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Michigan football in 'ongoing discussions' to open 2026 season with Week 0 game versus WMU in Frankfurt, Germany

clayton-sayfieby: Clayton Sayfie07/25/25CSayf23
Michigan Wolverines football national championship run out tunnel
(Photo by Dominick Sokotoff / TheWolverine.com)

Michigan Wolverines football and Western Michigan have moved their 2026 season-opening game up one week from Sept. 5 to Aug. 29 and are set to square off in Frankfurt, Germany, according to On3’s Brett McMurphy.

The game will take place at Deutsche Bank Park, a 55,000-seat retractable roof soccer stadium that has hosted five NFL games, per McMurphy.

Shortly after McMurphy’s report, the University of Michigan released a statement that revealed U-M is “engaged in ongoing discussions to kick off the 2026 season on foreign soil, playing host to Western Michigan at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany, on Saturday, Aug. 29.”

“We are in advanced discussions to create this first-of-its-kind opportunity for our student-athletes and fans,” athletic director Warde Manuel said. “The University of Michigan is one of the few worldwide brands in college athletics and the interest in playing an international game would be unique. This would be a great opportunity to teach ‘Go Blue’ to a new group of fans in Germany.”

“I am excited about the football and educational experience this game could provide for our players,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said. “We are always looking for unique opportunities to expose our student-athletes to other cultures. In the last 10 years, our program has been to Italy, France and South Africa, and this game would provide another chance to grow our international fanbase.”

Michigan hosts Oklahoma in week two and will presumably have a week one bye to allow for ample time to return to the United States, get reacclimatized and prepare for the Sooners. Oklahoma is scheduled to open the season against UTEP Sept. 5.

The clash with Western Michigan was originally scheduled to be played at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 5. This would become the first time that Michigan has played a MAC team at a location other than Michigan Stadium.

Michigan has played 145 seasons of football, but never competed in a game outside the United States.

“It will also be the fifth college football game held in Germany, but the first between FBS programs and the first in Frankfurt,” McMurphy noted in his report.

“Michigan will become only the sixth Big Ten member (at the time of the game) to play overseas. The others: Northwestern vs. Nebraska in 2022 in Dublin, Ireland; Penn State played UCF in 2014 in Dublin; and Wisconsin vs. Michigan State in 1993 in Tokyo.

“The MAC has had several teams play in bowl games outside the United States, but Western Michigan will be the first MAC team to play an international regular season game. The Broncos have played outside the United States twice before in the 2015 Bahamas Bowl and the 2007 International Bowl in Toronto.”

Michigan currently has eight home contests scheduled for the 2026 season — the highest a Big Ten team can have given there are nine conference and three non-conference games. The Wolverines will give one up to drop that total down to seven if they do indeed take on the Broncos overseas.

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