Gillette Stadium to host historic college football rivalry matchup in 2026
College football will return to Foxborough in 2026, when Gillette Stadium will host the 99th playing of the Navy-Notre Dame rivalry.
Last year, football fans in New England got to experience a historic college football rivalry when Army-Navy was played at Gillette Stadium. On Tuesday, it was announced another rivalry will be coming to town in 2026 with Navy-Notre Dame set to be played at Gillette on Oct. 31 of that year.
The 2026 game will be the 99th playing of the Navy-Notre Dame rivalry. While the teams first met in 1927, the roots of this becoming an annual series happened during World War II, when Notre Dame was struggling financially as a university. The Navy made Notre Dame a training center, with the financial implications keeping Notre Dame afloat.
Notre Dame has since extended an open invitation to play Navy every year, with former Notre Dame president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh once saying “as long as Navy wants to be on Notre Dame’s schedule, they’ll be on Notre Dame’s schedule.” Starting in 2005, a tradition began where each team stands at attention during the playing of the other’s alma mater following the game.
All-time, Notre Dame leads the series 81-13-1. That includes a 43-game winning streak from 1964-2007, the longest head-to-head winning streak in the history of FBS football. The Fighting Irish’s current winning streak sits at seven games, including a 51-14 game this year in New Jersey.
“The extraordinary effort put forth by the Kraft Group, the New England Patriots and the entire New England area for the 2023 Army-Navy Game made it logical to bring back another great rivalry, the 99th playing of the Navy-Notre Dame Game, to Gillette Stadium on Oct. 31, 2026,” Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk said in a statement. “The Boston area is a terrific place to visit in the fall and I have no doubt both Navy and Notre Dame fans will pack Gillette Stadium.”
“We are thrilled to host the 2026 Navy-Notre Dame Game and welcome these two historic programs and their passionate fanbases to Gillette Stadium for the first time in this storied, century-long rivalry. We are honored that Navy has chosen Gillette Stadium and our region as the host for the 99th playing of this game steeped in tradition,” said Patriots owner Robert Kraft. “The Midshipmen and Fighting Irish epitomize this, and we look forward to welcoming one of the gridiron’s greatest rivalries to Gillette Stadium in 2026.”
Information about tickets will be available at a later date.
