2026 Non-Conference Schedule Thread

[Tdobson]

OOC games are tough to come by. FCS even at the lowest level (read: NEC) only plays D2 to plug a hole. They focus on mercenary games for big paydays. As one FCS coach told me, "I can spend 150 work hours planning a golf outing that raises $20,000 but I can spent 1/2 work hours agreeing to get my ass kicked by a G5 school for $250,000." For D2 schools, its getting harder to schedule the non-conference games as operational budgets slowly dry up. Taking the travel squad and staff to an away game can cost $5,000 for a day trip and $20,000 for a weekend trip. The days of Portland State flying Edinboro out for a non-conference game are over, same with Youngstown State using us as an early season warm up. You might get a Wagner or New Haven now but maybe D2 needs to start looking down for non-conference games the way FCS does to us.

The Boro played Portland State? I didn't realize that. I believe IUP played them in the late 80s early 90s. Why won't Youngstown State play the PSAC? I know they wont play IUP because of 1999, but there are other teams that may.

[IUPNation]

OOC games are tough to come by. FCS even at the lowest level (read: NEC) only plays D2 to plug a hole. They focus on mercenary games for big paydays. As one FCS coach told me, "I can spend 150 work hours planning a golf outing that raises $20,000 but I can spent 1/2 work hours agreeing to get my ass kicked by a G5 school for $250,000." For D2 schools, its getting harder to schedule the non-conference games as operational budgets slowly dry up. Taking the travel squad and staff to an away game can cost $5,000 for a day trip and $20,000 for a weekend trip. The days of Portland State flying Edinboro out for a non-conference game are over, same with Youngstown State using us as an early season warm up. You might get a Wagner or New Haven now but maybe D2 needs to start looking down for non-conference games the way FCS does to us.

We have four conferences in the region...there should be some coordination between the people running them to get everyone covered for OOC games.

There should not be any reason for an MEC team to resist playing IUP like they have done in the past to go play up in Erie.

Like it or not...D2 is regional...and each conference should try to maximize the schedules within the region.

Yes it might be nice to play teams far away...but D2 today is not set up like it was in 1990.....

Pee Sack teams didn't even always face each other....ever. There were East teams that never landed on the IUP schedule until the Home Office started with some sort of dedicated cross overs in the mid 90's and even then we seemed to be stuck with Millersville and Bloomsburg for a long time. We saw Mansfield once in all of these years.

IUP vs the East since I started...

1984 - West Chester
1985 - West Chester (Bloomsburg in State Game)
1986 - Kutztown (West Chester in State Game)
1987 - West Chester twice (regular season and State Game), Kutztown
1988 - None in regular season, Millersville in D2 playoffs
1989 - Bloomsburg
1990 - Millersville
1991 - East Dennyburg (Scoreboardgate), Millersville ....IUP won by a combined score of 81-0
1992 - East Dennyburg
1993 - Kutztown, West Chester
1994 - Cheyney
1995 - West Chester, Cheyney IUP won both by 108-7
1996 - Bloomsburg, East Dennyburg
1997 - Bloomsburg, East Dennyburg
1998 - Bloomsburg, West Chester and Millersville
1999 - Bloomsburg, West Chester and Millersville
2000 - Bloomsburg, Millersville
2001 - Bloomsburg, Millersville
2002 - Bloomsburg, Millersville
2003 - Bloomsburg, Millersville
2004 - Bloomsburg, Millersville. Cheyney, East Dennyburg (West Chester in playoffs)
2005 - Bloomsburg, Millersville
2006 - Cheyney, East Dennyburg, Millersville, Mansfield
2007 - Bloomsburg, Millersville, Cheyney, East Dennyburg, (West Chester in playoffs)
2008 - Millersville, CW Post, Kutztown
2009 - Millersville, CW Post, Kutztown
2010 - Bloomsburg, East Dennyburg, West Chester
2011 - Bloomsburg, East Dennyburg, West Chester
2012 - Cheyney, Millersville, (Shippensburg in State Game)
2013 - East Dennyburg, Millersville, Shippensburg
2014 - Kutztown, Lock Haven, West Chester
2015 - Kutztown, Lock Haven, Cheyney
2016 - Bloomsburg, East Dennyburg, Cheyney
2017 - East Dennyburg, Cheyney, West Chester (State Game, D2 Playoffs)
2018 - Millersville, Lock Haven, Shippensburg
2019 - Millersville, Lock Haven, Shippensburg, Shepherd (D2 playoffs)
2021 - Kutztown, Shepherd, West Chester
2022 - East Dennyburg, Shippensburg, Shepherd (State Game, D2 Playoffs)
2023 - East Dennyburg, Shippensburg, Bloomsburg
2024 - Lock Haven, Shippensburg, Millersville
2025 - Lock Haven, Millersville, Kutztown (State Game)

[Inkblot]

Lackawanna did not apply for D2 membership this year. Not sure why not, but that means they'll be a non-D2 opponent and presumably non-conference.

[Fightingscot82]

The Boro played Portland State? I didn't realize that. I believe IUP played them in the late 80s early 90s. Why won't Youngstown State play the PSAC? I know they wont play IUP because of 1999, but there are other teams that may.

1995. One week after getting blasted 44-7 at Appalachian State, Edinboro flew to Oregon and upset Portland State 26-7, who were the #12 team in FCS that game. Edinboro's record for INT in one game by a player, 4, happened in that game. I imagine back then it was a lot easier for a coach to not take a one-off opponent seriously. They had some greats on that 1995 team. That was my childhood, instead of following Pitt and Penn State every weekend, my dad and I were going to Edinboro games or looking for the score in the Sunday paper.

Edinboro had YSU up against the wall back in 2005 and they've never been invited back.

[Ship69]

1995. One week after getting blasted 44-7 at Appalachian State, Edinboro flew to Oregon and upset Portland State 26-7, who were the #12 team in FCS that game. Edinboro's record for INT in one game by a player, 4, happened in that game. I imagine back then it was a lot easier for a coach to not take a one-off opponent seriously. They had some greats on that 1995 team. That was my childhood, instead of following Pitt and Penn State every weekend, my dad and I were going to Edinboro games or looking for the score in the Sunday paper.

Edinboro had YSU up against the wall back in 2005 and they've never been invited back.

Ship took a so-so team out to Portland in 1989 and got blasted, 31-3. A guy I've known for years had a player on that team and said he was sorry he wasted the money to go out there.

[Inkblot]

1995. One week after getting blasted 44-7 at Appalachian State, Edinboro flew to Oregon and upset Portland State 26-7, who were the #12 team in FCS that game. Edinboro's record for INT in one game by a player, 4, happened in that game. I imagine back then it was a lot easier for a coach to not take a one-off opponent seriously. They had some greats on that 1995 team. That was my childhood, instead of following Pitt and Penn State every weekend, my dad and I were going to Edinboro games or looking for the score in the Sunday paper.

Edinboro had YSU up against the wall back in 2005 and they've never been invited back.

Minor correction – Portland State was still D2 in 1995. They began their move up the following year.

[Fightingscot82]

Minor correction – Portland State was still D2 in 1995. They began their move up the following year.

Oh really? Wow. But still - a good Boro team knocked off the #12 team in the country. Much harder to do as a non-conference game.

[Fightingscot82]

Tiffin is looking for Week 0, for those schools without an OOC game.

[EastStroud13]

Tiffin is looking for Week 0, for those schools without an OOC game.

Would rather play them than Pace...

[Fightingscot82]

Would rather play them than Pace...

Brings in the next challenge after finding a school that's also available - are you willing to play a quality opponent who could potentially beat you? Everyone wants to start the season strong and run the board, but you also want to test your roster for the post-season.

[EastStroud13]

Brings in the next challenge after finding a school that's also available - are you willing to play a quality opponent who could potentially beat you? Everyone wants to start the season strong and run the board, but you also want to test your roster for the post-season.

Yes. ESU gains nothing from an automatic win against Pace. As someone else said, we've graduated past them.

[jrshooter]

I totally get the local appeal to West Chester-Lincoln. I'd think there is considerably less anticipation around Ship with visiting the Lions (0-10 in the CIAA last season) the week before.

(For what it's worth, the Raiders just finished outscoring them 45-8 in a weekend baseball sweep ...)

[Ship69]

I totally get the local appeal to West Chester-Lincoln. I'd think there is considerably less anticipation around Ship with visiting the Lions (0-10 in the CIAA last season) the week before.

(For what it's worth, the Raiders just finished outscoring them 45-8 in a weekend baseball sweep ...)

As you say, probably not a lot of anticipation for Ship at Lincoln, but I'm fine with going weak with the OOC game until Ship starts putting a more competitive team back on the field.

[Ram040506]

As you say, probably not a lot of anticipation for Ship at Lincoln, but I'm fine with going weak with the OOC game until Ship starts putting a more competitive team back on the field.

I think that is a fair way to do it. Ship needs to gain some program confidence and needs a win like that to start the year.

[ESU Warrior]

For what it's worth, Lackawanna has had their 2026 schedule up on their website for a couple weeks now, and they don't have a non-conference game listed. Not to say they couldn't add one later on, and I'm keeping an eye on them in case they do, but I thought I heard someone on this board say that they wouldn't have an OOC game this year, so something to consider.

At the end of the season I was told West Virgina Tech and Wesleyan were the two they were considering. However, since then Coach Duda retired (due to an illness), and I have not heard anything from the new staff on an OOC. I would imagine Coach Ross would want to do his own thing, so if I hear anything I will update here.