Bronco fans may need to get their passports ready for the ‘26 season opener, as they will reportedly serve as the opponent to the Michigan Wolverines’ first-ever international contest.
If reports from Thursday morning are true, Western Michigan football is set to say hallo und guten morgen to Frankfurt, Germany in the 2026 season.
Per On3 Sports’ Brett McMurphy, the Michigan Wolverines have reportedly opted to move their 2026 opener from The Big House in Ann Arbor to Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park, a stadium which has hosted five sanctioned NFL games in its past.
The primary home of Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfort since 1925, the Walstadion has also played host to NFL Europe games as the on-again-off-again home to the Frankfurt Galaxy (1991-2007) and has recently hosted two NFL regular season games in the past two years.
U of M confirmed the program is “in discussions” to play the 2026 season opener on foreign soil via Twitter on Thursday, but that it has not been finalized as of publication. Western Michigan Athletics also confirmed the discussions via press statement on Thursday.
The game is set to be Michigan’s first international regular-season contest in its storied 145-year history, and they will become the sixth Big Ten program to travel overseas for a contest. Western Michigan has played an international game twice in program history— both times in the postseason (2007 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; 2015 in Nassau, Bahamas.)
“It’s exciting to be in these advance discussions that present an historic moment not only for our football program, but for Western Michigan University as our national brand continues to grow,” Western Michigan athletic director Dan Bartholomae said via statement. “The opportunity to be a part of the first college football game played in Germany presents an experience for our program that is unmatched at any level of college football, and puts the University on an international stage. We can’t wait for the world to see all of the great academic, community, and athletic accomplishments happening at Western Michigan university.”
The change in venue also comes with a reported change of date, as the contest moves one week backwards from Saturday, September 5th, 2026 to Saturday, August 29, 2026.
Article updated Thursday, July 25, 2025 at 10:15 a.m. to add in statement by WMU athletic director Dan Bartholome.