Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College football team will travel to California in 2026 for a non-conference matchup against the Golden Bears, both teams announced today. The game will be played on September 19, 2026 with the time of the contest determined at a later date.

The game will mark the first-ever matchup between the Seahawks and the Golden Bears, who compete out of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Ahead of the 2025 season, Wagner has played 18 games against FBS opponents.

The Seahawks last faced an FBS team in 2024, when Wagner traveled to FAU. 

The Seahawks nearly pulled off their first upset of an FBS opponent in the 2019 opener against UConn, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Huskies before falling 24-21. Thanks to an interception return for a touchdown by defensive back Myron Morris and two rushing touchdowns by Dymitri McKenzie, the Seahawks were within striking distance late in the fourth quarter but fell short in the final minutes.

In their first-ever meeting against an 85-scholarship opponent, the 2012 Seahawks dropped a hard-fought 7-3 contest at FAU in Boca Raton. That 2012 Wagner team opened the season 0-3, before reeling off nine straight wins en route to the program's first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) championship and an ensuing NCAA FCS first-round playoff win over Colgate.

Cal finished the 2024 season with a 6-7 overall record and a 2-6 record in their first season in the ACC. 

For more information visit wagnerathletics.com.

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