AZUSA, Calif. - After nearly seven years away from competition, Azusa Pacific returns to the gridiron Saturday, Sept. 5, opening its 2026 season at the University of La Verne. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Ortmayer Stadium. The game marks the return of Cougar football and the program's debut as an NCAA Division III team.

First-year head coach A.J. Parnell, a former quarterback at Division III Bethel University (Minn.) who later spent seven seasons there as an assistant coach, will lead the Cougars on the nine-mile trip to La Verne. APU enters the season with a 103-player roster and a 10-member coaching staff working together for the first time. The Cougars' rebuilt roster includes 49 freshmen and 54 players with previous college experience, seven of whom have competed in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), APU's new football home.

Among the Cougars' potential offensive impact players are offensive guard Jake Adkins (Jr., 6-3, 300, Pasadena City), offensive tackle Michael Juarez (Jr., 6-3, 310, Pasadena City), running back CJ Zackery (Jr., 5-10, 190, Cal Lutheran), and wide receivers Robert Taylor (Jr., 6-0, 170, College of the Desert) and Robert Sarmiento (Jr., 5-6, 170, Golden West ).

Defensively, APU will lean on a veteran secondary featuring Jaylen Rodgers (Sr., 5-10, 180, Long Beach City), Tommy Tucay (So., 5-10, 200, Cal Lutheran), Adlo Olweny (Sr., 6-2, 205, Arkansas-Pine Bluff), and Donovan Beckom (Jr., 5-11, 185, Fort Hays State). The linebacker corps of Kalim Mikhail (Jr., 5-11, 210, Mt. SAC), Jordan Murray (Fr., 5-8, 155, Canyon Springs HS), and Keanu Kuma (Jr., 5-10, 215, South Carolina State) gives the Cougars a physical presence against the run.

Saturday's opener begins a nine-game season for the Cougars. After visiting La Verne, APU has a bye week before hosting Whittier on Sept. 19 in its first home game of the season. Following another open date, the Cougars will play seven consecutive weeks against SCIAC opponents, concluding with SCIAC Championship Week, when the conference's eight teams will be paired for their regular-season finales based on the standings.

NOTES

SERIES NOTES: Azusa Pacific leads the all-time series with La Verne, 26-15, and has won 10 straight meetings and 11 of the past 13. The programs have not met since Sept. 10, 2011, when the Cougars defeated the Leopards 65-14 at Citrus Stadium in Glendora. APU will make its first appearance at Ortmayer Stadium since 1995, when La Verne defeated the Cougars 51-17.

The match-up is the longest-running series in APU football history. Azusa Pacific and La Verne met in 39 consecutive seasons from 1965 through 2003. The Cougars' 26 victories over the Leopards are their most against any opponent; San Diego ranks second with 22.

SEASON OPENERS: Azusa Pacific is 26-28 all-time in season openers and won five of its final six openers before the program was suspended in 2020. Saturday marks the fourth time APU and La Verne have opened a season against one another. The Cougars won the previous three matchups: 6-2 at La Verne in 1980, 27-9 in Azusa in 1986, and 18-12 in Azusa in 1996.

LAST TIME: Several Cougars have recent experience against La Verne. In Cal Lutheran's 31-17 road victory over the Leopards in 2024, current APU running back CJ Zackery rushed for 64 yards on 19 carries. In Cal Lutheran's 23-19 home win over La Verne in 2025, current Cougar defensive back Tommy Tucay recorded two tackles, including one for loss.

CONNECTIONS: With fewer than 10 miles separating the campuses, Azusa Pacific and La Verne share numerous ties. APU Hall of Fame coach Jim Milhon, who guided the Cougars from 1978 through 1994, played at La Verne in the late 1950s for Roland Ortmayer, the namesake of the Leopards' stadium. La Verne track and field head coach Kevin Reid played football and ran track at APU, including as a defensive back alongside Cougar and NFL legend Christian Okoye in 1985. Reid later led APU men's track and field to 14 NAIA national championships from 1996 through 2017 and is a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame. La Verne assistant football coach Michael Owens spent two seasons (2001-02) on the APU staff under head coach Pete Shinnick. ULV baseball head coach Scott Winterburn played catcher at APU and later served as a Cougar assistant before leading the program in 2000 while head coach Tony Barbone was on sabbatical. Winterburn's current assistants, Gabe Miranda and Justin Duarte, also played baseball at APU; Duarte additionally played tight end for the Cougars and was part of APU's 1998 NAIA national championship team. La Verne water polo assistants Alba Espinar and Daniela Herrero played at APU, and Espinar later spent three years as a Cougar women's water polo assistant. ULV assistant athletics director Cres Gonzalez competed in track and cross country at APU in the mid-1980s and served as the Cougars' head cross country coach from 1987 through 1991.

WELCOME BACK: Saturday's season opener will also serve as a homecoming of sorts for two Cougars who previously wore La Verne's green and orange.

Azusa Pacific's 2026 roster includes two former La Verne student-athletes: quarterback Sawyer Bray and defensive lineman Manav Bhagat. Both will return to Ortmayer Stadium wearing APU's brick and black.

Sawyer Bray, a sophomore quarterback from Chula Vista, joined Azusa Pacific after spending time at La Verne. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound signal-caller enters the Cougars' return season as part of APU's quarterback room.

Manav Bhagat brings even more familiarity with the Leopards. The junior defensive lineman spent two seasons at La Verne, appearing in seven games in 2024 and recording nine tackles and 1.5 sacks. His sacks came against Pomona-Pitzer.

FIRST GAMES FIRST: Parnell is the 10th head coach in APU football history. Here is how each Cougar head coach fared in his debut:

COUGAR-LEOPARD QUICK HITS

First Meeting: Oct. 16, 1965

Last Meeting: Sept. 10, 2011 - APU won 65-14

Last 10 Match-ups: APU W10

2026 Opener: Sept. 5 at La Verne

Kickoff: 5 p.m.

The Return: APU's first football game since Nov. 16, 2019

New Era: First game under head coach A.J. Parnell

Familiar Faces: APU quarterback Sawyer Bray and defensive lineman Manav Bhagat are former La Verne student-athletes

Bhagat's Return: Bhagat played seven games for La Verne in 2024 before transferring to APU

Round Two: La Verne visits Azusa for the teams' second meeting of the season on Oct. 31

All SCIAC: Every opponent on APU's nine-game 2026 schedule is a SCIAC program

Back in Azusa: APU makes its home debut Sept. 19 against Whittier