East Mississippi Community College announces 10-game 2026 football schedule

SCOOBA — For the debut season of the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference's 10-game football schedule, East Mississippi Community College's expanded 2026 gridiron slate will consist of five home games and five road contests.

The EMCC Lions will take on an additional fourth non-division opponent prior to playing their six division games, as they seek to successfully defend their 12^th MACCC North Division title under the guidance of 19^th-year head football coach Buddy Stephens.

EMCC's 2026 football schedule will kick off at Southwest Mississippi, Aug. 27, to mark the Lions' first meeting with the Bears since previously traveling to Summit in 2021. The Lions' season-opening, four-game span against MACCC South Division opponents will continue with home contests versus Hinds (Sept. 3) and Pearl River (Sept. 10) before closing out non-division play in Decatur, Sept. 17, against East Central.

This year's EMCC-ECCC contest will mark the first gridiron meeting between the two schools since 2021 as well as the Lions' first trip to Decatur since the 2018 season. That previous meeting at East Central eight years ago marked EMCC's closest regular-season decision (24-21) en route to claiming the program's fifth national championship with a narrow 10-9 win over Garden City (KS) in Pittsburg, Kansas.

The Lions' MACCC North Division slate will consist of alternating road and home games that will all be played at the same sites as last year's six division meetings, beginning with their Sept. 24 return visit to Mississippi Delta in Moorhead.

East Mississippi's 2026 Homecoming game will be played against Northeast Mississippi, as the Tigers return to the Scooba campus for the second straight year on Saturday, Oct. 3. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at EMCC's Sullivan-Windham Field.

The remaining portion of EMCC's October football slate will feature home contests versus Holmes (Oct. 15) and reigning two-time MACCC Champion Northwest Mississippi (Oct. 29) for the second consecutive season along with return trips to Coahoma (Oct. 8) and Itawamba (Oct. 22).

The regular-season finale between EMCC and Northwest will feature two acclaimed football programs that have combined to claim the last 18 MACCC North Division regular-season football championships between them. The Lions have won 12 of those division titles (2008-09, '11-16, '18, '21, '23 & '25), while the Rangers have earned the other six MACCC North crowns (2010, '17, '19-20, '22 & '24) during that stretch. Aided by EMCC's nine conference championships (2009, '11, '13-14, '16-18 & '22-23) since 2009 and five national titles (2011, '13-14 & '17-18) during an eight-year span, EMCC and Northwest have also combined to account for 14 MACCC football championships in the last 17 years along with six NJCAA titles dating back to the 2011 season.

2026 EAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Thurs., Aug. 27 – at Southwest Mississippi – Summit – 7 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 3 – HINDS – SCOOBA – 7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 10 – PEARL RIVER – SCOOBA – 7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 17 – at East Central – Decatur – 6:30 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 24 – at Mississippi Delta* – Moorhead – 7:00 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 3 – NORTHEAST MISISSSIPPI* (Homecoming) – SCOOBA – 2:00 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 8 – at Coahoma* – Clarksdale – 6:30 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 15 – HOLMES* – SCOOBA – 7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 22 – at Itawamba* – Fulton – 7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 29 – NORTHWEST MISISSSIPPI* – SCOOBA – 7:00 p.m.

*-MACCC North Division games; Home games in all CAPS