 2026?
The opener is a genuine national showcase. Prairie View A&M visits Stephenville on August 29 with ESPN2 carrying it and the inaugural Chancellor's Cup on the line, a new trophy created to mark meetings between Texas A&M System schools. A week later the Texans head to Ohio to face MAC member Bowling Green, their only FBS opponent and the one game requiring an early start. Neither is the toughest test, though — that comes on Senior Day.
November 7 brings Abilene Christian to Memorial Stadium, and it is the game Tarleton fans circle first. The Wildcats shared the UAC championship with the Texans last season and reached the second round of the FCS playoffs, and the series is the program's fiercest rivalry. Homecoming on October 17 against Central Arkansas has its own draw: last year's Homecoming set a Memorial Stadium record with a crowd of 24,012, and Tarleton is 4-0 all-time against the Bears. Halloween brings Eastern Kentucky for Military Appreciation, a rematch of the Texans' first-ever win over EKU. October 3 offers something unusual — Chicago State visits as a first-year FCS program.
