IRVING, Texas – The American Athletic Conference has announced a number of kickoff times and television designations for the 2023 football season.
In addition to most of the times and television assignments for the first three weeks of the 2023 season, Wednesday's announcement includes the kickoff times for The American’s Thursday and Friday prime time games on ESPN networks as well as those for most Navy home games.
The Week 1 schedule is highlighted by key nonconference matchups, begining with a noon ET matchup between East Carolina and 2022 College Football Playoff participant Michigan Sept. 2 on Peacock. Rice will play its first game as an American Athletic Conference member against Texas on Fox, while UTSA makes its American debut at Houston on FS1. The opening Saturday will also include an ESPNU tripleheader as SMU hosts Louisiana Tech at noon ET, North Texas hosts California at 4 p.m. ET and Tulane welcomes South Alabama to Yulman Stadium for an 8 p.m. ET matchup.
The American will have three nonconference games on linear networks in Week 2 as Tulane hosts Ole Miss Sept. 9 in a highly antipcated matchup at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Two American teams will be on the road against Big Ten opponents that day as Charlotte vists Maryland for a 7:30 p.m. game on NBC and Temple is at Rutgers at 7:30 on Big Ten Network.
Two home games against marquee teams highlight the Week 3 schedule. South Florida will take on Alabama on ABC (3:30 p.m. ET), while Tulsa will host Oklahoma on either ESPN or ESPN2 (3:30 p.m. ET).
Twelve intraconference games from The American have already been designated for national television, beginning with a Thursday night Navy-Memphis game Sept. 14 on ESPN. The Thursday-night slate of conference games on ESPN continues with Temple at Tulsa (Sept. 28), SMU at East Carolina (Oct. 12) and Rice at Tulsa (Oct. 19). The American’s Friday-night lineup begins with UTSA against Army from the Alamodome (Sept. 15), Tulane at Memphis (Oct. 13), SMU at Temple (Oct. 20), Florida Atlantic at Charlotte (Oct. 27), North Texas at SMU (Nov. 10) and South Florida at UTSA (Nov. 17).
The final week of the 2023 regular season will feature two Black Friday games - one at noon on ESPN and one at 3:30 p.m. on ABC. Two of four games currently slotted for Saturday, Nov. 25 - UTSA at Tulane, Memphis at Temple, Tulsa at East Carolina, and UAB at North Texas, will move to those Black Friday windows. Those selections will be made by Oct. 9.
Navy’s conference game against East Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 18, will be televised on an ESPN Network to be determined, Navy’s two Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy games - Oct. 21 against Air Force and Dec. 9 against Army - will both be on the CBS Television Network, as announced earlier this week. Navy's remaining home games in Annapolis will be at 3:30- p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network, while the Midshipmen’s season-opener against Notre Dame from Dublin, Ireland, will be Aug. 26 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
The American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game will air on either ABC or ESPN on Dec. 2 at 4 p.m. ET.
Most of the remaining start times and television designations for the 2023 season will be made on a weekly basis through the season as part of the conference’s 12-day selection process. The most up-to-date schedule, with television designations, is available at TheAmerican.org.
The American continued to make history in 2022 as Tulane completed the best one-year turnaround in major college football history, as the Green Wave capped a 12-2 season with a Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic victory against USC and a final national ranking of No. 9. It marked the seventh time in nine seasons of the College Football Playoff era that The American was represented in the New Year’s Six, the fourth win by an American team in the league's 10-year history and the sixth top-10 finish by an American Athletic Conference team.
2023 American Athletic Conference Football Schedule/Television Update
| Date |
Game |
Time (ET) |
Television |
| Saturday, Aug. 26 |
Navy vs. Notre Dame (Dublin, Ireland) |
2:30 p.m. |
NBC |
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, Aug. 31 |
North Carolina A&T at UAB |
8 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Tulsa |
8 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, Sept. 2 |
East Carolina at Michigan |
Noon |
Peacock |
|
Louisiana Tech at SMU |
Noon |
ESPNU |
|
Akron at Temple |
2 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Rice at Texas |
3:30 p.m. |
Fox |
|
South Florida at Western Kentucky |
3:30 p.m. |
CBS Sports Network |
|
California at North Texas |
4 p.m. |
ESPNU |
|
South Carolina State at Charlotte |
6 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Monmouth at Florida Atlantic |
6 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Bethune-Cookman at Memphis |
7 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
UTSA at Houston |
7 p.m. |
FS1 |
|
South Alabama at Tulane |
8 p.m. |
ESPNU |
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, Sept. 9 |
Wagner at Navy |
3:30 p.m. |
CBS Sports Network |
|
Ole Miss at Tulane |
3:30 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
|
Tulsa at Washington |
5 p.m. |
Pac-12 Network |
|
Ohio at Florida Atlantic |
6 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
North Texas at FIU |
6:30 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Memphis at Arkansas State |
7 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Florida A&M at South Florida |
7 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Charlotte at Maryland |
7:30 p.m. |
NBC |
|
Temple at Rutgers |
7:30 p.m. |
Big Ten Network |
|
SMU at Oklahoma |
TBD |
ESPN+ |
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, Sept. 14 |
Navy at Memphis * |
7:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
|
|
|
|
| Friday, Sept. 15 |
Army at UTSA |
7 p.m. |
ESPN |
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, Sept. 16 |
Norfolk State at Temple |
2 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
East Carolina at Appalachian State |
3:30 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Alabama at South Florida |
3:30 p.m. |
ABC |
|
Oklahoma at Tulsa |
3:30 p.m. |
ESPN or ESPN2 |
|
Tulane at Southern Miss |
4 p.m. |
ESPNU |
|
Georgia State at Charlotte |
6 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Louisiana at UAB |
7 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
North Texas at Louisiana Tech |
7 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Texas Southern at Rice |
7 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Prairie View A&M at SMU |
7 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Florida Atlantic at Clemson |
8 p.m. |
ACC Network |
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, Sept. 23 |
Gardner-Webb at East Carolina |
6 p.m. |
ESPN + |
|
Charlotte at Florida |
7 p.m. |
SEC Network + |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, Sept. 28 |
Temple at Tulsa * |
7:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, Sept. 30 |
South Florida at Navy * |
3:30 p.m. |
CBS Sports Network |
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, Oct. 7 |
North Texas at Navy * |
3:30 p.m. |
CBS Sports Network |
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, Oct. 12 |
SMU at East Carolina * |
7:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
|
|
|
|
| Friday, Oct. 13 |
Tulane at Memphis * |
7 p.m. |
ESPN |
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, Oct. 19 |
Rice at Tulsa * |
7 p.m. |
ESPN or ESPN2 |
|
|
|
|
| Friday, Oct. 20 |
SMU at Temple * |
7 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, Oct. 21 |
Air Force at Navy |
Noon |
CBS |
|
|
|
|
| Friday, Oct. 27 |
Florida Atlantic at Charlotte * |
7:30 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
|
|
|
|
| Friday, Nov. 10 |
North Texas at SMU * |
9 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, Nov. 11 |
UAB at Navy * |
3:30 p.m. |
CBS Sports Network |
|
|
|
|
| Friday, Nov. 17 |
South Florida at UTSA * |
9 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, Nov. 18 |
East Carolina at Navy * |
TBD |
ESPN Network TBD |
|
|
|
|
| Friday, Nov. 24 |
TBD |
Noon |
ESPN |
|
TBD |
3:30 p.m. |
ABC |
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, Dec. 2 |
American Football Championship |
4 p.m. |
ABC or ESPN |
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, Dec. 9 |
Army vs. Navy (Foxborough, Mass.) |
3 p.m. |
CBS |