Central Michigan University Athletics
Men's Basketball to Play at Louisiana Monroe in MAC-SBC Challenge
7/2/2026 12:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Central Michigan at Louisiana Monroe contest scheduled for Monday, Nov. 2 in Monroe, La.; Chippewas to host one other Sun Belt Conference team on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027.
CLEVELAND, Ohio—Central Michigan will travel to Louisiana Monroe on Monday, Nov. 2 as part of the Mid-American Conference-Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Challenge, the two leagues announced Thursday afternoon. The game will be televised on an ESPN platform at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
In its fourth year of existence, the MAC-SBC Challenge—a scheduling alliance in the sports of men's and women's basketball—will begin during the opening week of the 2026-27 season in November with 12 Mid-American Conference (MAC) men's basketball programs traveling to play 12 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) teams, while the 12 MAC women's basketball programs will host the 12 SBC teams.
The second MAC-SBC Challenge contest for each team has been scheduled for Saturday, Feb 6, 2027, with the matchups based on real-time NET rankings and announced in January. The MAC men's teams will host the February matchups. Each MAC and Sun Belt team included in the MAC-SBC Challenge is guaranteed one home and one away game each season.
Scheduling assistance is provided by Ordinal Sports Group. In addition to relevant NET data, geography and frequency of past contests are considered in determining the matchups. Each MAC-SBC Challenge game will be broadcast on an ESPN platform.
Central Michigan's entire men's basketball schedule will be released later.
2026-27 MAC-SBC CHALLENGE MEN'S BASKETBALL MATCHUPS
Monday, Nov. 2, 2026
Akron at Louisiana
Ball State at Georgia Southern
Bowling Green at Georgia State
Buffalo at Marshall
Central Michigan at Louisiana Monroe
Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina
Kent State at Louisiana Tech
Miami (Ohio) at James Madison
Ohio at South Alabama
Toledo at Arkansas State
Massachusetts at Troy
Western Michigan at Old Dominion
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027
Sun Belt teams at MAC teams (announced in January)
In its fourth year of existence, the MAC-SBC Challenge—a scheduling alliance in the sports of men's and women's basketball—will begin during the opening week of the 2026-27 season in November with 12 Mid-American Conference (MAC) men's basketball programs traveling to play 12 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) teams, while the 12 MAC women's basketball programs will host the 12 SBC teams.
The second MAC-SBC Challenge contest for each team has been scheduled for Saturday, Feb 6, 2027, with the matchups based on real-time NET rankings and announced in January. The MAC men's teams will host the February matchups. Each MAC and Sun Belt team included in the MAC-SBC Challenge is guaranteed one home and one away game each season.
Scheduling assistance is provided by Ordinal Sports Group. In addition to relevant NET data, geography and frequency of past contests are considered in determining the matchups. Each MAC-SBC Challenge game will be broadcast on an ESPN platform.
Central Michigan's entire men's basketball schedule will be released later.
2026-27 MAC-SBC CHALLENGE MEN'S BASKETBALL MATCHUPS
Monday, Nov. 2, 2026
Akron at Louisiana
Ball State at Georgia Southern
Bowling Green at Georgia State
Buffalo at Marshall
Central Michigan at Louisiana Monroe
Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina
Kent State at Louisiana Tech
Miami (Ohio) at James Madison
Ohio at South Alabama
Toledo at Arkansas State
Massachusetts at Troy
Western Michigan at Old Dominion
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027
Sun Belt teams at MAC teams (announced in January)
—CMU—
Thursday, June 25
Wednesday, June 24
Thursday, March 05
Monday, February 23