Summer keeps rolling on, far faster than we’d like it to. June brought the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup. July followed with Wimbledon, Tour de France and World Cup pageantry. Now comes August (and Everything After).
The month ahead is extensive. There are Little League World Series in baseball and softball, and Hall of Fame inductions in football and basketball. Soccer leagues commence while MLB moves toward its homestretch. The Seattle Seahawks lace up for “Hard Knocks” as the “Ted Lasso” crew returns after a three-year absence. And the Dutch Grand Prix says farewell at Zandvoort.
Here is The Athletic’s grand guide to August. It’s not a complete list of every sporting event, but we try to cover a lot of ground. All times are ET, and all channel listings are for U.S. viewers.
You can watch live sports on Fubo (Stream Free Now).
August 2026 sports schedule
AIG Women’s Open final round
Aug. 2, 7 a.m. on USA Network and noon on NBC
The final major of the LPGA season concludes at Royal Lytham & St Annes. Japanese breakout Miyu Yamashita, who won the 2025 tournament as a rookie, tries for a first successful title defense since 2011. South Korean riser Haeran Ryu pursues her third major win in a row.
Indiana Fever at Minnesota Lynx
Aug. 2, 1 p.m. on ABC
Indiana’s pick-and-roll duo of Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston is countered by Minnesota’s Olivia Miles and Natasha Howard. Clark is always in the foreground, but for the uninitiated, Miles puts on quite a show.
Watch This: Miles delivers two dazzling passes to McBride as Lynx top Storm
San Diego Wave at Washington Spirit
Aug. 2, 4 p.m. on CBSSN
Two top NWSL squads link up in D.C., where Trinity Rodman and the Spirit are 5-1-1 this year. San Diego took the prior meeting in May thanks to Kimmi Ascanio’s last-minute heroics.
Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers
Aug. 2, 7:20 p.m. on NBC
Boston is the league’s hottest team since the All-Star break; Los Angeles is the league’s back-to-back champion. Jason Benetti and former Dodger Orel Hershiser are on the call for “Sunday Night Baseball,” while fellow Dodger great Clayton Kershaw appears on the pregame show with host Bob Costas.
‘Decades in Sports’ premiere
Aug. 2, 9 p.m. on CNN
The latest installment of CNN’s “Decades” series examines landmark American sports moments, from the emergence of television to the ongoing social media era. After this two-episode premiere, the other four will come out the following Sundays.
Little League Softball World Series
Aug. 2-9 on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC
The weeklong tournament goes down in Greenville, N.C. All games are on ESPN or ESPN2 except for the championship, which gets the ABC marquee at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9.
‘Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks’ premiere
Aug. 4, 9 p.m. on HBO/HBO Max
For the first time, “Hard Knocks” covers the Seahawks — and for the first time, the series features a reigning Super Bowl winner. No other show has made a battle cry out of snack time.
Leagues Cup Phase One
Aug. 4-13 on Apple TV, Fox and Univision
The tournament pits MLS and Liga MX clubs against each other, with the three best finishers qualifying for the Concacaf Champions Cup. The headliner might be Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami against Monterrey (Aug. 8, 8 p.m. on Apple TV). Knockout rounds begin on Aug. 25.
‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 premiere
Aug. 5 on Apple TV
Jason Sudeikis is back as the title character for a fourth season of the awards show darling, this time centered on a women’s soccer team. Subsequent episodes come out on Wednesdays, with the finale scheduled for Oct. 7. As always … be a goldfish.
NFL Hall of Fame weekend
Aug. 6: Hall of Fame Game, 8 p.m. on NBC
Aug. 8: Hall of Fame Enshrinement, noon on ESPN/NFL Network
Thursday’s scrimmage taps the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers. The Canton ceremony on Saturday is hosted by Rich Eisen and honors five new inductees: Drew Brees, Roger Craig, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri.
ESPN8: The Ocho
Aug. 6-9 on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU
This parade of strange sports includes the 2026 World Dog Surfing Championships (Aug. 6, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN2) and the Savannah Bananas baseball circuit (Aug. 7-8, 8 p.m. on ESPN). Neither Cotton nor Pepper is in the booth, but “Dodgeball” is on ESPN2 twice (Aug. 7 at 9 p.m. and Aug. 9 at 4 p.m.).
MLB at Field of Dreams
Aug. 13, 7:30 p.m. on Netflix
“If you build it, they will come.” The Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies play in the cornfields of Dyersville, Iowa, to celebrate one of the most popular baseball movies ever. The last “Field of Dreams” game was in 2022.
Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement
Aug. 15, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
Among the nine new additions to Springfield are Amar’e Stoudemire, Candace Parker, Mike D’Antoni and Doc Rivers.
UFC 330: Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry main card
Aug. 15, 9 p.m. on Paramount+
Russia’s Makhachev puts his welterweight title up for grabs in Philadelphia. Ireland’s Garry, nicknamed “The Future,” tries to take the belt. Each fighter enters with a lone loss.
New La Liga season
Starting Aug. 15 on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes
Fresh off World Cup glory, Spain cycles into its beloved domestic league. Barcelona, fronted by Lamine Yamal, goes for a fourth trophy lift in five years. The mission begins against Elche (Aug. 23, 3:30 p.m.). Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and rival Real Madrid start up with a visit to Espanyol (Aug. 22, 3:30 p.m.).
The full La Liga schedule is here.
Little League Baseball World Series
Aug. 19-30 on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC
Similar to the Little League softball tourney, the baseball bracket mostly falls on ESPN and ESPN2 until its championship stages on ABC. Two title games are slated for Saturday, Aug. 29 — an international one at 12:30 p.m. and a United States one at 3:30 p.m. Those winners face off for all the marbles that Sunday at 3 p.m. in Williamsport, Pa.
‘Novak Djoković: The Wolf in Winter’ premiere
Aug. 20 on Prime Video
Amazon has a new streaming documentary on the Serbian star, who holds the all-time men’s record with 24 Grand Slam titles. Among the interviews are Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi and Djoković himself.
‘The Dynasty: UConn Huskies’ premiere
Aug. 21 on Apple TV
This three-part documentary dives into the dynasty under Geno Auriemma. Episodes feature the likes of Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Paige Bueckers.
New Ligue 1 season
Starting Aug. 21 on beIN Sports
Paris Saint-Germain ended 2025-26 with its fifth straight French title and a stirring Champions League conquest. To ring in the new season, Ousmane Dembélé and PSG greet Stade Rennais at the Parc des Princes (Aug. 23, 2:45 p.m.). Dembélé’s footwork is matched by his funniness.
The full Ligue 1 schedule is here.
New English Premier League season
Starting Aug. 21 on NBC, NBCSN, Peacock and USA Network
It will be a generational party when Arsenal kicks off as the incumbent champ. Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and the Gunners get things started by hosting Coventry City (Aug. 21, 3 p.m. on USA). For all the Erling Haaland converts, Manchester City welcomes Bournemouth as part of the Sunday slate (Aug. 23, 9 a.m. on USA).
The full EPL schedule is here.
Dutch Grand Prix
Aug. 23, 9 a.m. on Apple TV
Oscar Piastri won the 2025 race by just 1.27 seconds. Dutchman Max Verstappen seeks his redemption at Zandvoort. It’s the first race after F1’s summer break, and it’s the last Dutch Grand Prix before this event drops off the circuit calendar.
U.S. Open
Aug. 24-Sept. 13 on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC and Tennis Channel
Stars are minted in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., home of the fourth and final tennis major. It starts with a week of qualifying matches and mixed doubles before the first round on Aug. 30. Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner for the men’s singles title last year. On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka notched a second consecutive triumph. Coco Gauff, the 2023 winner, looks to spoil her three-peat push.
PGA Tour Championship
Aug. 27-30 on CBS, ESPN and Golf Channel
The FedEx Cup playoffs wrap up from Atlanta. The field whittles down from 70 to 30 golfers, with the season victor revealed after the Tour Championship. Scottie Scheffler bids for his No. 1 spot. He also finished first in 2024.
New Bundesliga season
Starting Aug. 28 on USA Network and Fandango
The German league just signed a $100 million U.S. distribution deal with Versant. That means USA Network and the Fandango app are now in the Harry Kane business. Kane leads juggernaut Bayern Munich into its new campaign versus VfB Stuttgart (Fri., Aug. 28 at 2:30 p.m.).
The full Bundesliga schedule is here.
College football Week 0
Aug. 29: North Carolina vs. TCU, noon on ESPN; San José State at USC, 3 p.m. on NBC
It’s dealer’s choice for the college football faithful. North Carolina and TCU are exported to Dublin — the latest chapter in Bill Belichick’s UNC saga. USC introduces some of its top-ranked recruiting class against San José State. Virginia, Stanford and Florida State all have home games that Saturday. And for the die-hards, FCS magic gets going on Aug. 27.
The full FBS schedule is here.
Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona
Aug. 29, 7:30 p.m. on NBC
A fitting checkered flag for this vast month of sports, NASCAR’s regular season closes out from famous Daytona International Speedway. Denny Hamlin, who was born in nearby Tampa, chases the best finish of his 21-year career.
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