CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Football, the three-time defending Ivy League champions, announced today its schedule for the 2026 campaign. This season's slate will feature 10 regular season games, with four set for Harvard Stadium and the 142^nd playing of The Game between Harvard and Yale set for Fenway Park. The 2026 season will represent the second year in which the Ivy champion will advance to the FCS Playoffs.
 
Harvard will lift the lid on its season with a stiff test against a fellow 2025 FCS playoff team in New Hampshire on Sept. 19. The Crimson is 8-0 all-time vs. New Hampshire and last saw the Wildcats during the 2024 campaign when it earned a 28-23 home victory over then-No. 16/21 UNH. The trip to Durham, New Hampshire, in 2026 will be the first for Harvard in a series that dates back to 1929.
 
In its second straight road game to begin the year, the Crimson will compete in its Ivy League opener at Brown on Sept. 26. Harvard enters its Ivy opener with a 22-3 record against the Bears since 2000.
 
Returning to non-league competition, Harvard will host Colgate in its home opener on Oct. 3. Harvard and Colgate will meet on the gridiron for the 10^th time, with the Crimson owning a 5-4 series advantage. The teams last met in 1999 and have played all but two of the games in Cambridge.
 
Harvard will step back into Ivy League play on Oct. 10, when it makes the trip to Ithaca, New York to play at Cornell. The Crimson has won six straight in the series.
 
Closing out non-league play, the Crimson will face Holy Cross on Oct. 17. Harvard has won three straight in the series and has taken six of the last seven matchups between the two teams.
 
With the first half of its schedule behind it, Harvard will begin its sprint to the finish line with five consecutive Ivy games, beginning with an Oct. 24 date at home vs. Princeton. The Crimson has taken each of the last two matchups with the Tigers.
 
Finishing out the month of October, Harvard will play at Dartmouth on Oct. 31. The Crimson has captured the last four meetings with the Big Green.
 
In its final home game at Harvard Stadium in 2026, the Crimson hosts Columbia on Nov. 7. Harvard has won three straight in the series.
 
A week later, Harvard travels to Penn (Nov. 14) after three straight instant classics between the two foes. In 2023, the Crimson won at home in triple overtime to secure the Ivy League championship. In 2024, Harvard rallied from a 14-point deficit to win, 31-28, again clinch at a share of the conference crown. In 2025, the Crimson connected on a 53-yard field goal as time expired to gain a share of the league title for the third straight year.
 
The Crimson will end the regular season like it typically does, with a game against Yale. The 142^nd playing of The Game is slated for Nov. 21 at Fenway Park in Boston. The two teams will meet at America's Most Beloved Ballpark for the first time since 2018.
 
For the second straight season, the Ivy League will send its champion to the FCS Playoffs following a year in which the conference qualified two teams for the national postseason tournament. The first round is set for Nov. 28 with the second round slated for Dec. 5. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for the weekends of Dec. 11-12 and Dec. 19, respectively. The championship game will take place on Jan. 4 in Nashville, Tennessee.
 
All dates and times are tentative and subject to change. 

2026 Harvard Football Schedule

Sept. 19 – at New Hampshire
Sept. 26 – at Brown*
Oct. 3 – Colgate
Oct. 10 – at Cornell*
Oct. 17 – Holy Cross
Oct. 24 – Princeton*
Oct. 31 – at Dartmouth*
Nov. 7 – Columbia*
Nov. 14 – at Penn*
Nov. 21 – vs. Yale* (Fenway Park)

* - Ivy League Contests