Arkansas State basketball teams learn opponents for 2026-27 MAC-SBC Challenge
Arkansas State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams now know their opponents for the opening round of the 2026-27 Mid-American Conference-Sun Belt Conference Challenge.
The two conferences announced Thursday that the first round of the annual scheduling alliance will be played Nov. 2, with the Red Wolves men hosting Toledo and the Arkansas State women traveling to Ball State.
The men’s matchup will feature two programs coming off successful seasons.
Second-year head coach Ryan Pannone’s Red Wolves posted their third consecutive 20-win season in 2025-26 while finishing second in the Sun Belt Conference standings. Toledo will make its fifth all-time trip to face Arkansas State, with the teams meeting for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
The women’s game will pit fifth-year head coach Destinee Rogers’ squad against Ball State in Muncie, Indiana.
Arkansas State enters the season after matching the program record with 27 victories in 2025-26 and advancing to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament Fab Four. The Nov. 2 contest will mark the third meeting between the programs and the Red Wolves’ first trip to Ball State’s Worthen Arena.
The MAC-SBC Challenge, which began in 2023, matches schools from the two conferences in early-season contests before a second round later in the year. The second round is scheduled for February, with the men’s games hosted by Mid-American Conference schools and the women’s games hosted by Sun Belt institutions. Those pairings will be determined in January based on team performance during the season.
The challenge has become an opportunity for both conferences to strengthen nonconference schedules while creating competitive matchups between two of the nation’s top Group of Five basketball leagues.
Arkansas State’s complete nonconference and Sun Belt schedules for the 2026-27 season will be announced at a later date.
Season tickets for the upcoming season are available through the Arkansas State Athletics ticket office.
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
MAC-SBC Challenge 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