Make your travel plans and book your hotel rooms.
One of the biggest college homecomings has been added to the calendar.
On Feb. 10, Florida A&M announced its homecoming football game will be on Saturday, Oct. 24, versus Southwestern Athletic Conference opponent Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
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The kickoff time is to be determined.
FAMU’s annual homecoming festivities typically draw large crowds into Tallahassee and see sold-out audiences for the football game.
For example, last year, 19,465 fans packed Bragg Stadium, which seats 19,633, as the Rattlers defeated the Alcorn State Braves 33-28.
FAMU has won seven straight homecoming games, with the last loss being in 2017 to former Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe North Carolina A&T.
This year’s homecoming will also be a celebration for Quinn Fordham Gray Sr., who was hired by his alma mater to become the 20th full-time head football coach in December 2025. Gray was a record-setting and Hall of Fame quarterback for the Rattlers from 1997 to 2001, winning multiple MEAC titles and Black College Football National Championships.
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FAMU will play 12 games this season. Six of those will be at home.
The Rattlers open the 2026 slate of games on Aug. 29 versus Albany State, where Gray coached from 2022 to 2025.
FAMU returns from a 5-7 season, its first losing season since 2017, under former head coach James Colzie III.
Florida A&M football 2026 schedule
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Saturday, Aug. 29: vs. Albany State
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Sunday, Sept. 6: vs. South Carolina State, Orange Blossom Classic at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium
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Thursday, Sept. 10: at Miami
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Saturday, Sept. 19: vs. Tennessee State
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Saturday, Sept. 26: vs. Alabama A&M (SWAC)
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Saturday, Oct. 10: at Alabama State (SWAC)
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Saturday, Oct. 24: vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC/Homecoming)
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Saturday, Oct. 31: vs. Southern (SWAC)
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Saturday, Nov. 14: vs. Mississippi Valley State (SWAC)
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Saturday, Nov. 21: vs. Bethune-Cookman (SWAC/Florida Classic)
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU football 2026 schedule: Homecoming date announced; will play UAPB
