Football
HOUSTON — A clearer picture is emerging of where Texas Southern University will play its home football games in 2026. A school representative contacted HBCU Legends and said the schedule has not been finalized and remains subject to change.
As Texas Southern marks its centennial next year, the football program is framing this season’s multi-venue home slate as part of the university’s “Road to 100” campaign, carrying its games into communities across the Houston area.
HBCU Legends obtained a copy of the 2026 home schedule distributed to alumni and season-ticket holders. Texas Southern is slated to play six home games at as many as four venues in the Houston area, although the site for the Oct. 17 matchup against Southern remains unresolved.
2026 Texas Southern Schedule
- Aug. 29 — North Carolina Central, W.W. Thorne Stadium (Houston), 6 p.m.
- Sept. 6 — at Prairie View A&M*, Panther Stadium (Prairie View, Texas), 11 a.m. (41st Labor Day Classic)
- Sept. 13 — at UTEP, Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas), 8 p.m.
- Sept. 27 — at Alcorn State*, Spinks-Casem Stadium (Lorman, Mississippi), 3 p.m.
- Oct. 3 — at Florida Atlantic, Flagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida), 8 p.m.
- Oct. 10 — Mississippi Valley State*, Shell Energy Stadium (Houston), TBA
- Oct. 17 — Southern*, Houston (site TBD), TBA
- Oct. 31 — Grambling State*, Bulldog Stadium (La Porte, Texas), TBA
- Nov. 7 — Alabama State*, W.W. Thorne Stadium (Houston), TBA
- Nov. 14 — at Alabama A&M*, Lewis Crews Stadium (Huntsville, Alabama), 2 p.m.
- Nov. 21 — Arkansas-Pine Bluff*, Shell Energy Stadium (Houston), TBA
Home games in bold. *SWAC game. All times CT.
One of the season’s marquee matchups comes in the opener against coach Trei Oliver and North Carolina Central. The Eagles and Tigers have never met on the football field, and the trip marks NCCU’s first game in Houston since moving to Division I competition.
Coach Cris Dishman opens his third season at Texas Southern on Aug. 29 at W.W. Thorne Stadium, an Aldine ISD facility in north Houston. The Tigers will return there on Nov. 7 to host Alabama State, led by Black College Football Hall of Famer Coach Eddie Robinson Jr. and former TSU quarterback Andrew Body. The game marks Body’s return to Houston, where he started at quarterback for three seasons under former coach Clarence McKinney.
Texas Southern lost several dates at Shell Energy Stadium after communication issues between stadium management and the university’s athletic department. Harris County built the downtown Houston facility to host TSU football alongside the Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash.
Shell Energy Stadium has served as the Tigers’ primary home venue since 2012. Mississippi Valley State visits on Oct. 10, while Arkansas-Pine Bluff closes the regular season there on Nov. 21.
The Oct. 31 matchup against Grambling State shifts south along Interstate 45 to Bulldog Stadium in La Porte.
That leaves Southern.
Texas Southern administrators are pushing to move the Oct. 17 SWAC game against the Jaguars to NRG Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Houston Texans, sources said. NRG holds more than 72,000, more than triple the capacity of Shell Energy Stadium, and would be the Tigers’ largest home venue in years if it comes together.
Texas Southern defeated Southern 35-30 at A.W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge last season on its way to the program’s first winning record since 2000. Moving the rematch into an NFL venue featuring former NFL standouts Cris Dishman and Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk would elevate the profile of one of the SWAC’s top games.
Dishman enters 2026 after guiding Texas Southern to a 6-5 overall record and 5-3 SWAC finish in 2025. The Tigers secured their first winning season in 25 years, but expectations inside the program continue to rise — especially after Prairie View A&M reached the 2025 Celebration Bowl in coach Tremaine Jackson’s first season.
Following the 2025 finale, Dishman delivered a direct message to alumni and supporters: Fill the stands.
Now, with Texas Southern set to bounce between multiple home venues in 2026, the question becomes whether fans will follow the Tigers across the city.
Tiger Road Trips
Texas Southern opens the road portion of its schedule Sept. 6 against Prairie View A&M in the 41st Labor Day Classic.
The rivalry game will feature an unusual start time, kicking off at 11 a.m. CT on a Sunday as the lone football game televised nationally on ESPN2. The scheduling move has drawn criticism from many fans because of the overlap with church services and the interruption of an early Sunday morning at home.
Still, the Labor Day Classic remains one of the SWAC’s premier rivalries after Prairie View A&M escaped with a dramatic last-second touchdown victory last season at Shell Energy Stadium.
The Tigers then travel to UTEP on Sept. 13 before returning to conference play Sept. 27 against Alcorn State. Texas Southern wraps up its early-season road swing Oct. 3 at Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton.
Whether the Southern game lands at NRG Stadium or elsewhere, Texas Southern believes it can contend for the SWAC West title in 2026.
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