NFL season starts on September sports calendar
The start of the NFL regular season and the Ryder Cup will be in the sports spotlight this month. Here’s a look at 10 highlights on the September sports calendar, including the beginning of the baseball playoffs.
MLB Regular Season (September 1-28)
The final drive for postseason positioning in Major League Baseball begins on September 1, with the league’s regular-season schedule coming to an end on September 28. Early-week games to start the month around MLB include Philadelphia at Milwaukee and the Yankees at Houston, while later in the week the Blue Jays will be in the Bronx and Houston will face state-rival Texas in a series in Arlington.
College Football Regular Season (September 1-27)
The first September matchup on the college football slate takes place right away on Monday, September 1 as North Carolina hosts TCU in an 8:00pm ET contest on ESPN. The Week 2 slate then features a marquee matchup on Saturday, September 6 as ranked teams Michigan and Oklahoma battle in Norman in a 7:30pm ET game on ABC. As well, BYU gets a visit from Stanford in the late ESPN contest that night.
WNBA Regular Season (September 1-11)
The WNBA’s regular-season schedule comes to an end on Thursday, September 11 with four games on the slate as Chicago hosts New York, Dallas hosts Phoenix, Minnesota hosts Golden State, and Los Angeles hosts Las Vegas. The league’s postseason will then get underway on Sunday, September 14.
NFL Regular Season (September 4-29)
The first game of the 2025 NFL regular season will kick off in Philadelphia on Thursday, September 4 as the Eagles get a visit from the Dallas Cowboys. The next night the Kansas City Chiefs will be on the road to face the Chargers in Los Angeles, while the first Sunday Night Football game of the season has the Baltimore Ravens at the Buffalo Bills. Week 1’s Monday night matchup is the Bears hosting the Vikings.
F1 Italian Grand Prix (September 7)
The Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza will be the first of two Formula 1 races on the circuit’s schedule for September. Charles Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix for the second time in his career in 2024, after Max Verstappen had claimed the checkered flag in the race in both 2023 and 2022.
NASCAR Enjoy Illinois 300 (September 7)
The Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison kicks off the NASCAR Cup Series slate for September on September 7. There are three other NASCAR Cup Series races on the September schedule as the circuit continues its playoffs, with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on September 13, followed by a September 21 race at New Hampshire, and the Hollywood Casino 400 on September 28.
F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix (September 21)
Formula 1’s other September event will be the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit. Oscar Piastri won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2024, with Leclerc and George Russell joining him on the podium that day. Sergio Perez won this race back in 2023, and Verstappen was the 2022 champion.
Ryder Cup (September 26-28)
The Ryder Cup for 2025 will be hosted by the American team and will take place at the Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York from September 26 to September 28. Team Europe won this event the last time around in 2023, topping the Americans 16.5-11.5 at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Lazio, Italy. In 2021 the American team picked up a 19-9 victory over the Europeans at Whistling Straits.
UFC Fight Night: Ulberg vs. Reyes (September 28)
There are three Fight Night cards on the UFC schedule for September, capped off by UFC Fight Night: Ulberg vs. Reyes on September 28 in Perth, Australia. That event will be headlined by a Light Heavyweight bout between Carlos Ulberg and Dominick Reyes, and also feature a Light Heavyweight bout between Junior Tafa and Ibo Aslan. The other two Fight Night events in September will take place on September 6 (Imavov vs. Borralho) in Paris, France and September 13 (Lopes vs. Silva) in San Antonio.
MLB Postseason (September 30)
Major League Baseball’s postseason gets started on Tuesday, September 30 with the four Wild Card Series, which run through to October 2. The league’s Division Series will then get underway on Saturday, October 4, with the ALCS starting on Sunday, October 12 and the NLCS starting on Monday, October 13. The 2025 World Series is set to get underway on Friday, October 24 with a Game 7 set for November 1.
With zero championships between his MLB, NHL, and NFL teams over the last 30 years, Dave keeps one foot in the past while shaking his fist at the present. Having provided content to all manner of sports websites over a 20-year career in the industry, Dave brings to Attiq an eye for all things editorial and a disdain for all things New York Yankees. Click here for Dave's posts.
