HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – Both James Madison men’s and women’s basketball teams now know their opening opponent in the first leg of the 2026-27 MAC-SBC Challenge.
The Mid-American Conference and Sun Belt Conference announced Thursday that both Dukes teams will face Miami (OH) on Nov. 2, to open this season’s challenge.
The JMU men’s team will host the RedHawks at the Atlantic Union Bank Center. It will mark the first meeting between the programs in Harrisonburg since the 2010-11 season, when the Dukes edged Miami 70-69. The teams last met in 2012, with Miami earning a 76-58 victory in Oxford, Ohio. The all-time series is tied 1-1.
Miami enters the matchup after a historic 2025-26 season under head coach Travis Steele. The RedHawks finished the regular season 31-0 and earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first Mid-American Conference team to receive an at-large bid since the 1998-99 season.
On the women’s side, JMU will face Miami (OH) for the first time in program history.
Both programs went 2-0 in last season’s MAC-SBC Challenge. The Dukes defeated Kent State and Massachusetts, while the RedHawks picked up wins over Coastal Carolina and Georgia Southern.
JMU and Miami also both reached the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament last season. The Dukes fell to Kentucky in the first round, while the RedHawks were eliminated by West Virginia.
The MAC-SBC Challenge is a scheduling partnership between the Sun Belt and Mid-American conferences in men’s and women’s basketball. The event opens during the first week of the 2026-27 season, with Sun Belt women’s teams traveling to MAC schools and MAC men’s teams visiting Sun Belt programs.
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