BOONEVILLE, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College football program will have a busier agenda during the fall of 2026.
The Tigers' schedule is expanding to 10 regular season games following changes made by the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC).
The MACCC will sponsor only one postseason contest this year between the winners of the north and south divisions. The elimination of the traditional semifinal games allowed the conference to add the extra regular season matchup.
This move guarantees that all MACCC members receive five home contests each season instead of alternating between four-and-five every other year. The additional game will feature a south division opponent.
The tenth contest was placed in the bye week that MACCC schools have observed in each of the past two years. This will be the first time that Northeast has competed in 10 regular season games since 2000.
"It's a phenomenal move by our league," said Tigers head coach Greg Davis. "I think it's going to be a beneficial situation for all our kids to showcase their abilities. It's a great opportunity to get extra experience for our players."
Northeast's new-look slate begins with back-to-back matchups at Tiger Stadium. East Central Community College comes to town on Thursday, August 27 before Southwest Mississippi Community College pays a visit one week later.
A majority of the north division games are duplicates from last year, including the annual rivalry contests with Itawamba Community College and Northwest Mississippi Community College.
The Tigers return to Fulton after securing a thrilling road win last fall on September 17th. Northeast gets a chance at revenge against the Rangers at home to wrap up the first half of the campaign.
The Northwest game will serve as Northeast's homecoming event. The Tigers also host Mississippi Delta Community College during the college's fall break on Thursday, October 8.
Northeast has a pair of weekend tilts in October at both Coahoma Community College and East Mississippi Community College. This is the first time in seven years that the Tigers have multiple Saturday games.
Holmes Community College travels to Northeast to conclude the regular season on October 29th. Each of the Tigers' home games begin at 6:30 p.m. with the exception of homecoming, which kicks off at 7 p.m. due to the extra activities on that day.