SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University football team and head coach Josh Breske announced the slate for the 2026 season on Monday afternoon, which is highlighted by a pair of in-state non-conference opponents and a late season stretch of three consecutive games against 2025 NCAA Division II Playoff qualifiers. Highlighting the 5-game home schedule, the Yellow Jackets will host Fort Lewis for the annual Swarm Days contest and end the home slate with a chance to keep "The Buckle" home in the Battle for the Buckle rivalry against Chadron State.
 
The 2026 season gets underway with a pair of in-state non-conference match-ups, first as Black Hills State makes the return trip to Sioux Falls as the teams close out a home-and-home series that began last year. The Yellow Jackets and Cougars will kick-off under the lights of Bob Young Field at 6 p.m. CT in Sioux Falls on Thursday, August 27. A week later, the Green & Gold concludes non-conference play with another well-known opponent from the SDIC and DAC days, facing former Missouri River Shootout rivals, Dakota State, for the first time since 2010 for the home opener in a 1 p.m. kick-off at Lyle Hare Stadium on Saturday, September 5.
 
The RMAC schedule begins at home on Saturday, September 12, as the Yellow Jackets welcome Adams State to Lyle Hare Stadium in hopes of continuing a 5-game win streak against the Grizzlies that saw BHSU earn a 59-0 shutout victory a year ago. The Green & Gold will then take to the road for their longest road trip of the season as they play their first conference road contest at New Mexico Highlands in a 1 p.m. kick-off at Sanchez Family Stadium in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The Yellow Jackets will again look to build off the momentum of a current 3-game win streak against the Cowboys as they defeated NMHU 55-28 to close the 2025 season. The first full month of the year comes to a close on Saturday, September 26, in a 1 p.m. Swarm Days match-up against Fort Lewis as the Skyhawks visit Lyle Hare Stadium with the Green & Gold holding a 6-game win streak in the series as BHSU fought to a 25-19 victory last year.
 
The month of October kicks-off with the first of two consecutive road games, as Black Hills State makes the first of three visits to the state of Colorado, facing off against Colorado School of Mines in a 12 p.m. Saturday, October 3, contest at Marv Kay Stadium in Golden, Colorado. Following a league-wide week six bye, the Yellow Jackets will invade O'Harra Stadium in Rapid City for the 141^st annual Black Hills Brawl on Saturday, October 17. The Green & Gold will look to extend another streak in the battle for the Homestake Trophy, as BHSU will look to add to the success of the visiting team in the 6 p.m. battle as in five straight years the match-up has been won the road school.
 
Black Hills State then returns home for the first time in nearly a month as they begin a stretch of three consecutive games against NCAA Division II Playoff qualifiers, first by hosting Western Colorado in a 1 p.m. match-up at Lyle Hare Stadium on Saturday, October 24. The Yellow Jackets then travel to CSU Pueblo on Saturday, October 31, for the 1 p.m. kick-off against the defending RMAC Champions at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl in Pueblo, Colorado. The 3-game stretch against 2025 postseason qualifiers comes to an end on Senior Day, as the 2^nd Annual Battle for the Buckle is slated for a 1 p.m. kick-off on Saturday, November 7, against Chadron State. Then the 2026 regular season comes to a close a week later on the road in Grand Junction, Colorado, as Black Hills State takes on Colorado Mesa in a 1 p.m. kick-off at Stocker Stadium on Saturday, November 14.
 
More information regarding tickets and game promotions will be available later in the summer.