CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois University football team has added a Week 0 game at the University of West Florida to its 2026 schedule.

The game will take place on Thursday, Aug. 27, at 6 p.m. in Pensacola, Fla., and will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Southern Illinois hasn’t traveled to the state of Florida since Sept. 3, 2016, when it visited Florida Atlantic (38-30 loss) in Boca Raton, Fla.

The Salukis will then travel to Samford on Thursday, Sept. 3, before hosting SEMO for Family Weekend on Saturday, Sept. 12.