MANHATTAN, Kan. – A seven-game home schedule, which includes five home contests in the first six games of the season, highlights Kansas State’s 2026 football schedule that was announced Wednesday by K-State Athletics and the Big 12 Conference.
The Collin Klein era of K-State football opens with three-straight non-conference games inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium beginning on September 5, when the Wildcats host Nicholls. K-State then welcomes Washington State on September 12 for the first-ever meeting between the Wildcats and Cougars on the gridiron, while it closes non-conference play by hosting Tulane on September 19.
For the 22nd time in the 31-year history of the Big 12 – including the seventh time in the last nine years – K-State will begin conference play with a true road game when the Wildcats travel northeast to face Cincinnati on September 26. It will be K-State’s first visit to The Queen City since a 23-21 last-second victory in 1995.
Following its lone bye of the 2026 season, K-State returns for two-straight home games against Houston (October 10) and Kansas (October 17). The Wildcats are looking to win their second-consecutive home game over the Cougars, while they will be in search of their 18th-straight win over the Jayhawks.
The Wildcats’ only stretch with consecutive road games in 2026 closes out the month of October when they travel to face Arizona State on October 24 and Colorado on October 31. K-State plays at Arizona State for the sixth time ever but the first since 1989, while the Wildcats will play inside what is now known as Mountain America Stadium for the first time since a 31-14 victory over Michigan in the 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. K-State returns to Boulder after a thrilling 31-28 win two years ago, and the Wildcats are playing on Halloween for the 17th time in program history and first since 2020.
K-State hits the road for the penultimate time in 2026 when it plays at TCU on November 14. The Wildcats have won three-straight games over the Horned Frogs and six of the last seven dating back to 2019.
Kansas State’s Senior Day contest will be staged on November 21 when the Wildcats face Arizona. It is the third-straight year K-State has played U of A – with the home team winning the previous two contests – but this will be the first time the programs will meet as conference foes after a pair of previously scheduled non-conference games in 2024 and 2025.
The Wildcats conclude the 2026 regular season at Iowa State on November 28. K-State will be in search of their second win in Ames in the last five tries, while it is the third time in the last five trips to Iowa State that the game against the Cyclones serves as the regular-season finale.
The 2026 Big 12 Championship game will be held on Friday, December 4 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Information regarding season tickets for the 2026 football season will be announced next week.
2026 K-STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE (Dates Subject to Change)
SEPTEMBER 5
NICHOLLS
MANHATTAN
SEPTEMBER 12
WASHINGTON STATE
MANHATTAN
SEPTEMBER 19
TULANE
MANHATTAN
September 26
at Cincinnati*
Cincinnati, Ohio
OCTOBER 10
HOUSTON*
MANHATTAN
OCTOBER 17
KANSAS*
MANHATTAN
October 24
at Arizona State*
Tempe, Ariz.
October 31
at Colorado*
Boulder, Colo.
NOVEMBER 7
OKLAHOMA STATE*
MANHATTAN
November 14
at TCU*
Fort Worth, Texas
NOVEMBER 21
ARIZONA*
MANHATTAN
November 28
at Iowa State*