NORFOLK, Va. – The opening round pairings for the 2025-26 MAC-SBC Basketball Challenge – a scheduling alliance between the Mid-American and Sun Belt Conferences – were announced on Tuesday for both ODU basketball programs. This year’s first round will be played on November 3, with Sun Belt men’s programs on the road and its women’s programs hosting.
ODU’s men’s basketball team will open up their 2025-26 season at Miami (Ohio), while ODU women’s basketball begins their campaign with a home game versus UMass.
“We are excited to again participate in the MAC-SBC Challenge,” said ODU men’s basketball head coach Mike Jones. “Knowing where we will start our 2025-26 season, who we will be playing against, it just energizes our entire team.”
“The MAC-SBC Challenge has become a high-level game that you didn’t schedule yourself and you never know who your opponent is going to be,” added ODU women’s basketball assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, Roland Jones Jr. “We have played the top half of their conference, which is a game you have to be fully prepared for out of the gate.”
This past season, the men’s team dropped a close game to Buffalo, 83-82 in their season opener on Nov. 4 and came up short 76-70 at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 8. On the women’s side, the Monarchs fell 60-46 at Ball State on Nov. 4 and dropped their second-round game to Toledo, 56-52 on Feb. 8.
The Sun Belt and MAC men’s programs played to a series split in 2024-25 with SBC teams posting an 8-4 mark in the first round and the MAC doing the same in the second round. The MAC women captured their first Challenge last season.
The MAC-SBC Challenge began during the 2023-24 season, with the Sun Belt sweeping both the men’s and women’s inaugural titles.
Miami (Ohio) went 25-9 last season and reached the MAC Championship final, falling 76-74 to top-seeded Akron. The Redhawks went 2-0 in last year’s MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, winning 77-63 at App State followed by a 69-62 victory over Troy. ODU and Miami have met two times prior. The first meeting was on March 22, 1993 in the second round of the NIT, a game that went to Miami 60-58. The two programs then met again on Nov. 24, 2000 in the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico, with the Redhawks handing the Monarchs a 64-57 setback.
“Coach Steele and Miami (OH) are really good,” Jones said of his opponent. “Coming off of a 25-win season and retaining key pieces of that team, we are in for an unbelievable challenge. Oxford, Ohio is an extremely tough place to play - they are on a 15-game home winning streak. Lots of work to do between now and then. The Monarchs will be ready!”
UMass is entering its first season as a member of the MAC. The Minutewomen finished 17-15 last season and dropped their A10 Championship game to Saint Louis, 67-57. The team then opened the Women’s NIT tournament with an 86-40 win over Stonehill College, but saw its season come to an end with an 84-82 overtime loss to Buffalo. ODU and UMass will be meeting for the first time this season.
“Playing UMass is one of those games in which we must prepare for now in the summer,” continued Jones Jr. “Finishing fourth in the A10 is a huge feat in a high caliber conference. But now with them moving to the MAC, it should be really interesting and exciting for their program. We’ve got work to do as opening night will be here before you know it, and this game will be really tough even though we’ll be at home. I expect to see a packed house to start this amazing season we all look forward to having.”
The second MAC-SBC Challenge contest for each team will take place in early February, with matchups to be announced in January based on real-time NET rankings. The Old Dominion men will host the second round while the women will travel to their MAC opponent.
Each MAC and Sun Belt team included in the MAC-SBC Challenge is guaranteed one home and one away game each season and all MAC-SBC challenge games will be carried on an ESPN platform.
MAC-SBC Challenge Men’s Basketball Matchups
App State at Central Michigan
Arkansas State at Ohio
Coastal Carolina at Western Michigan
Georgia State at Eastern Michigan
James Madison at Akron
Louisiana at Ball State
ULM at Northern Illinois
Marshall at UMass
Old Dominion at Miami (Ohio)
Southern Miss at Buffalo
South Alabama at Toledo
Texas State at Bowling Green
Troy at Kent State
MAC-SBC Challenge Women’s Basketball Matchups
Western Michigan at App State
Ball State at Arkansas State
Miami (Ohio) at Coastal Carolina
Central Michigan at Georgia Southern
Kent State at James Madison
Bowling Green at Louisiana
Eastern Michigan at ULM
Buffalo at Marshall
UMass at Old Dominion
Akron at South Alabama
Northern Illinois at Southern Miss
Ohio at Texas State
Toledo at Troy