September 22nd, 2025 4:00pm
From Slippery Rock sports information:
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Two of the top NCAA Division II football programs in the country have agreed to a home-and-home contract that will see the University of Minnesota Duluth and Slippery Rock University meet in week zero games in both 2026 and 2027.
Minnesota Duluth will travel to Slippery Rock for the first-ever meeting between the two programs on Thursday night Aug. 27, 2026. The Rock will return the favor and travel to Duluth to open the 2027 season on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2027.
"This is an exciting step for our football program and for our university," said SRU head coach Shawn Lutz. "We only get to play one non-conference game with the way our conference scheduling works, so it's important for us to play a quality opponent. To have a program like Minnesota Duluth on the schedule and to give both programs the experience of flying outside of the region to play in a big-time game in a big-time atmosphere is going to be special."
Both programs have garnered national attention early in the 2025 season with 3-0 Slippery Rock entering this week ranked No. 4 in the latest Division II national rankings and 4-0 Minnesota Duluth entering this week ranked No. 16 in the latest national poll.
Entering this fall, both programs ranked among the top 10 in Division II for the longest active winning seasons streak with Minnesota Duluth putting together 16 straight winning seasons to tie for the sixth-best active streak in the nation and Slippery Rock putting together 15 consecutive winning seasons to tie for the ninth-best active streak in the country.
The Bulldogs are two-time NCAA Division II national champions with titles in 2008 and 2010, while Slippery Rock has made four runs to the national semifinals, including 2019 and 2024.
The 2026 meeting will mark the first time Slippery Rock has played a "week zero" game since the rule change in recent years added the additional week to the Division II schedule. The Rock will then have their only idle week of the season in the traditional week one slot before playing 10 straight regular season games in the mandated PSAC schedule.
Slippery Rock's schedule is now full for 2026 and 2027 and will feature 11 regular season games after a two-year stretch with only 10 regular season games in 2024 and 2025.