High school football: 2026 start dates for all 50 states

Friday Nights Lights are turning on across the country.

By Aaron Williams

Aug 13, 2026, 1:00pm

The 2026 high school football season is kicking off around the country with more states turning on the Friday Night Lights in the weeks to come.

Football has already begun in Hawaii as all but around a dozen states will have games in the books by the end of the month.

We've released our Preseason MaxPreps Top 25 as well as expanded 100 rankings along with the best player and best team in each state.

Read on to find out when the season begins in your state.

Aug. 3

Hawaii

Aug. 13

Alaska

Aug. 14

Florida, Nevada, Utah

Aug. 17

Arkansas, Delaware, Maine, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia

Aug. 19

Arizona

Aug. 20

Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin

Aug. 21

California (some exceptions for earlier starts), Georgia (exceptions for Corky Kell Classic), Idaho, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina

Aug. 23

Missouri

Aug. 24

District of Columbia, Washington, West Virginia

Aug. 27

Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Wyoming

Aug. 28

New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Dakota

Sept. 2

Kansas

Sept. 3

Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Vermont

Sept. 4

Maryland

Sept. 10

Connecticut, Massachusetts