Tech soccer releases 2026 schedule

By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Athletics Media Relations

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The start of another Tennessee Tech soccer season will bring the beginning of a new era as the Golden Eagles will begin their first year as members of the Southern Conference in 2026. As the campaign nears its introduction, a new-look schedule has come into focus with the release of Tech's 2026 fall matches.

Head coach Corey Boyd and his staff announce an upcoming slate of 19 regular-season contests, one exhibition match, 10 SoCon get-togethers and 10 clashes in Cookeville for a Golden Eagle club that is coming off a regular-season and OVC Tournament title in the program's final season in the league in 2025.

The three-month campaign is set to get going with an Aug. 6 exhibition affair at Coastal Carolina before Tennessee Tech officially kicks off the regular season with a home match against Belmont on Aug. 12 in the first of five-non conference tilts against a team from the state of Tennessee.

Admission to all home matches at Tech Soccer Field is free of charge.

"We are looking forward to a new era for our program," TTU head coach Corey Boyd said. "We have scheduled teams that we feel will prepare us well as we move into the Southern Conference. From a travel perspective, it logistically worked out really well with a lot of close regional opponents within the non-conference. Also, if you look at the way it lines up, we have our last two non-conference matches at home, and then once conference play starts, our first two matches are at home as well."

Following back-to-back in-state gatherings with Belmont to open the year and then at Austin Peay in Tech's first road match of the regular season on Aug. 16, the Golden Eagles will host the defending Big South regular season champion, Radford, on Aug. 20 in Cookeville. The match with the Highlanders is one of 12 meetings against teams with winning records in 2025.

The purple and gold will close out the season's first month with a trip to North Alabama on Aug. 23 and then a home contest against Kennesaw State on Aug. 30.

The month of September will not see the Golden Eagles play a match outside of the Volunteer State, beginning with a road tussle at Vanderbilt on Sept. 3 in a rematch of the last season's NCAA Tournament opening round matchup. The Music City meeting is one of two straight in Nashville as Tech will take on Lipscomb on Sept. 6 in a contest against another NCAA Tournament team from 2025.

The purple and gold will then return to Tech Soccer Field for its longest homestand of the season with four consecutive contests in Cookeville in the cards. The Golden Eagles will greet two former conference foes in Murray State on Sept. 10 and Middle Tennessee on Sept. 13 before Tech will turn its attention to the start of Southern Conference action with a Sept. 17 home match against Chattanooga. The homestand will conclude on Sept. 20 with a showdown against Furman.

Tech's first SoCon road affair will feature a trip to Johnson City and a match with ETSU on Sept. 25 in the club's final contest in the month of September. The Golden Eagles will open October with a tilt at UNCG on Oct. 1 before returning home to battle VMI on Oct. 4.

"Our team is excited for the change of landscape, facilities, and challenge as we face several new opponents in this league," Boyd said. "The Southern Conference is a strong mid-major conference, and although some teams are relatively new to us, we have faced many of these programs before and will be ready for it. We are looking forward to a new era for our program and it is an exciting time for Tennessee Tech Athletics as well as Tennessee Tech Soccer."

The final half of the league schedule will feature three road matches and two Cookeville contests. Tech will appear at Mercer on Oct. 9, at the defending conference champion, Samford, on Oct. 18 and will close out the regular season at Western Carolina on Oct. 29. The team's final two matches at home will feature an Oct. 15 battle with The Citadel and an Oct. 24 faceoff with Wofford.

The SoCon Tournament is slated to start with a play-in match on Nov. 6. The quarterfinals will be held on Nov. 8, while the semifinals are scheduled for Nov. 13 and the championship match is on Nov. 15.