# UK Football Releases 2026 Kickoff Times, TV Designations **Published:** 2026-06-10T23:54:17.000Z **Source:** [UK Athletics](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/06/10/kentucky-footballs-kickoff-time-windows-revealed/) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/uk-football-releases-2026-kickoff-times-tv-designations LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky football team's kickoff time windows and television designations for the 2026 season were announced by the Southeastern Conference, with the [schedule featuring at least four consecutive night games](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/06/10/kentucky-footballs-kickoff-time-windows-revealed/) during conference play. The Wildcats will open their season Sept. 5 against Youngstown State at 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network+, followed by a high-profile SEC matchup against Alabama on Sept. 12 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Kentucky will travel to Texas A&M on Sept. 19 before hosting South Alabama on Sept. 26 at 12:45 p.m. ET. The schedule includes four consecutive night kickoffs from October through November, beginning with a visit from LSU on Oct. 10. Vanderbilt will host the Wildcats on Oct. 24 under the lights, followed by night games at Tennessee on Nov. 7, at home against Florida on Nov. 14, and at Missouri on Nov. 21. The season concludes with an early kickoff against instate rival Louisville on Nov. 28 for Senior Day. [Kentucky's seven home games feature Alabama, LSU, Vanderbilt and Florida](https://ukathletics.com/news/2025/12/11/kentucky-footballs-2026-schedule-revealed/), plus non-conference matchups against Youngstown State, South Alabama and Louisville. Several games remain with flexible kickoff times to be announced later in the season. The schedule reflects the SEC's new format for 2026, in which teams will play nine conference games for the first time. Under the division-less structure, schools will play three annual opponents and face the other six opponents on a rotating basis, ensuring each team plays all SEC schools at least twice over a four-year period. [New head coach Will Stein will make his UK debut Sept. 5 after spending the past season as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Oregon](https://ukathletics.com/news/2025/12/01/will-stein-named-head-coach-of-kentucky-football/). Stein, a native Kentuckian whose father Matt played football for the Wildcats, has previously coached quarterbacks who reached the College Football Playoff and NFL stardom. ## Sources - [UK Athletics](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/06/10/kentucky-footballs-kickoff-time-windows-revealed/) - [Complete 2026 schedule with home opponents and game details](https://ukathletics.com/news/2025/12/11/kentucky-footballs-2026-schedule-revealed/) - [Will Stein named Kentucky football head coach with background information](https://ukathletics.com/news/2025/12/01/will-stein-named-head-coach-of-kentucky-football/) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from UK Athletics, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/06/10/kentucky-footballs-kickoff-time-windows-revealed/.