The 2026 high school football season begins in less than two months. Teams from Hawaii will be the first to take the field in early August and all but around a dozen states will have games in the books by the end of the month.
Preseason coverage begins July 13 with the release of the MaxPreps Top 25. Position-by-position breakdowns, All-Americans and best teams and players in every state will follow throughout the month and into August.
Read on to find out when the season begins in your state.
Aug. 3Hawaii
Aug. 13
Alaska, Nevada
Aug. 16
Ohio
Aug. 17
Kentucky, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee
Aug. 19
Arizona
Aug. 20
Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, North Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin
Aug. 21
California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota
Aug. 22
District of Columbia
Aug. 24
Arkansas
Aug. 25
West Virginia
Aug. 27
Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas
Aug. 28
Missouri, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wyoming
Sept. 2
Kansas
Sept. 3
Delaware, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Sept. 4
Maine, Maryland, Washington
Sept. 10
Massachusetts
Sept. 11
Connecticut
