Howard Payne finally found their 10th opponent. Something called Clutch City Preparatory, which I assume is who you're forced to call when Westgate Christian doesn't have any open dates. 

HPU Football Schedule

Quote from: Patrick Coleman on June 23, 2026, 03:42:42 PMHardin-Simmons schedule drops:
https://www.d3football.com/teams/Hardin-Simmons/2026/index

We had done some speculation about it in the mailbag segment on the pod which dropped today:
https://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2026/06/23/atn-podcast-410-polar-bears-in-ireland-new-coach-in-dc-preseason-thoughts/

Wow, looks like they never were able to find a 10th opponent.

Quote from: The Third Division on June 12, 2026, 01:53:35 PMEither hardin simmons is gonna drop a schedule soon or we're just gonna assume they won't be playing football this fall.

Howard Payne still hasn't released theirs either, unless I missed it. Nobody understands the difficulty of finding non-conference opponents in our region better than UMHB fans, but not having a schedule out less than 90 days before the season kicks off is pretty wild.

Quote from: Mavchamp on May 14, 2026, 05:53:09 PMDid everyone in the ASC get a 10 game schedule?  I believe they did.

Howard Payne and Hardin-Simmons are still TBD.

HSU is playing Chapman on September 5th and @ UW-La Crosse on September 12th

HPU is playing @ Pacific on September 5th, @ Wayland Baptist on September 19th, and Simpson in Frisco on September 26th.

That's all we know about those two at the moment.

Quote from: The Third Division on May 14, 2026, 10:57:23 AM

Quote from: UMHB03 on May 14, 2026, 10:49:42 AMNow it's official: 2026 UMHB schedule

I like this schedule. Obviously getting ten D3 games would have been ideal, but given the scheduling difficulties in our region there isn't too much to complain about. It's challenging with matchups against recent playoff teams like Endicott, Rowan, and HSU, but not ridiculously brutal like what we had to deal with in 2023. Kudos to Harmon for getting the job done right this year.

I also like that there are four first time opponents (Pac Lutheran, Endicott, Keystone, Schreiner) and one opponent that we have only faced once before (Rowan). Getting Hardin-Simmons at home is obviously an advantage as well.

Rowan didn't make playoffs last year

You're right, I just noticed their additional game last year was D3 bowl. Nevertheless, they're a decent opponent.

Now it's official: 2026 UMHB schedule

I like this schedule. Obviously getting ten D3 games would have been ideal, but given the scheduling difficulties in our region there isn't too much to complain about. It's challenging with matchups against recent playoff teams like Endicott, Rowan, and HSU, but not ridiculously brutal like what we had to deal with in 2023. Kudos to Harmon for getting the job done right this year.

I also like that there are four first time opponents (Pac Lutheran, Endicott, Keystone, Schreiner) and one opponent that we have only faced once before (Rowan). Getting Hardin-Simmons at home is obviously an advantage as well.

Based on common open dates, it looks almost certain that UMHB will be facing Howard Payne on October 10th, ETBU on November 7th, and Hardin-Simmons on November 14th. If so, HPU would be a home game because the university website has already announced October 9-10 as homecoming weekend. Not sure the locations of the other two.

I hope this this is accurate because it would be great to have a UMHB/HSU finale in what could likely be a defacto conference championship game, and possibly a play-in game for the playoffs.

Quote from: CruFrenzy on May 07, 2026, 10:34:14 PM

Quote from: UMHB03 on April 28, 2026, 07:52:04 PMDoes anyone know if last year's Texas Wesleyan game was a one time meeting or a home-and-home like we had with Bethel? I've been wondering if UMHB's 5th non-conference game might be a trip to Fort Worth.

I'm told Texas Wesleyan is in fact the final non conference game for us this year and will be in Ft. Worth.

I can live with one NAIA opponent given the scheduling difficulties. I'm grateful for the four D3 opponents.

Hopefully they will be able to release the full schedule soon.

Does anyone know if last year's Texas Wesleyan game was a one time meeting or a home-and-home like we had with Bethel? I've been wondering if UMHB's 5th non-conference game might be a trip to Fort Worth.

Quote from: The Third Division on April 25, 2026, 01:24:13 PM

Quote from: Ron Boerger on April 24, 2026, 10:55:43 PMWith Anna Maria folding up shop there are a bunch of MASCAC schools needing a game, but with the Cru already travelling to both coasts they'd have to come to Belton. 

And lose 65-0

I don't know about that. Framingham St or Plymouth St would probably make a more respectable showing, but I doubt they'd be interested in paying for a trip to Texas unless literally nobody in or around their region has an open date.

Quote from: Patrick Coleman on April 25, 2026, 12:16:43 AM

Quote from: UMHB03 on April 24, 2026, 04:28:39 PMFinally a UMHB schedule update:

Looks like the Crusaders have added a road game against Pacific Lutheran on September 12. Nice to see another D3 opponent.

2026 Schedule (so far)

Thanks for noticing! I only added the PLU schedule this afternoon.

I always check the schedule a couple times a week to see if anyone has been added. Looks like I timed it perfectly this week.

Finally a UMHB schedule update:

Looks like the Crusaders have added a road game against Pacific Lutheran on September 12. Nice to see another D3 opponent.

2026 Schedule (so far)

Nine countable games. They have the all too familiar matchup with Westgate Christian on October 17.

Quote from: Ron Boerger on February 21, 2026, 03:52:13 PMUMHB will open at Rowan this season.  Hopefully that will quiet the critics for a minute (ha!).

Nah,unless we face a non-conference slate of UWW, Linfield, Trinity, North Central, and Saint Johns, I'm sure it will not be a "good look". 

Quote from: HSCTiger74 on February 17, 2026, 04:22:28 PM

Quote from: UMHB03 on February 16, 2026, 03:06:22 PM

Quote from: IC798891 on February 16, 2026, 01:03:54 PM

Quote from: UMHB03 on February 14, 2026, 05:01:31 PM

Quote from: The Third Division on February 14, 2026, 01:15:30 PMUMHB's two year scheduling agreement with Keystone screams desperation. It is not a good look for the program.

Go ahead and list the teams who are interested in scheduling a series with us. Then we can discuss which ones would be better options.

One would think the Division 3 philosophy is grounded in conference and regional competition rather than national and most schools are interested in scheduling as such.

Oh wait: It is

I know you all filter everything through the lens of "What's best for the football team?" which means you think everyone's just too scared to play you, but the sooner you realize that most D3 institutions have bigger concerns than the football team picking up an elite OOC game, the easier it'll be for you.

Thanks, you just proved my point.

We have limited options in our region to schedule, and few schools from outside our region want to play us, so we're forced to schedule those who do. Then you trolls come around offering unsolicited critiques of our scheduling without offering any ideas for what a program in our position should do differently.

What about the possibility that it's not that they don't want to play you, but rather that they are unwilling to take on the extra cost of a trip to Texas?

That's probably the case with many of them. That doesn't explain why so many are unwilling to schedule us at home, given that Harmon has been willing to schedule standalone road games, but I'm sure geography is a factor.

However, the scheduling challenges remain regardless of the reasons they don't want to schedule us, which is why we are forced to schedule whoever is willing to play us. I still haven't seen any suggestions from the backseat drivers as to what UMHB should be doing differently.