LANCASTER, Pa. – Following a Centennial Conference Championship and the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, the Franklin & Marshall football team has announced its 2026 schedule. The Diplomats hope the same 10 opponents will ultimately lead to similar results as the locations flip from the 2025 campaign.
The 2026 season kicks off at home on Friday, September 4 with a 7 p.m. game under the lights against Lebanon Valley. LVC and F&M will be the season opener for both teams for the 12th consecutive season, with F&M owning a 10-1 record during this rivalry renewal. Trips to Westminster (Pa.) (Sept. 12) and Catholic (Sept. 19) wrap up the non-conference slate. F&M's only loss during the regular season last season came to Westminster (Pa.) as the Diplomats will look to avenge that loss from the team's first-ever meeting. F&M's 42-7 victory over Catholic last season was the largest win for other team in their first 11 meetings.
Following a bye week, F&M opens up conference play at home against Gettysburg on October 3. F&M is currently riding its longest winning streak in series history versus the Bullets after a come-from-behind 35-28 victory last season. Dickinson (Oct. 17) and Ursinus (Oct. 24) visit Shadek Stadium in the only back-to-back home games this season. The series with the Red Devils is the most played in program history (117th meeting in 2026). In a perennially tough matchup, the Bears and Diplomats are 4-4 in their last eight meetings dating back to 2017. F&M wraps up its home slate on November 7 by hosting Carnegie Mellon for the first time since the Tartans joined the conference as an associate member. Carnegie Mellon will be making its first trip to Lancaster since the 2005 season.
Muhlenberg (Oct. 10), McDaniel (Oct. 31), and Johns Hopkins (Friday, November 13) will be the Diplomats' road trips in the conference. Muhlenberg always poses a challenge as the Diplomats were able to snap the Mules' six-game winning streak in the series last season. Each of the last four games in that series have been decided by a single score. F&M has won 21 straight against the Green Terror entering the 2026 season. The rematch of the 2025 Centennial Conference Championship game against Johns Hopkins will be played under the lights at Homewood Field. F&M evened the all-time series at 37-37-2 following the game-winning two-point conversion in overtime to walk off with the outright conference title.
Last season's 9-2 record (7-0 CC) marked the program's 10th consecutive winning season. Reigning Centennial Conference Coach of the Year Michael Phelan and his staff are back for his second season as head coach. Headlined by the NCAA Tournament appearance last year, the Diplomats have made the postseason during each of the last three seasons and eight of the last nine years overall.
