SoCon announces men’s basketball league schedule

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its 2025-26 men’s basketball league schedule presented by Ingles on Tuesday. The SoCon’s 10 men’s basketball teams will all play double-round-robin, 18-game intraleague schedules, totaling 90 league contests over nine weeks from Wednesday, Dec. 31, to Saturday, Feb. 28.

"The Southern Conference continues to prove that championship-level basketball truly is all here. With our comprehensive double-round-robin format ensuring every team faces the ultimate test, extensive broadcast coverage bringing our games to fans across multiple platforms, and venues from the mountains to the coast showcasing the depth and talent of our member institutions,” SoCon Commissioner Michael Cross said. “The SoCon remains where basketball excellence meets accessibility. Our programs elevate each other, creating compelling storylines and competitive balance that make every game matter and every night unforgettable."

Six teams open play on Dec. 31, with the other four squads playing on New Year’s Day. After a full lineup of games on Saturday, Jan. 3, the schedule settles into a Wednesday-Saturday format outside a pair of Thursday games on Jan. 15, Feb. 5, Feb. 19 and Feb. 26. The only other deviation is when all 10 teams face off against one another on Thursday, Jan. 29.

One of the early notable games on the slate this season is Chattanooga at Wofford on Jan. 14. In 2024-25, the Mocs won the SoCon regular season en route to a NIT crown, while the Terriers captured the conference tournament title and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.  

Samford’s new head coach Lennie Acuff comes to Birmingham after six seasons at Lipscomb, who he took to the NCAA Tournament last season. Acuff begins his first stint through the league on New Year’s Day when the Bulldogs travel to VMI. Two days later, Samford plays at UNCG, who under the tutelage of head coach Mike Jones, have won 20-plus games in each of the last three seasons.

The 2026 Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championship will take place at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina, from March 6-9.

Full broadcast schedules will be announced later, but all 10 schools’ home games will air on ESPN+ if not selected for national or regional broadcast.

The 105th season of Southern Conference basketball opens with nonconference play on Monday, Nov. 3.

The full composite schedule will be posted when it has been completed on SoConSports.com ..

December 31 (Wednesday)

ETSU at The Citadel

Mercer at Furman

Wofford at Western Carolina

January 1 (Thursday)

Chattanooga at UNCG

Samford at VMI

January 3 (Saturday)

Wofford at The Citadel

Mercer at ETSU

Western Carolina at Furman

Samford at UNCG

Chattanooga at VMI

January 7 (Wednesday)

The Citadel at Mercer             

VMI at ETSU

Furman at Chattanooga

UNCG at Wofford

Western Carolina at Samford

January 10 (Saturday)

Western Carolina at The Citadel 

UNCG at ETSU

VMI at Furman

Wofford at Mercer

Samford at Chattanooga

January 14 (Wednesday)

ETSU at Western Carolina

Furman at Samford

Chattanooga at Wofford

January 15 (Thursday)

Mercer at VMI

The Citadel at UNCG

January 17 (Saturday)

The Citadel at VMI

ETSU at Samford

Wofford at Furman

Mercer at UNCG

Chattanooga at Western Carolina

January 21 (Wednesday)

Furman at The Citadel 

ETSU at Chattanooga

Western Carolina at Mercer

UNCG at VMI

Samford at Wofford

January 24 (Saturday)

The Citadel at ETSU

Furman at UNCG

Mercer at Wofford

Chattanooga at Samford

VMI at Western Carolina

January 29 (Thursday)

VMI at The Citadel

Western Carolina at ETSU

Samford at Furman

UNCG at Mercer

Wofford at Chattanooga

January 31 (Saturday)

UNCG at The Citadel

ETSU at Wofford

Chattanooga at Furman

VMI at Mercer

Samford at Western Carolina

February 4 (Wednesday)

Furman at ETSU

Western Carolina at UNCG

Wofford at VMI

February 5 (Thursday)

The Citadel at Samford

Mercer at Chattanooga

February 7 (Saturday)

The Citadel at Chattanooga

ETSU at VMI

UNCG at Furman

Mercer at Samford

Western Carolina at Wofford

February 11 (Wednesday)

The Citadel at Western Carolina

Chattanooga at ETSU

Furman at Mercer 

VMI at UNCG

Wofford at Samford

February 14 (Saturday)

Mercer at The Citadel

Samford at ETSU

Furman at VMI

Wofford at UNCG

Western Carolina at Chattanooga

February 18 (Wednesday)

ETSU at Furman

UNCG at Western Carolina

VMI at Wofford

February 19 (Thursday)

Samford at The Citadel

Chattanooga at Mercer 

February 21 (Saturday)

Chattanooga at The Citadel

ETSU at UNCG

Furman at Wofford

Samford at Mercer

Western Carolina at VMI

February 25 (Wednesday)

The Citadel at Furman

Wofford at ETSU

Mercer at Western Carolina

February 26 (Thursday)

VMI at Samford 

UNCG at Chattanooga

February 28 (Saturday)

The Citadel at Wofford

ETSU at Mercer

Furman at Western Carolina

UNCG at Samford

VMI at Chattanooga