The UNLV football team’s quest for a fourth consecutive Mountain West Championship game appearance will receive an early test to open the 2026 season.

The Rebels start conference play Sept. 5 at Hawaii — a matchup between two teams with legitimate conference title aspirations — marking the program’s earliest league game since a Sept. 5, 2005, tilt against New Mexico. The schedule was released this morning.

That road trip is the part of three demanding early-season contests for a program that has built genuine momentum, winning 30 games over the past three seasons.

How tough is the early slate? Consider this: UNLV’s first three opponents combined for a 29-11 record a year ago.

The Rebels kick things off Aug. 29 at Allegiant Stadium, hosting Memphis — a perennial American Athletic Conference contender — before heading to Hawaii. Seven days later, UNLV hits the road again, traveling to North Texas, another formidable program from the American.

Following a bye week, the Rebels are back on the road for a Sept. 26 contest at Akron before coming home for back-to-back games — Oct. 3 against Cal and Oct. 10 against North Dakota State.

“Very excited about this year’s schedule,” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said in a statement. “We have some great home games for not just the UNLV faithful but also for all sports fans in the Las Vegas area.”

The season wraps up Nov. 28 at Allegiant Stadium against rival UNR.

The complete schedule can be found here.