CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina is going international with its 2026 college football season opener, moving an already scheduled game against TCU to Ireland, athletics director Bubba Cunningham and offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens confirmed on Tuesday morning in separate social media posts.
An official announcement is expected Tuesday. That non-conference matchup has been on the books for Sept. 5, 2026, at TCU. It’s a return game in Fort Worth, Texas, following the Horned Frogs’ visit to UNC’s Kenan Stadium that will open the 2025 season for both teams, along with providing the stage for Bill Belichick‘s coaching debut.
As part of the deal to move the 2026 opener to Dublin, Ireland, the Tar Heels have negotiated compensation for TCU, sources have confirmed, as a means of accounting for the Horned Frogs losing a home date on their schedule, and therefore recouping the revenue that’s generated by a home football game.
Ireland has a growing college football history. The country hosted its first such game in 1988, when Boston College beat Army as part of Dublin’s celebration marking the 1,000th anniversary of its founding. Aviva Stadium opened in 2010 and six college football games have been held there since 2012, including Georgia Tech’s defeat of Florida State in an ACC matchup to kick off last season.
This year, Kansas State and Iowa State are scheduled to meet in Dublin on Aug. 23 in a 2025 season opener, an event called the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. Likewise, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin are scheduled to square off in a 2027 season opener there, too. But the slot for a 2026 college football game in Dublin has remained available.
Aviva Stadium has a listed capacity of 51,711, with the Ireland national rugby union team and Republic of Ireland national football team (soccer) its chief tenants. The venue also is known to locals as Lansdowne Road or Dublin Arena.
Carolina has non-conference matchups scheduled against East Tennessee State (Sept. 12 at home), Connecticut (Sept. 19 at home) and Notre Dame (Oct. 3 at home) in 2026, in addition to the road game at TCU to open the season. The Tar Heels also face Louisville, Miami, NC State and Syracuse at home, and Clemson, Duke, Pittsburgh and Virginia on the road in ACC league play during the 2026 season.
UNC embarks on the 2025 season, its first under Belichick’s new regime, with a Sept. 1 opener against TCU, a spotlighted night game in Chapel Hill to conclude the long Labor Day weekend (7:30 p.m., ESPN).
The Tar Heels also have non-conference assignments against Charlotte (Sept. 6 on the road), Richmond (Sept. 13 at home) and Central Florida (Sept. 20 on the road) on their approaching 2025 schedule. Then, Carolina meets Clemson, Duke, Stanford and Virginia at home, and California, NC State, Syracuse and Wake Forest on the road in ACC league play during the 2025 season.
College Football Games in Ireland Through the Years
1988: Boston College 38, Army 24
1989: Pittsburgh 46, Rutgers 29
1996: Notre Dame 54, Navy 27
2012: Notre Dame 50, Navy 10
2014: Penn State 26, Central Florida 24
2016: Georgia Tech 17, Boston College 14
2022: Northwestern 31, Nebraska 28
2023: Notre Dame 42, Navy 3
2024: Georgia Tech 24, Florida State 21
2025: Iowa State vs. Kansas State
2026: North Carolina vs. TCU
2027: Pittsburgh vs. Wisconsin
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