UCA leads 2026 UAC football kickoff broadcast schedule

Central Arkansas will kick off its 2026 season on national television before a single snap gets played this fall.

The Bears are set to join seven other United Athletic Conference schools at the 2026 UAC Football Kickoff on Tuesday July 21 in Arlington Texas.

UCA coach Nathan Brown will represent the program at Texas Live! along with players Tyrell Pollard and Trevion Traylor.

The event lets fans see coaches and players from every conference school in one place before fall camp starts.

ESPN+ will carry the full broadcast live starting at 11 p.m. The Bears’ own segment starts at 11:34 p.m. Hosts Byron Anderson and Kendra Sheehan will lead interviews with coaches and student-athletes from all eight programs.

Texas Live! will open its doors to the public for the event with no admission charge. Fans who want to attend in person can head to Arlington and watch the broadcast happen live on site.

UCA’s slot falls right after North Alabama wraps its turn and just ahead of Eastern Kentucky’s spot on the clock.

That gives Bears fans an early afternoon window to catch their team before lunch wraps up in Arkansas.

Eight teams share spotlight in Arlington

Every UAC school gets the same setup at kickoff. Each program brings its head coach and two players and all three get time on camera.

That format stays the same no matter where a team falls on the schedule.

Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Tarleton State, West Florida and West Georgia make up the eight-team league.

The UAC formed in 2023 through a partnership between the Atlantic Sun Conference and the former Western Athletic Conference.

This year the ASUN and UAC created Unisun Sports to grow that partnership even further.

What comes next for the Bears

Fall camp season sits just around the corner for every UAC team.

The kickoff event gives coaches like Brown a chance to set the tone for his program before practices begin.

This kind of early exposure matters for a program working to build its name inside a young league. UCA gets a national platform before a single snap of the 2026 season even happens.

Team list and broadcast times

North Alabama: 11:10 a.m. — Brent Dearmon, Jyheam Ingram, Destin Wade

Eastern Kentucky: 11:22 a.m. — Walt Wells, Buzz Flabiano, Kaden Smith

Central Arkansas: 11:34 a.m. — Nathan Brown, Tyrell Pollard, Trevion Traylor

West Florida: 11:46 a.m. — Kaleb Nobles, Jake Robinette, Eli Webb

Austin Peay: 12:10 p.m. — Jeff Faris, Chris Parson, David Portu

West Georgia: 12:22 p.m. — Steve Englehart, Chancellor Bryant, T.J. Lockey

Abilene Christian: 12:34 p.m. — Keith Patterson, Kortlin Rausaw, Luke Roaten

Tarleton State: 12:46 p.m. — Todd Whitten, Danny Joiner, Omar Emmons

Three key takeaways

• UCA coach Nathan Brown along with players Tyrell Pollard and Trevion Traylor will represent the Bears at the 2026 UAC Football Kickoff.
• ESPN+ carries the full event live starting at 12 p.m. ET with the Bears segment airing at 112:34 p.m.
• Texas Live! in Arlington opens to the public and all eight UAC teams take part in the broadcast.