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Is Aer Lingus College Football Classic Ireland coming back?

Aer Lingus College Football Classic Ireland (2023–present) on ESPN

The answer: Yes — returns August 29, 2026. Next episode · S2026E01 · "University of North Carolina (UNC) vs. Texas Christian University (TCU)" · on ESPN
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Aer Lingus College Football Classic Ireland poster
Network / streamer
ESPN
Premiered
August 26, 2023
Runtime
~210 min per episode
3seasons
4episodes
1upcoming

About Aer Lingus College Football Classic Ireland

Aer Lingus College Football Classic Ireland began initially in 1988 as part of a promotional campaign to mark the Dublin millennium celebrations. Dubbed the Emerald Isle Classic, it was the first NCAA-sanctioned American college football game played in Europe. The game was played at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, Ireland in the years 1988 and 1989. The event was first proposed and arranged by Aidan J. Prendergast and Jim O'Brien. Prendergast, who was a former president of the Irish American Football Association conceived the idea of bringing a major NCAA game to Ireland in the mid-1980s and started pitching the idea on both sides of the Atlantic. Prendergast promoted both the 1988 and 1989 games. 

The game was intended as an annual event to attract some of the 40 million Americans of Irish descent back to Ireland. College teams with particularly Irish or Catholic background were chosen in an effort to attract Irish nationals to the games.

Aer Lingus College Football Classic Ireland episode schedule

1 upcoming · 3 aired . Next episode: August 29, 2026.

Upcoming · 1

DateEp.Title
August 29, 2026 S2026·E1 University of North Carolina (UNC) vs. Texas Christian University (TCU)

Aired · 3

DateEp.Title
August 23, 2025 S2025·E1 K-State Wildcats vs Iowa State Cyclones
August 24, 2024 S2024·E1 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Florida State Seminoles
August 26, 2023 S2023·E1 Notre Dame vs. Navy

Aer Lingus College Football Classic Ireland cast