Florida and former Pac-12 program cancel home-and-home series
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Florida will no longer be playing a Cal in a home-and-home series in 2026 and ’27.
The series cancelation news was included in Cal’s announcement of a 4-year home-and-home series with in-state rival UCLA, a former Pac-12 foe. Starting with the 2024 season, Cal will play in the ACC and UCLA will play in the Big Ten. Cal is also adding UNLV to its future nonconference slate.
Florida and Cal had been scheduled for Sept. 19, 2026, in Gainesville and Sept. 4, 2027, in Berkeley. The games were announced in 2020.
Wednesday’s announcement out of Berkeley follows news that UCLA canceled future matchups with Georgia and Auburn. It has been suggested that Cal and UCLA could be looking to keep their nonconference games more regional for travel purposes. With the latest wave of realignment, both schools are looking at longer trips east to face conference opponents in the ACC and Big Ten.
The schedule changes come amid ongoing speculation about the SEC potentially adopting a 9-game conference schedule beginning in 2026. The conference has yet to announce its scheduling plans for 2026 and beyond. SEC teams will play 8 conference games in 2024 and ’25.
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If the SEC moves to 9 conference games in 2026, Florida will have its ’26 schedule set. The Gators currently have three nonconference games scheduled for ’26: NC State (Sept. 5, Raleigh), Campbell (Sept. 12, Gainesville) and Florida State (Nov. 25, Tallahassee).
Whether Florida plays 8 or 9 conference games in 2027, there are multiple spots to fill. UF’s only nonconference game scheduled for ’27 is against Florida State on Nov. 27 in Gainesville.
Florida and Florida State are scheduled to continue their annual series through 2037. Currently, UF’s nonconference schedule includes home-and-home series with UCF (2024, 2030, 2033), Miami (2024, 2025), NC State (2026, 2032), Colorado (2028, 2029), Arizona State (2028, 2031) and Notre Dame (2031, 2032).
In 2024, the Gators will play in-state foes Miami (Aug. 31, Gainesville), UCF (Oct. 5, Gainesville) and Florida State (Nov. 30, Tallahassee). Samford rounds out the nonconference slate with a Sept. 7 meeting in Gainesville.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
