CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team opens up its 2026 season when it hosts Northwestern (Minn.) on Saturday morning for its first contest at its newly-opened Patrick G. Rogan Stadium at 11 a.m. 

Rogan Stadium is part of The Sports Bowl at the Roberts Campus, a new set of state-of-the-art facilities and playing fields for CMS Athletics. Designed by world-renowned architects BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, who also worked on the award-winning Robert Day Sciences Center, the Sports Bowl further reflects the excellence and ambition demonstrated by CMS scholar-leader-athletes both in competition and inside the classroom.

Rogan Stadium seats 1,211, with 900 on the home side and 311 on the visitors side, and is the new home for football, lacrosse, and track and field. It includes a lighted multiuse field, a track venue, a video scoreboard, a press box, and field houses with locker rooms, restrooms, showers, and common spaces.

The Stags will look to get off to a strong start to its 2026 season as it looks to contend for the SCIAC title. The conference is back to eight teams this year, with Whittier and Azusa Pacific re-instating their programs, with APU joining the Division III level. CMS was picked to finish third, behind defending champion Chapman and Cal Lutheran, which were two teams it battled to close defeats late last season. 

Linebacker George Kruger, running back Cooper Nixon and offensive lineman Aseli Fangupo are returning first-team All-SCIAC selections for the Stags, while cornerback Andrew Carrasquillo, defensive lineman Grady Johnson and offensive lineman Zeke Vallez were selected to the second team. 

After its opener this weekend, CMS will have a bye week before returning for its second game at Rogan Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 19 against George Fox.