NEW ORLEANS – A scheduling alliance in men’s and women’s basketball, the MAC-SBC Challenge enters its fourth season and will tip off the 2026-27 campaign on opening night, Monday, Nov. 2, with 12 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) men’s basketball programs hosting Mid-American Conference (MAC) teams and 12 Sun Belt women’s basketball teams visiting MAC opponents.

The Coastal Carolina men’s basketball team will host Eastern Michigan at the HTC Center in its 2026-27 season opener, while the women’s team will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., to face Western Michigan.

The second MAC-SBC Challenge matchup for each team will be announced in January before tipping off in early February. Sun Belt women’s teams and MAC men’s teams will host the February contests, as each participating MAC and Sun Belt program is guaranteed one home and one away game each season.

Coastal Carolina and Eastern Michigan will meet for the first time since squaring off at the 1991 Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska, where the Eagles earned a 76-58 victory. The Chanticleers are 2-2 in the MAC-SBC Challenge, including a 2-0 record at the HTC Center with wins over Western Michigan and UMass.

On the women’s side, Coastal will face Western Michigan for the first time in program history. Last season, the Chanticleers dropped a 63-53 decision to Miami (Ohio) in their season opener before falling 93-82 to Bowling Green in the second round of the MAC-SBC Challenge. Coastal enters this year’s challenge with a 2-2 all-time record.

Each MAC-SBC Challenge game will be carried on an ESPN platform.

The complete 2026-27 Coastal Carolina men’s and women’s basketball schedules will be announced at a later date.

MAC-SBC CHALLENGE

Men’s Basketball Matchups

Toledo at Arkansas State

Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina

Ball State at Georgia Southern

Bowling Green at Georgia State

Miami (Ohio) at James Madison

Akron at Louisiana

Central Michigan at ULM

Kent State at Louisiana Tech

Buffalo at Marshall

Western Michigan at Old Dominion

Ohio at South Alabama

UMass at Troy

Women’s Basketball Matchups

App State at Eastern Michigan

Arkansas State at Ball State

Coastal Carolina at Western Michigan

Georgia Southern at Bowling Green

Georgia State at Buffalo

James Madison at Miami (Ohio)

Louisiana Tech at Toledo

ULM at Ohio

Marshall at UMass

Old Dominion at Central Michigan

South Alabama at Akron

Troy at Kent State