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BOONE, N.C. — The initial matchups for the third year of the MAC-SBC Challenge were announced Thursday, with App State Women’s Basketball scheduled to open the 2026-27 season at Eastern Michigan on Nov. 2.
The MAC features 12 basketball-playing members, compared to 14 for the Sun Belt. Four Sun Belt teams will not be participating in the November segment of the challenge: the App State men, Southern Miss men, Southern Miss women and Louisiana women.
The App State women will travel to Ypsilanti, Mich., for the nonconference matchup, and fans will be able to catch the action on ESPN+.
The contest marks an early test for head coach Alaura Sharp’s squad. Sharp enters her third season at the helm after App State split its two MAC-SBC Challenge games last year, highlighted by a dominant 65-45 victory over Western Michigan in Boone to open the season. Overall, the Mountaineers are 6-6 in the MAC-SBC Challenge across both men’s and women’s basketball.
The second round of 2026-27 matchups will take place on Feb. 6, with Sun Belt women’s teams and MAC men’s teams hosting. Those pairings will be announced by mid-January based on real-time NET rankings, geography and the frequency of previous contests.
The full schedule for the 2026-27 season will be announced at a later date.
MAC-SBC Challenge Women’s Basketball Matchups for Nov. 2
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