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United Adds More Than 30 Flights Around Key College Football Games This Fall

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Ryan Smith
Updated: 
Edited by: Juan Ruiz
United Adds More Than 30 Flights Around Key College Football Games This Fall
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Fall means different things to different people: apple cider, carving pumpkins, and United Airlines adding flights to help you follow your favorite college football team to its biggest road games.

The carrier is back at it for the 2026 season, this time adding more than 30 new flights, flying bigger planes, and offering over 4,400 extra seats to get fans to top matchups across the country. That’s a noticeable jump from last year, and it shows this has become a real annual tradition for the airline.

Additionally, United is also touting its Starlink Wi-Fi to help fans watch other games that might take place while they’re in the air.

Let’s dig into the details.

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United Airlines Adds Flights for 2026 College Football Games

Fans of Notre Dame, the Big Ten, and the SEC have the most to gain here.

Like it did last year, United is crisscrossing the country to support marquee matchups involving teams like Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, and Oregon, using a mix of brand-new routes and bigger planes on select flights.

THE Ohio State University football game
I recommend cheering for Ohio State, just FYI. Image Credit: Katie Corrigan Seemann

Notre Dame gets the heaviest treatment, with added flights into South Bend (SBN) for a stretch of home games from September through November. However, the schedule spreads well beyond South Bend, hitting rivalry weekends and top-15 clashes from coast to coast.

Here are the games United is adding flights for, along with the outbound and inbound options for each:

SCROLL FOR MORE

Matchup

Outbound Flights

Inbound Flights

Notre Dame at Wisconsin (September 6)

September 5: Newark (EWR) to Green Bay (GRB)

September 6: Newark (EWR) to Green Bay (GRB)

September 7: Green Bay (GRB) to Newark (EWR)

Rice at Notre Dame (September 12)

September 11: Houston (IAH) to South Bend (SBN)

September 11: Newark (EWR) to South Bend (SBN)

September 13: South Bend (SBN) to Houston (IAH)

September 13: South Bend (SBN) to Newark (EWR)

Ohio State at Texas (September 12)

September 11: Columbus (CMH) to Austin (AUS)

September 13: Austin (AUS) to Columbus (CMH)

Michigan State at Notre Dame (September 19)

September 18: Newark (EWR) to South Bend (SBN)

September 20: South Bend (SBN) to Newark (EWR)

Wisconsin at Penn State (September 26)

September 25: Madison (MSN) to State College (SCE)

September 27: State College (SCE) to Madison (MSN)

Stanford at Notre Dame (October 10)

October 9: Newark (EWR) to South Bend (SBN)

October 9: San Francisco (SFO) to South Bend (SBN)

October 11: South Bend (SBN) to Newark (EWR)

October 11: South Bend (SBN) to San Francisco (SFO)

Indiana at Nebraska (October 10)

October 9: Indianapolis (IND) to Lincoln (LNK)

October 11: Lincoln (LNK) to Indianapolis (IND)

Alabama at Tennessee (October 17)

October 16: Birmingham (BHM) to Knoxville (TYS)

October 18: Knoxville (TYS) to Birmingham (BHM)

Miami at Notre Dame (November 7)

November 6: Newark (EWR) to South Bend (SBN)

November 8: South Bend (SBN) to Newark (EWR)

Alabama at LSU (November 7)

November 6: Birmingham (BHM) to Baton Rouge (BTR)

November 8: Baton Rouge (BTR) to Birmingham (BHM)

Oregon at Ohio State (November 7)

November 6: Eugene (EUG) to Columbus (CMH)

November 8: Columbus (CMH) to Eugene (EUG)

Texas at LSU (November 14)

November 13: Austin (AUS) to Baton Rouge (BTR)

November 15: Baton Rouge (BTR) to Austin (AUS)

Boston College at Notre Dame (November 14)

November 13: Newark (EWR) to South Bend (SBN)

November 15: South Bend (SBN) to Newark (EWR)

SMU at Notre Dame (November 21)

November 20: Newark (EWR) to South Bend (SBN)

November 22: South Bend (SBN) to Newark (EWR)

Hot Tip:

If any of these flights look pricey, keep in mind that paying with miles can help reduce the cost. It’s worth understanding how the United Airlines MileagePlus program works so you can redeem miles for these seats and save some cash for the tailgate.

Final Thoughts

United keeps building on this tradition, and the 2026 slate is its biggest college football push yet. The carrier has lined up more than 30 new flights, bigger planes on select routes, and over 4,400 added seats to get fans to the games that matter most.

Plus, with the addition of free Starlink Wi-Fi for MileagePlus members, you can follow the scoreboard the whole way there.

Featured Image Credit: Alberto Riva
Ryan Smith's image

About Ryan Smith

Ryan completed his goal of visiting every country in the world in December of 2023 and is now revisiting some favorites. Over the years, he’s written about award travel and credit cards for publications like AwardWallet, The Points Guy, USA Today Blueprint, CNBC Select, Tripadvisor, Point.me, Forbes Advisor, and more.

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