Mercer to host ESPN season opener at Five Star Stadium

The Bears will host East Texas A&M on August 29 in the first FCS Kickoff game ever played outside Montgomery, Alabama.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — The Mercer Bears football team will open the 2026 season on national television in the FCS Kickoff game at Five Star Stadium in Macon.

Mercer University Athletics announced Wednesday the Bears will host East Texas A&M Lions football on August 29 at 7 p.m. in the nationally televised matchup on ESPN.

The game marks the first time the annual FCS Kickoff event will be played outside Montgomery, Alabama.

Mercer enters the season as the two-time defending Southern Conference champion after finishing 11-3 in 2025 and becoming the first program since 2008 to win back-to-back outright SoCon titles.

The Bears also made their third straight appearance in the NCAA FCS Playoffs last season.

“This will be another Macon Moment,” Macon-Bibb Mayor Lester Miller said in the release. “Thanks to Mercer Football and ESPN, the whole world can take part.”

The game will also mark Mercer’s third appearance in the FCS Kickoff event in four seasons.

Mercer defeated North Alabama 17-7 in the 2023 FCS Kickoff, while last year’s game against UC Davis ended in a no contest after a lengthy lightning delay.

The Bears are entering their first season under head coach Joel Taylor, who was hired in December after previously serving as Mercer’s defensive coordinator from 2020 through 2023.

Additional ticket and parking information is expected to be announced in June.