College American football could find ‘permanent’ home in Dublin after 2025 fixture announced

Kansas State University and Iowa State University will open the 2025 season on ‘week zero’ in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday August 23, with organisers hoping to make the game “a permanent fixture” in the Irish sporting calendar.

Traditionally, the college season began on Labour day weekend in early September but that has been pushed back a week to allow the season to start here.

The Aer Lingus College Football Classic series started in 2022 when Chicago-based Northwestern defeated Nebraska before Notre Dame brought a bumper crowd across the Atlantic for their win over Navy last year.

Georgia Tech and Florida State will meet this year on August 24 while a 2027 fixture, between the Pittsburgh Panthers and Wisconsin Badgers is also confirmed. Organisers hope to confirm a fixture in 2026 in due course, which would mean the college football season would have started in Dublin for a sixth successive season.

College football is one of the biggest sports in the US outstripping both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) in terms of TV revenue and tickets sold. Only the National Football League (NFL) generates more money.

More than 21,000 fans are set to travel from the US for this year’s game, which will feature Kerry-born Georgia Tech punter David Shanahan.

Projections from 2021 valued a potential five-game series at €413m by Grant Thornton and Failte Ireland, though inflation will see this figure increase significantly.

And organisers are hopeful the opening game of the college football season is here to stay.

“We are delighted to be in a position to welcome K-State and Iowa State to Ireland next year. As the European Home of College Football, the 2025 game will mark the fourth edition of this fantastic series. Our aim is to make these games a permanent fixture in the US college football and Irish tourism and sporting calendars.” said Padraic O’Kane, Co-Founder and Director of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.

The game between the Kansas State Wildcats and Iowa State will be the first ‘Big 12’ conference matchup in Ireland, and the 10th college football game played in Dublin.