Iowa State and Kansas State will kick off the 2025 college football season in Dublin, Ireland, at the Aer Lingus College Football Classic on August 23, 2025, marking just the 10th college football game ever played in the country.
Now, the 11th college football game in Irish history is on the schedule, and once again, it includes a Big 12 program.
As first reported by Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, the TCU Horned Frogs and North Carolina Tar Heels will kick off the 2026 season from Dublin, Ireland.
Both programs made their official announcements on Tuesday morning, via press release.
The game will take place on August 29 at the 47,000-capacity Aviva Stadium and mark the first time the Horned Frogs have played abroad. TCU will serve as the home team.
“We are extremely honored that TCU has been invited to participate in the 2026 Aer Lingus College Football Classic,” TCU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Buddie said. “This is more than just a football game. It’s an opportunity to advance TCU’s brand globally while having our student-athletes experience a unique educational opportunity and memory of a lifetime. We thank Aer Lingus and Irish American Events for our selection and know our fans will travel very well, turning Dublin into a sea of purple.”
“We will take great pride in representing TCU internationally,” TCU Head Football Coach Sonny Dykes said. “With a good number of our players not having traveled overseas, I am most happy for them to have this opportunity and very much appreciate Aer Lingus and Irish American Events making it possible for them as well as all of TCU to share in this experience. It will be special to take the field in Dublin and for our fans to see us on this type of stage in Ireland. We have enjoyed watching past Aer Lingus College Football Classic games, and it’s a true honor for us to now play in it and kick off the 2026 college football season.”
The Horned Frogs and Tar Heels will face off on a Monday night in Week 1, with Bill Belichick’s first game at the college level taking precedence among the biggest storylines for the opening week.
