Tops to host Salukis to open 2027 season
Published 11:55 am Thursday, August 20, 2026
Western Kentucky Head Coach Tyson Helton speaks on the upcoming football season during a media day event Aug. 4 at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
(JACK DOBBS / Daily News)
Western Kentucky’s football team will open the 2027 season at Houchens-Smith Stadium against SIU on Aug. 28, 2027.
The matchup with the Salukis completes WKU’s nonconference schedule for 2027. The Hilltoppers are also scheduled to travel to Ball State for a Sept. 11 game, before again hitting the road for a Sept. 18 game at Oregon. WKU will close nonconference play with a Sept. 25 home game against Miami-Ohio.
The season-opening game against SIU will mark the first meeting between the two programs in more than two decades, with the last meeting coming during the 2006 season. The Hilltoppers own a 9-6 advantage in the series over the Salukis, including a 27-24 win the last time the two played as members of the Gateway Football Conference. The series dates back to 1992, when the Hilltoppers took down SIU 41-39 in Bowling Green.
WKU is coming off a 9-4 season in 2025, which included a 27-16 victory over Southern Miss in the 2025 New Orleans Bowl – the fifth bowl win for the Hilltoppers in seven seasons under head coach Tyson Helton. This fall, the Hilltoppers will enter their eighth season under Helton, who holds a 57-36 overall record during his first seven seasons, with appearances in bowl games each of those seven seasons, as well as two Conference USA Championship Game appearances.
With its 2025 New Orleans Bowl victory, WKU claimed its eighth bowl win in the last 12 seasons. Only Georgia and Minnesota have more bowl wins than WKU during the College Football Playoff Era, and WKU’s eight bowl wins are tied for third-most nationally with Alabama, Ohio State and Wisconsin during that period.
SIU is coming off of a 7-5 season in 2025. The Salukis are scheduled to open the 2026 season at West Florida on Aug. 27.
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WKU is scheduled to open the 2026 season at Nevada on Sept. 5. Kickoff at Mackay Stadium is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
