Vanderbilt Football Announces First Three Kickoff Times

The Commodores will begin the season with a night game at FirstBank Stadium followed by two other home games to begin the season.

Nov 29, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores running back Sedrick Alexander (28) runs against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Vanderbilt football has found out what time its season will kick off when the 2026 season begins Sept. 5 as well as the next two games after that.

Per a media release from the program, Vanderbilt will start the season with a night game kickoff against Austin Peay at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+ and SEC Network+. It is the second consecutive season in which Vanderbilt is beginning the season with a night slate kickoff.

A season ago, the Commodores beat Charleston Southern to kickoff the 2025 season with an evening slate.

After the season opener against the Governors, Vanderbilt will stay home for Week 2 and welcome the Delaware Blue Hens for a 3:15 p.m. CT kickoff on SEC Network Sept 12. In the third game of the season, Vanderbilt wraps up nonconference play with a power conference matchup against NC State in Nashville. The Commodores and Wolfpack will meet at 11:45 a.m. CT on SEC Network Sept. 19.

The television and kickoff times for Vanderbilt’s nine SEC games will be announced at a later date this summer.

The 2026 season provides a new challenge for SEC teams this season with the addition of a ninth conference game, effectively getting rid of what has been known as “cupcake week” in the penultimate week of the regular season.

Another aspect of the SEC scheduling is that all 16 teams are required to schedule a nonconference game against another power conference team or Notre Dame. Only two of the 12 games will be against non-power conference teams.

The SEC is hoping the switch to a nine-game conference slate will help teams that are in the College Football Playoff hunt to have a strong case to make the 12-team playoff field due to a tougher strength of schedule. 

Vanderbilt is coming off a 10-3 season that included an appearance in the ReliaQuest Bowl. It was the first time in program history that the Commodores won 10 games in a season. While Vanderbilt was happy to make school history a season ago, it is not satisfied. It wants to continue to climb the ranks of college football.

“I didn’t come to Vanderbilt for a 10-win season. I came to win a national championship,” head coach Clark Lea told reporters at SEC Spring Meetings press conference Tuesday.

Vanderbilt is coming into this season looking to prove that last season was not just a magical year, but the continuance of establishing the program as one of the best in the conference. It has its chance to do so a little over three months from now.

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