The Blazers and Bulldogs will play both games at UAB’s Protective Stadium for just the second and third matchups ever between the two teams. Samford defeated UAB in the only ever matchup between the two teams 49-3 in 1992 when UAB was still a DIII program.

UAB is opening next season in Big Ten country. The football program announced Thursday afternoon that it will kick off next year’s campaign with a trip to Illinois on Sept. 5. UAB also announced it will be hosting Samford inside Protective Stadium in both the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

Memphis football, which seemingly had the upper hand for the Group of Five spot in the College Football Playoff, finds itself at a crossroads.

After a 34 year hiatus, the UAB Blazers and Samford Bulldogs will play on the gridiron against each other in 2026 and 2027 at Protective Stadium. The last time the two Birmingham area teams played each other was in 1992, when Samford defeated the Blazers, who at the time was playing its second season as a Division III team.

For a third straight year, UAB’s season will end in November. The Blazers’ chances of reaching a bowl were officially buried Saturday in a blowout loss to North Texas inside Protective Stadium.