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August 29th, 2026
Texas Christian University (TCU) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) will open the 2026 college football season in Dublin, in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. The game will be held on August 29th, 2026, at the Aviva Stadium.
TCU, from Fort Worth, Texas will serve as the home team in Dublin against UNC who have recently appointed Bill Belichick as head football coach. Belichick is considered by many as the greatest coach in all of professional sports as he has won an NFL- record eight Super Bowls - six as a head coach for the New England Patriots and two as an assistant coach with the New York Giants. Belichick drafted and crafted superstars such as Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
The 2026 Aer Lingus College Football Classic will be just the fifth time TCU and North Carolina football teams compete against each other dating back to 1940 and the first time for both teams to have played football internationally.
TCU are two-time National Championship winners and most recently reached the College Football National Championship in 2023. While both teams have a rich history of producing top level football talent, UNC have also produced other sporting legends such as 6-time NBA Champion Micheal Jordan and 2x Olympic Gold Medallist and FIFA World Cup Winner Mia Hamm to name a few.
Aviva Stadium
The Aer Lingus College Football Classic will be held at the magnificent Aviva Stadium, which also held the 2012 Emerald Isle Classic between the University of Notre Dame and U.S. Naval Academy, as well as the Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Boston College and Georgia Tech in 2016, Northwestern and Nebraska in 2022, Notre Dame and Navy in 2023, Georgia Tech and Florida State in 2024, and K-State and Iowa State in 2025. It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and where Boston College played in 1988. It is home to the Irish Rugby Football Union and the Football Association of Ireland.
