PITTSBURG — Pittsburg State University and University of West Alabama officials have announced the schools have signed a two-year contract for a home and home football series in 2026 and 2027.

The Gorillas and Tigers will meet Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026 at Livingston, Ala., at Terry Bunn Field at Tiger Stadium; and the two squads will face off Saturday, Sept. 11, 2027 in Pittsburg at Carnie Smith Stadium. The two schools have not previously faced off against one another on the gridiron.

"We are excited for this opportunity to play a high-quality program like West Alabama in the non-conference portion of our schedule for the next two seasons," Pitt State Vice President for Athletics Jim Johnson said. "This series will showcase two great programs from the MIAA and the Gulf South Conference. Working ahead on future schedules is so vital in today's landscape, so we're thankful to be able to address the open date we had in our schedules for 2026 and 2027."

West Alabama Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Brett Gilliland echoed those sentiments.

"We're excited to announce this home-and-home football series with Pittsburg State, one of the premier programs in Division II football," Gilliland said. "We both have great traditions of excellence and competitiveness on the field, and this match-up will showcase two programs that take great pride in doing things the right way. Our fans can look forward to an outstanding atmosphere and a high level of competition when these two teams meet."

In addition to nine MIAA contests on the slate, the Gorillas will face perennial power Ferris State University and UWA in 2026 non-conference play. Pitt State and FSU will meet in the season opener on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, in Pittsburg.

Pitt State will bring an 8-2 record (7-1 MIAA) into its regular season finale match-up against Northwest Missouri State University (9-1, 8-0 MIAA). The No. 7 ranked Gorillas and No. 12 ranked Bearcats will meet at Children's Mercy Park, home of Sporting KC of the Major Soccer League, in Kansas City, Kan., at 1:30 p.m. (CST) Saturday (Nov. 15). The contest will decide the 2025 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Championship.
 
The all-time winningest program in Division II history, Pitt State has made 20 NCAA postseason appearances highlighted by NCAA-II National Championships in 1991 and 2011 and national runner-up finishes in 1992, 1995 and 2004. The Gorillas posted an 8-3 mark in 20024, falling in the first round of the NCAA-II playoffs to Harding University.

West Alabama is 5-3 on the season heading into a non-conference home match-up against Northeastern State University Saturday. The Tigers opened the season 5-0 and ranked No. 8 nationally, before dropping a pair of tightly-contested games to No. 3 University of West Florida (23-16) and No. 17 Delta State (41-38) in October.

West Alabama posted a 9-2 mark in 2024 and qualified for the NCAA-II playoffs. The Tigers dropped a hard fought 37-34 decision to Lenoir-Rhyne University in first-round playoff action.